Home › Scale Atlas › Leadership › Expressed Humility / Humble Leadership (Owens, Johnson & Mitchell)
Expressed Humility / Humble Leadership (Owens, Johnson & Mitchell)
LeadershipReliability: alpha 0.943 sample items
About this scale
A 9-item measure of expressed humility in leaders — admitting mistakes/limitations, spotlighting follower strengths, and modelling teachability. Predicts engagement, learning, and team innovation.
Sample item(s)
“My manager actively seeks feedback, even if it is critical.”
“My manager admits when he/she does not know how to do something.”
“My manager takes notice of others' strengths.”
Reliability
Reported internal consistency: alpha 0.94. As a rule of thumb, Cronbach’s α ≥ .70 is considered acceptable, ≥ .80 good, and ≥ .90 excellent for established measures.
Notes
Conceptually distinct from servant leadership; humility is a narrower trait-state construct.
Source & citation
Owens, B. P., Johnson, M. D., & Mitchell, T. R. (2013): Expressed humility in organizations: Implications for performance, teams, and leadership. Organization Science, Vol. 24, No. 5, pp. 1517–1538.
Owens, Johnson & Mitchell (2013): Expressed humility. Organization Science, 24(5), 1517–1538.
Source. Scale details are summarised from the publication cited above. Always consult the original source for the full item set, scoring, and permission to use.
Use it in your research
Need to check the reliability or psychometrics of this scale in your own data? Use the free DrAIStudio research tools:
Cronbach’s alpha calculator
All statistical calculators
Search the full Scale Atlas
Academic writing humanizer