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Motivation Theories: Figure 1. Motivation Theories (Source: Author's Own Figure)
Motivation Theories: Figure 1. Motivation Theories (Source: Author's Own Figure)
As each level is adequately satisfied, we are then motivated to satisfy the next level
in the hierarchy, always new and higher needs are coming. This is what we mean, when
the basic human needs are drawn like a pyramid, a hierarchy. Life experiences,
including divorce and loss of job, may cause an individual to fluctuate between levels of
the hierarchy. These five different levels were further sub-categorised into two main
groups: deficiency and growth needs.
Deficiency needs – The very basic needs for survival and security.
These needs include:
• physiological needs
• safety and security needs
• social needs – belongingness and love
• esteem needs
It may not cause a physical indication if these ‘deficiency needs’ are not fulfilled, but
the individual will feel anxious and tense. So the most basic level of needs must be
fulfilled before a person wants to focus on the secondary or higher level needs.
Growth needs – Personal growth and fulfilment of personal potential.
These needs include:
• self-actualisation needs
This hierarchy is not as rigid as we may have implied. For example, there are some
humans for whom self-esteem or self-actualization seems to be more important than
love or belonging. The popularity of this theory of motivation rooted in its simplicity and
logic.
Alderfer – ERG theory: Existence needs, relatedness needs and growth needs
Alderfer (Furnham, 2008) distinguished three steps or classes of needs: existence,
relatedness and growth. Maslow’s physiological and safety needs belong together to
existence needs. Relatedness can be harmonised to belongingness and esteem of
others. Growth is the same as Maslow’s self-esteem plus self-actualization. Both
Maslow and Alderfer tried to describe how these needs, these stages of needs become
more or less important to individuals.
• Existence needs: These include needs for basic material necessities. In short, it
includes an individual’s physiological and physical safety needs.
• Relatedness needs: Individuals need significant relationships (be with family,
peers or superiors), love and belongingness, they strive toward reaching public fame
and recognition. This class of needs contain Maslow’s social needs and external
component of esteem needs.
• Growth needs: Need for self-development, personal growth and advancement
form together this class of need. This class of needs contain Maslow’s self-actualization
needs and intrinsic component of esteem needs.
Alderfer agreed with Maslow that unsatisfied needs motivate individuals. Alderfer
also agreed that individuals generally move up the hierarchy in satisfying their needs;
that is, they satisfy lower-order before higher-order needs. As lower-order needs are
satisfied, they become less important, but Alderfer also said: as higher-order needs
are satisfied they become more important. And it is also said that under some
circumstances individuals might return to a lower need. Alderfer thought that
individuals multiply the efforts invested in a lower category need when higher
categorized needs are not consequent.
For example there is a student, who has excellent grades, friends, and high standard
of living, maybe also work at the university. What happens if this individual finds that he
or she is frustrated in attempts to get more autonomy and responsibility at the
university, maybe also more scholarship that generally encourage individuals’ growth?
Frustration in satisfying a higher (growth) need has resulted in a regression to a lower
level of (relatedness) needs (‘I need just my friends, some good wine, I do not want to
go to the university anymore.’).
This event is known and called as the frustration-regression process. This is a more
realistic approach as it recognises that, because when a need is met, it does not mean
it will always remain met. ERG theory of motivation is very flexible: it explains needs as
a range rather than as a hierarchy. Implication of this theory: Managers must
understand that an employee has various needs that must be satisfied at the same
time. ERG theory says, if the manager concentrates only on one need at a time, he or
she won’t be able to motivate the employee effectively and efficiently. Prioritization and
sequence of these three categories, classes can be different for each individual.
Authority/power motivation – a need to control over one’s own work or the work of
others. These persons are authority motivated. There is a strong need to lead and to
succeed in their ideas. It is also needed to increase personal status and prestige. This
person would like to control and influence others. McClelland studied male managers
with high need for power and high need for affiliation and found that managers with a
high need for power tended to run more productive departments in a sales organization
than did managers with a high need for affiliation.
It is important to speak about gender differences in need for power. It is said that
men with high need for power mostly have higher aggression, drink more, act in
sexually exploitative manner, and participate in competitive sports, and also political
unrests. At the same time women with higher need for power show more socially
acceptable and responsible manner, are more concerned and caring. These types of
people prefer to work in big, multinational organisations, businesses and other
influential professions.
McClelland argues that strong need for achievement people can become the best
leaders – as we wrote it above. But at the same time there can be a tendency to request
too much of their employees, because they think that these people are also highly
achievement-focused and results-driven, as they are. Think about your teachers and
professors! I am sure they all want the best for you, they would like to develop you, but I
do not think you feel the same every time. McClelland said that most people have and
show a combination of these characteristics.
Figure 6. Examples for the inputs and outcomes in the equity theory (Source:
Author's own figure)
The equity theory works not just in the workplace, but at school as well. For
example, when for the same oral exam performance two students get different marks,
then inequity exists. In this case, the student who gets the worse mark may lose his/her
motivation to learn (reduce his/her efforts), or persuade the teacher to give him/her a
better mark, or change the perception of the reference person's performance ("I did not
know everything, but my classmate could answer all the questions"). At the school it can
demotivate students if someone who never studies or who never performs better than
the others always gets good mark. The greater the inequity the greater the distress an
individual feels, which will motivate the endeavour to make the outcomes and the inputs
equal compared to the reference person.
When inequity exists, a person might…
• reduce his/her inputs, efforts, quantity or quality of his/her work
• try to increase his/her outputs (ask for better mark, or pay raising)
• adjust his/her perception of reference person or his/her outcomes or inputs (re-
evaluate his/her or the reference person's effort or outcome)
• change the reference person
• quit the situation.
The problem with equity theory is that it does not take into account differences in
individual needs, values, and personalities. For example, one person may perceive a
certain situation as inequitable while another does not. Nevertheless ensuring equity is
essential to motivation.
Locke's goal-setting theory
Locke's (1990) goal setting theory is an integrative model of motivation just like the
expectancy theory.
It emphasizes that setting specific, challenging performance goals and the
commitment to these goals are key determinants of motivation. Goals describe a
desired future, and these established goals can drive the behaviour. Achieving the
goals, the goal accomplishment further motivates individuals to perform.
We can distinguish goals according to specificity, difficulty and acceptance. A
specific goal can be measured and lead to higher performance than a very general goal
like “Try to do your best!” A difficult, but realistic goal can be more motivational than
easy or extremely difficult ones. The acceptance of the goal is very important as well,
therefore involvement in the goal setting is recommended.
For example, if I decide to pass a medium level language exam in German in six
months – this goal is specific and difficult enough – because I want to work in Germany
– this goal is very important for me, therefore the goal commitment is high – then I will
be motivated to learn, and to pass the exam.
The following guidelines have been useful in the goal-setting (Figure 7):
• Set challenging but attainable goals. Too easy or too difficult/unrealistic goals don’t
motivate us.
• Set specific and measurable goals. These can focus toward what you want, and
can measure the progress toward the goal.
• Goal commitment should be obtained. If people don’t commit to the goals, then
they will not put effort toward reaching the goals, even specific, or challenging ones.
Strategies to achieve this could include participation in the goal setting process, use of
extrinsic rewards (bonuses), and encouraging intrinsic motivation through providing
workers with feedback about goal attainment. Pressure to achieve goals is not useful
because it can result in dishonesty and superficial performance.
• Support elements should be provided. For example, encouragement, needed
materials, resources, and moral support.
• Knowledge of results is essential – so goals need to be quantifiable and there
needs to be feedback.
Goal-setting is a useful theory which can be applied in several fields, from sport to a
wide range of work settings. Sports psychology in particular has adopted its
recommendations. The concept of goal-setting has been incorporated into a number of
incentive programmes and management by objectives (MBO) techniques in a number of
work areas. Feedback accompanying goal attainment may also enhance a worker’s job
performance and ability to become more innovative and creative on the job through a
trial-and-error learning process. Since goal-setting is a relatively simple motivational
strategy, it has become increasingly popular.
Are you using an effective leadership style that works best for you and your
team? Get an overview of seven common leadership styles and explore how to develop
your signature style.
At first glance, we may think that some leadership styles are better than others.
The truth is that each leadership style has its place in a leader's toolkit. The wise leader
knows to flex from one style to another as the situation demands.
Leadership styles are on a continuum, ranging from autocratic at one end, to laissez-
faire at the other, with a variety of styles in between.
1. Autocratic Style
The phrase most illustrative of an autocratic leadership style is "Do as I say." Generally,
an autocratic leader believes that he or she is the smartest person at the table and
knows more than others. They make all the decisions with little input from team
members.
That's not to say that the style may not be appropriate in certain situations. For
example, you can dip into an autocratic leadership style when crucial decisions need to
be made on the spot, and you have the most knowledge about the situation, or when
you're dealing with inexperienced and new team members and there's no time to wait
for team members to gain familiarity with their role.
2. Authoritative Style
The phrase most indicative of this style of leadership (also known as "visionary") is
"Follow me." The authoritative leadership style is the mark of confident leaders who
map the way and set expectations, while engaging and energizing followers along the
way.
In a climate of uncertainty, these leaders lift the fog for people. They help them see
where the company is going and what's going to happen when they get there.
Unlike autocratic leaders, authoritative leaders take the time to explain their thinking:
They don't just issue orders. Most of all, they allow people choice and latitude on how to
achieve common goals.
3. Pacesetting Style
"Do as I do!" is the phrase most indicative of leaders who utilize the pacesetting style.
This style describes a very driven leader who sets the pace as in racing. Pacesetters
set the bar high and push their team members to run hard and fast to the finish line.
While the pacesetter style of leadership is effective in getting things done and driving for
results, it's a style that can hurt team members. For one thing, even the most driven
employees may become stressed working under this style of leadership in the long run.
An agile leadership style may be the ultimate leadership style required for leading
today's talent.
Should you avoid the pacesetting style altogether? Not so fast. If you're an energetic
entrepreneur working with a like-minded team on developing and announcing a new
product or service, this style may serve you well. However, this is not a style that can be
kept up for the long term. A pacesetting leader needs to let the air out of the tires once
in a while to avoid causing team burnout.
4. Democratic Style
Democratic leaders are more likely to ask "What do you think?" They share information
with employees about anything that affects their work responsibilities. They also
seek employees' opinions before approving a final decision.
There are numerous benefits to this participative leadership style. It can engender trust
and promote team spirit and cooperation from employees. It allows for creativity and
helps employees grow and develop. A democratic leadership style gets people to do
what you want to be done but in a way that they want to do it.
5. Coaching Style
When you having a coaching leadership style, you tend to have a "Consider this"
approach. A leader who coaches views people as a reservoir of talent to be developed.
The leader who uses a coach approach seeks to unlock people's potential.
Leaders who use a coaching style open their hearts and doors for people. They believe
that everyone has power within themselves. A coaching leader gives people a little
direction to help them tap into their ability to achieve all that they're capable of.
6. Affiliative Style
A phrase often used to describe this type of leadership is "People come first." Of all the
leadership styles, the affiliative leadership approach is one where the leader gets up
close and personal with people. A leader practicing this style pays attention to and
supports the emotional needs of team members. The leader strives to open up a
pipeline that connects him or her to the team.
Ultimately, this style is all about encouraging harmony and forming collaborative
relationships within teams. It's particularly useful, for example, in smoothing conflicts
among team members or reassuring people during times of stress.
7. Laissez-Faire Style
The laissez-faire leadership style is at the opposite end of the autocratic style. Of all the
leadership styles, this one involves the least amount of oversight. You could say that the
autocratic style leader stands as firm as a rock on issues, while the laissez-faire leader
lets people swim with the current.
On the surface, a laissez-faire leader may appear to trust people to know what to do,
but taken to the extreme, an uninvolved leader may end up appearing aloof. While it's
beneficial to give people opportunities to spread their wings, with a total lack of
direction, people may unwittingly drift in the wrong direction—away from the critical
goals of the organization.
This style can work if you're leading highly skilled, experienced employees who are self-
starters and motivated. To be most effective with this style, monitor team performance
and provide regular feedback.
1. Know yourself.
Start by raising your awareness of your dominant leadership style. You can do this by
asking trusted colleagues to describe the strengths of your leadership style. You can
also take a leadership style assessment.
Today's business environments are fraught with challenges due to the changing
demographics and the employee expectations of a diverse workforce. This may call for
a new breed of leader who is an amalgam of most of the leadership styles discussed
here.
10. Bureaucratic
Bureaucratic leaders are similar to autocratic leaders in that they expect their team
members to follow the rules and procedures precisely as written.
The bureaucratic leadership style focuses on fixed duties within a hierarchy where each
employee has a set list of responsibilities, and there is little need for collaboration and
creativity. This leadership style is most effective in highly regulated industries or
departments, such as finance, healthcare or government.
Example: Managers at a Department of Motor Vehicles office instruct their employees
to work within a specific, defined framework. They must take many steps to complete a
task with strict order and rules.
Remember, most leaders borrow from a variety of styles to achieve various goals at
different times in their careers. While you may have excelled in a role using one type of
leadership, another position may require a different set of habits to ensure your team is
operating most effectively.
By understanding each of these leadership types, and the outcomes they’re designed to
achieve, you can select the right leadership style for your current situation.