Re-thinking Transformational Leadership Factors

The aim of this study was to examine the factor structure of the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire developed by Bass and Avolio (1990). Using 480 senior officers from an Australian Law Enforcement Organisation, a more complex factor structure was identified. A higher order confirmatory factor analysis identified first and second order factors. The second-order factors were consistent with the four transformational leadership factors identified by Bass and Avolio (1990). These second-order factors were generated by eleven previously unidentified first-order factors. This factor structure may explain why some previous attempts to confirm the structural validity of the MLQ have been unsuccessful.