6533b7dafe1ef96bd126ec10
RESEARCH PRODUCT
Leader motivation as a building block for sustainable leader careers: The relationship between leadership motivation profiles and leader and follower outcomes
Heidi TsupariElina AuvinenMari HuhtalaTaru FeldtUlla Kinnunensubject
Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Managementtyöhyvinvointimedia_common.quotation_subjectEducationResource (project management)0502 economics and businessoccupational well-beingfollower-rated leader behaviorstyöura0501 psychology and cognitive sciencesQuality (business)Life-span and Life-course StudiesjohtajuusApplied Psychologymedia_commonmotivaatioWorking life05 social sciencesLMXcareer intentions050106 general psychology & cognitive sciencesperson-centered researchsustainable careerSurvey data collectionmotivation to leadresourcesPsychologyurasuunnitteluSocial psychology050203 business & managementjohtajatdescription
This study investigates leaders' motivation to lead (MTL) as a personal resource for building a sustainable career as a leader. Using a person-centered methodology, we identified different latent profiles of leadership motivation. These motivational profiles were compared with leaders' occupational well-being and leadership-related career intentions, and with follower-rated leader behaviors and LMX relationship quality. The survey data consisted of 1003 Finnish leaders from various sectors of working life. Of these leaders, 233 recruited their followers to participate in this study, resulting in 987 follower participants. Latent Profile Analysis identified four distinctive MTL profiles: 1) Affective-Identity-based MTL (42%), 2) Low overall MTL (41%), 3) Low Affective-Identity and High Non-Calculative MTL (12%) and 4) High Affective-Identity and Social-Normative MTL (5%). Leaders in the profile with low affective-identity MTL and high non-calculative MTL experienced the poorest occupational well-being, were likely to resign from their current leadership position or apply for less challenging leadership positions, and received the most unfavorable assessments from their followers regarding their leader behaviors and LMX. Leaders whose motivation was based on high affective-identity and social-normativity had good occupational well-being and were most likely to pursue a more challenging career as a leader. To conclude, personal leadership motivation plays an important role in leaders' well-being and in their followers' satisfaction. Thus to create and support sustainable leader careers, both leader candidates themselves and practitioners in HRM and executive selection should consider the underlying motivational resources for leadership. This can help to better align individual careers with the employing organization and create better person-career fit. peerReviewed
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-08-01 | Journal of Vocational Behavior |