Development of a Single-Factor Scale to Measure Leader Accountability

Abstract

Wood and Winston defined leader accountability as the leader's response to (1) his/her willing acceptance of the responsibilities inherent in the leadership position to serve the well-being of the organization; (2) the implicit or explicit expectation that he/she will be publicly linked to his/her actions, words, or reactions; and (3) the expectation that the leader may be called on to explain his or her beliefs, decisions, commitments, or actions to constituents. They developed three scales—the Responsibility, Openness, and Answerability Scales—to form the Leader Accountability Index (LAI). Use of the scales in subsequent research has suggested the possibility of combining the three to form a single factor instrument to measure leader accountability. This chapter updates the literature on leader accountability since the LAI was first published, reviews the data collection and factor analyses involved in creating the new Leader Accountability Scale (LAS), and discusses implications of the new scale's usefulness in leadership research and organizational practice.