A free, 7-item global measure of transformational leadership — the standard short alternative to the licensed MLQ.
| Construct measured | Transformational leadership (global) |
|---|---|
| Developed by | Carless, Wearing & Mann (2000) |
| Original publication | Carless, S. A., Wearing, A. J., & Mann, L. (2000). A short measure of transformational leadership. Journal of Business and Psychology, 14(3), 389–405. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022991115523 |
| Number of items | 7 (one per transformational behavior) |
| Response format | 5-point frequency scale (1 = Rarely or never to 5 = Very frequently, if not always) |
Unidimensional by design — seven single items (vision, staff development, supportive leadership, empowerment, innovative thinking, leading by example, charisma) that form one global transformational-leadership score.
Alphas are commonly reported around .90–.93.
Validated against the MLQ and the Leadership Practices Inventory with strong convergent correlations; the single-factor structure is consistently supported. Its brevity trades away subdimension diagnostics, which the authors acknowledge.
Originally Australian bank employees rating branch managers; since used across sectors and countries wherever a brief transformational measure is needed.
Australia. Translated into several languages; often chosen in multi-construct surveys for its low respondent burden and free availability.