ACHIEVEMENT, POWER AND MANAGERIAL MOTIVATION: SELECTING MANAGERIAL TALENT WITH THE JOB CHOICE EXERCISE

Relying on McClelland's theory of need for Achievement (n Ach) and need for Power (n Pow) this paper hypothesizes that high managerial motivation consists of both high n Ach and high n Pow, and that low managerial motivation consists of both low n Ach and low n Pow. Using the Job Choice Exercise, which is a decision modeling approach to the measurement of n Ach and n Pow, 172 respondents from several different samples were investigated to test these hypotheses. Those who scored high in managerial motivation had higher managerial performance than others, had a higher managerial promotion rate than others, were more likely to be campus leaders than others, or were more likely to be managers than blue collar workers. The opposite was found for low managerial motivation except for managerial performance where there was insufficient data. No difference between the sexes or between the races was found on either the high or the low managerial motivation measure in a nationwide sample of 1,417. Based on these results, the managerial selection implications and early identification of managerial talent implications are discussed.