Psychometric properties of the Self-reported Spanish version of the Multidimensional Servant Leadership Scale in Military Context

Background: In recent years, the Spanish Army has prioritised leadership development. Servant Leadership is a model aligned with the Spanish military ethic. To facilitate this development, tools are needed to assess this leadership style in military contexts. Although there is a Spanish version of the Servant Leadership scale that collects followers’ perceptions, there is currently no self-reported scale adapted to the military context. The aim of this study is to adapt and validate the self-reported Multidimensional Servant Leadership Scale (MSLS) in Spanish for the military context. Method: A Confirmatory Factor Analysis was conducted with a sample of 382 military personnel from the Spanish Army who completed an online questionnaire. JASP version 0.8.3.1 was used to perform this analysis. Results: The results replicated the seven-factor structure of the original scale. In terms of criterion validity, we found that several dimensions of the scale were significantly related to leader engagement, organisational identification, and psychological capital although not all dimensions were significant. Conclusions: This paper provides a tool with psychometric guarantees that measures self-perception of Servant Leadership in Spanish military contexts.