Motivation, Personality, and Ideology as Antecedents of Transformational Leadership in Young Adults: A Cross-Level Analysis

Relationships among motivation, personality, leadership ideology, leadership behaviors, and positive organizational outcomes in young adults were assessed in a cross-level model.Ninety-five student leaders enrolled in a year-long cohort leadership development initiative at a Midwest university were administered assessments for motivation, personality, and leadership behaviors, and 4-6 raters assessed their leadership behaviors and outcomes (rater N= 550).Results indicated that leaders' personality and leaders' ideology are predictive of their transformational leadership behaviors.Results of the cross-level analysis demonstrated the need to analyze assessment data collected from multiple sources and levels using robust multi-level analyses.Research and practical implications are discussed.