Motivation and Leadership Theories

Motivation and Leadership Theories

Introduction

According to Vesterinens, Isola, and Paasivaara (2009) leadership styles can be defined as the different combinations of tasks and transactional behaviors that influence people to achieve goals. A leader's skill in driving emotions in a positive, productive direction to achieve goals is an important factor in the success of organizations. In the late 1970s researchers noticed that effective leadership depended on a number of variables, which included the values of the leader, organizational culture, the work, and the environment.

According to businessman and author Ken Blanchard (NDI), "The key to successful leadership is influence, not authority." Strategies that leaders have incorporated to motivate people have evolved over the past seven decades from the "great man" notion of heroic leaders, through trait theories, behaviorist theories, situational leadership, contingency theory, and on to transactional and transformational leadership. Each of these offers some insights into the qualities of successful leaders (Bolden et al., 2003). The facts are that leadership and management techniques vary from organization to organization with respect to culture and the capacity of the leadership present in the organization at any given moment in time. This paper explores factors that stimulate motivation, as well as leadership theories and their applications.

Theories of Motivation

Hierarchy of Needs

Abraham Maslow wrote A Theory of Human Motivation (1943) explaining his theory on the hierarchy of needs that humans must meet in order to become self-fulfilled. Initially he had developed this theory in 1940. To prove that humans are not simply blindly reacting to situations, but trying to accomplish something greater, Maslow studied mentally healthy individuals instead of people with serious psychological issues. Barbra Pytel (2007) noted that Maslow's research led him to develop this theory which states that we as humans have basic needs. These needs must be fulfilled to progress in society. The needs are ordered from basic needs to the higher level needs.

Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs asserts that all humans must have certain requirements met in order to achieve their full potential. Maslow framed his theory in the form of a triangle, basic needs being the foundation and the higher needs forming the top levels. The theory holds that if the needs of the foundation are not met, the higher levels may not develop. Maslow believes we all have four basic needs that need to be fulfilled before we can even begin to realize our potential. The first are physiological needs such as hunger, thirst, and bodily comforts. The second is safety and security; the individual must feel out of danger. The third is belongingness and love; individuals must associate with others and be accepted. The fourth is self-esteem. This is derived from accomplishments, competence, approval and recognition.

With these basic needs met it is then possible for an individual to tackle their higher level needs. Maslow believes we all have the need to know, understand and explore. He calls these cognitive needs. Aesthetic needs include the appreciation, development and exploration of patterns, symmetry, order, and beauty. An individual's need to self-actualize, that is find self-fulfillment in the realization of striving to reach their potential is another higher level need. At the top of the triangle is self-transcendence. Self-transcendence is the establishment of a connection to something beyond the ego, to assist others in finding their self-fulfillment and realize their potential (Simmons, Irwin, & Drinnien, 1987). Individuals are motivated by different stimuli depending on which level of they are functioning on. Each level produces different emotions which act to motivate certain behaviors.

Expectancy Theory

The Expectancy Theory of Motivation describes the process people use to evaluate the likelihood that their effort will yield the desired outcome and the degree to which they want the outcome. This theory suggests that people use three factors to determine the degree of effort to put forth. First is the individual's assessment that an effort will lead to job performance. Second is the value or reward of the outcome to the individual. Third is the individual's assessment of how likely a successful task performance will lead to a desired reward. This theory provides practical guidelines to motivate employees (Kurtz, 2010).

Equity Theory

Equity Theory is concerned with the individual's perception of fair and equitable treatment. If employees feel they are under rewarded for their work in comparison to others doing similar work this theory suggests they will decrease their effort to restore balance. Conversely, if employees feel they are over rewarded they will feel guilty and put more effort into their job to restore equity and reduce guilt (Kurtz, 2010).

Goal Setting Theory

Goal Setting Theory states that people will be motivated to the extent to which they accept specific, challenging goals and receive feedback that indicated their progress toward goal achievement. The basic components of goal setting theory are goal specificity, goal difficulty, goal acceptance, and performance feedback. Goal specificity is the extent to which goals are detailed, exact and unambiguous. Goal difficulty is the extent to which a goal is hard or challenging to accomplish. Goal acceptance is the extent to which people consciously understand and agree to goals. Performance feedback is information about the quality or quantity of past performance and indicates whether progress is being made toward accomplishing a goal. Goal Setting Theory suggests that people who set goals outperform people who do not (Kurtz, 2010).

Theory X and Theory Y

Douglas McGregor proposed two views on employee motivation and management in his 1960 book The Human Side of Enterprise. Instead of using descriptive terms he named his ideas Theory X and Theory Y. Theory X and Theory Y both begin with the assumption that management's role is to gather the tools and human resources required for production ("Net.MBA," 2010).

According to Amy McMillan (2010) Theory X is founded on the premise that people are lazy and don't want to work. Given this, it becomes the job of management to coerce or force employees to produce. This theory is founded on