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Dissertation Abstract

Y��ng q��: The Assessment of the Inventory of Leadership Courage in Support of the Construct of the Adult Self-Directed Leader

David H. Hartleyk
April 2012

The 6th-century Chinese military philosopher, Sun Tzu, identified five characteristics necessary for leadership: knowledge, trustworthiness, courage, humaneness, and sternness (Cleary, 2000). Carr, Coe, Derrick, and Ponton (2007) proposed these characteristics as the defining characteristic behaviors of the adult self-directed leader. Further, Carr et al. identified these behaviors as conative factors as they appear to be co-occurring in the behavior of the adult self-directed leader. To assess the behavioral intentions of the adult self-directed leader, behavioral intention scales have been or are being developed for each of these factors. Y��ng q�� is the phonetic spelling of the Chinese word for courage. Hartley (2011) conducted a qualitative study of military veterans, assessing their definitions of leadership or commander���s courage���bravery���and the opposite of courage. The qualitative responses from this study were reviewed, a thorough analysis of the courage literature was conducted, and the Inventory of Leadership Courage was developed. This instrument is a 38-question survey assessing six proposed factors of leadership courage: (a) makes the hard choices, thinks; (b) confronts risk and fear without showing fear; (c) integrity, honesty, adhering to a personal code; (d) accepts responsibility; (e) a willingness to learn; and (f) continues to try, mission completion. This scale was analyzed for face validity and then subjected to reliability testing through the use of a web-based survey tool and test���retest procedures. The Kaiser���Meyer���Olkin measure of sampling adequacy and Bartlett���s test of sphericity indicated that the data were acceptable for principal component factor analysis. The principal component analysis supported the premise that these assessments support a single component proposed to be leadership courage. Cronbach���s coefficient alpha for the scale also supported the reliability of the instrument as a whole; however, only three of the six supporting factors supported alphas above the .70 level of acceptable reliability. Test���retest analysis was explored with inconclusive results, as the number of complete responses was insufficient (Kline, 2000).