Increasing Employee Motivation to Lead Through an Understanding of Communication Apprehension

Abstract

This study expanded on current theoretical understanding of motivation to lead by testing a model that includes communication apprehension as a key predictor of motivation to lead. The hypotheses were tested with hierarchical multiple regression applied to cross-sectional data collected from 170 retail employees at stores on the east coast of the United States. The results revealed a strong, negative relationship between communication apprehension and affective-identity, social-normative, and noncalculative motivation to lead. Communication apprehension was a stronger predictor of motivation to lead than other individual difference variables. The results also revealed that although communication apprehension is significantly negatively related to all dimensions of motivation to lead, it accounts for more variance in the affective-identity dimension than the social-normative and noncalculative dimensions. Theoretical and practical implications for communication and leadership development are presented and suggestions for future research are discussed.