LEADERSHIP CHARACTERISTICS OF ... - Drake University

already see that the structure is more complex than originally
proposed. Further refinements are in the offing. (p. 61 )
The most current version of the MLQ, the MLQ 5X, was developed
in 2000 to address researcher concern related to issues of validation and
reliability. Recent results support the construct validity and reliability of the
current survey tool.
A total of 3,786 respondents in fourteen independent samples
ranging in size from 45 to 549 in U.S. and foreign firms and agencies
completed the MLQ 5X, each describing their respective leader. The
findings indicate that the current tool effectively measures the full range of
leadership it purports to measure (Avolio, Bass, & Jung, 1995) . A recent
meta-analysis of 33 independent empirical studies using the MLQ
concluded that there were strong positive correlations between all
components of transformational leadership and both subjective and
objective measures of performance. I ndividuals who exhibited
transformational leadership were perceived to be more effective leaders
with better work outcomes than those who exhibited only transactional
leadership (Lowe et al., 1996). Use of the MLQ as a leadership
assessment tool is established in the literature (Avolio & Bass, 1999;
Gasper, 1992; Hater & Bass, 1988; Lowe et al., 1996; MacGregor Burns,
2003; Waldman et al., 1990) and has been used in over 200 programs in
the past ten years (Bass, 1999).
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