What do good leaders do to Motivate people - Research Paper Example

? WHAT DO GOOD LEADERS DO TO MOTIVATE PEOPLE? ………………………….. College ……………………………… ……………….. Words count: 2696 Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Abstract 3 Introduction 4 Contemporary perspectives on Leadership 4 Effective Leadership 5 What Do Good Leaders do to motivate people? 6 Strategic ways for leaders to motivate people 9 Evaluative Conclusion 13 References 14 Abstract Leadership is essentially a highly-valued commodity with which people are motivated, inspired and influenced to do things that they may not even like to do. Most management and business experts often ask what good leaders do to motivate people. True leaders learn from organizational situations and find or form their own strategies or techniques to motivate their people. This paper is about leadership and ways that good leaders do to motivate people based on various theories such as need hierarchy, reinforcement, two-factor and equity theories of motivation. Introduction People admire stories highlighted in newspapers and other broadcast media about outstanding leadership qualities of world-class or national politicians, statesmen, managers of businesses and industries, government directors and ministers. It is their ability to influence and motivate others that made them highly successful leaders. From business and organization behavior perspectives, leaders are those who influence, motivate and control people with a view to cultivate social capital and employee vigor (Carmeli, Ben-Hador, Waldman & Rupp, 2009). ‘Motivation’ is undeniably one of the most significant resources that leaders should make use to achieve organizational objectives, attain high performance working and ensure competitive edge. This piece of research attempts to present theoretical perspectives of leadership and to explain what and how leaders do things differently to motivate people. This paper, presenting succinct details on different leadership models, exemplifies ways and strategies that leaders take in to account to motivate their subordinates and get them involved in achieving organizational goals. Contemporary perspectives on Leadership Leadership is a unique personal and professional quality. It is necessarily an inborn quality according to some researchers and it is ‘made’ according to some other researches. Trait theory of leadership, one of the earliest theories of leadership that gave way to the Behavioral theory and Contingency theory, viewed that distinctive physical and psychological characteristics account for leadership and its effectiveness. Various physical and psychological traits such as height, intelligence, attractiveness, self-reliance, creativity etc were studied and analyzed. Basic intelligence, clear and strong values and high level of personal energy were always listed in the main traits for effective leadership (Manning, Curtis and Manning, 2003, p. 16). In recent years, some researchers argued that leaders are ‘made’ and not born. Warren Bennis is one of the most important names who contributed much to leadership studies. He strongly disagreed with the concept that leadership is an innate ability. He defined leadership as “the capacity to translate vision in to reality” (Corcoran, 2008, p. 3). Being the founding director of Warren Bennis tried to avoid the traditional view about leadership and the concepts of trait-theories, as he argued that leaders are made from training, education, developmental program and learning experiences. Based on this view, leaders can become still more effective leaders and develop their skills further by testing and applying various strategies and techniques to better influence and motivate their followers. Influence and motivation are important matters to leadership. From the fact that leaders’ effectiveness is influenced by training and developmental program, it can be understood that leaders can try several ways to motivate their people and thus to improve their leadership effectiveness. Effective Leadership Since literatures have given various different definitions and views about effective leader and leadership, it may be a difficult task to come to a specific consensus about who is a leader. Based on most literatures, a leader is one who has leadership quality with that he is able to get others to do what he likes them to do regardless of their liking or disliking. Howard Garner viewed that a leader is one who is able to get other people to what they don’t want to do and like it (Parker and Begnaud, p. 3). Leadership is a process of directing and controlling the behaviors of others with the aim of accomplishing a common objective. Leaders may come in different types and forms, such as young or old, men or women and regardless of caste, religion, geographical or cultural aspects. Leaders are found in all different levels and segments such as Religion, Family life, Politics, Government, Business, Community and Sports (Corcoran, 2008, p. 3) and likewise they possess more or less different personal as well as professional qualities like transformational, charismatic and situational. Regardless of the size, level and personality traits that leaders belong to, they are expected to be able to create and establish a better interaction between them and their subordinates by facilitating a structuring or restructuring of the situation, perception and expectation of the subordinates. An effective leader listens to his people to support and encourage them so as to get them involved in both decision making as well as problem solving processes (Holbeche, p. 72). Making decision and solving issues are very basic and more challenging two functions for leaders. Effective leaders will be able to influence their followers by motivating them to be involved in all the relevant decision making and problem solving activities. Creative training programs, organizational learning activities, team work, collaboration, reward and recognition are some of such strategies that leaders often make use to influence people. An effective leader not only listens to people, but also brings out possible alternative solutions and ways to help them solve their issues. What Do Good Leaders do to motivate people? As Swansburg (1996, p. 435) pointed, good leaders are those who provide visionary inspiration, motivation and direction. They attract and inspire people because they are highly effective in making people automatically work towards achieving an organization’s common goals. More specifically, good leaders are ‘good’ because they use ‘motivation’ and ‘inspiration’ as tools for influencing their people. Daft and Lane (2008) emphasized several important criteria that good leaders should possess. According to them, good leaders are those who know how to follow and they, based on this knowledge, set an example for others (p. 5). Good leaders are genuinely interested in others and attempt to bring best out of them (p. 24). They love what they do and they share this love with others (p. 18). They also draw on a number of subtle and very powerful forces within them, because they tend to have open mindedness to welcome newer ideas rather than closed-minds. They care about other people and establish personal connections rather than maintaining emotional distances. They listen and discern what exactly people want more than they talk to give advice and orders (p. 19). Leadership and Motivation Motivation is something that affects people’s behavior in pursuing a certain outcome. It is quest for a personal gain (Lussier, Achua and Lussier, 2009, p. 79) and leaders have to find it as an opportunity to be seized to accomplish organizational or common goal. Daft and Lane (2008, p. 226) defined motivation as forces, either internal or external to a person, that stimulate enthusiasm and persistence to pursue a specific course of action. Leader should use motivation as link between people and their way to achieving organizational goal. Motivation, as the link, should direct people’s job, skill, talent, knowledge, experience, wisdom and everything that people possess toward the accomplishment of organization’s vision and goal. As Lussier et al (2009) detailed, motivation is a process wherein “people go from need to motive to behavior to consequence to satisfaction or dissatisfaction” (p. 79). For instance, people in the organization may need health insurance as an additional advantage (need), and will have a drive (motive) to get a policy offered by the manager or leader. When people get insurance (behavior), it quenches (consequence and satisfaction) their need for insurance. An effective leader will be able to find best need to be met, most appropriate way to satisfy this need and most effective way to make them satisfied. As depicted above, motivation is process that starts from need and ends up with satisfaction. Daft and Line (2009) also explained motivation as a process that comprises of three stages, namely, Need, Behavior and Rewards. According to them motivation occurs when there are either intrinsic or extrinsic rewards that should fulfill the needs. This process is depicted above. Based on the explanation about motivation as a process, Daft and Lane (2009) come to a conclusion that leaders should persistently use either intrinsic or extrinsic rewards to inspire people with a view to help them satisfy their needs. Leaders must be strategic and thus their actions also need to be strategically thought about. They must be capable of finding most important needs and wants of their followers an take it as an opportunity that people can be motivated toward organization’s desired work by giving them what they really want. Strategic ways for leaders to motivate people Intrinsic and Extrinsic rewards for motivation Motivation as a process of fulfilling needs through rewards highlights the two-factor theory of motivation developed by Frederick Herzberg. Not all intrinsic or all extrinsic rewards are always relevant at all times, but, effective leaders should be able to choose better one among the different available choices of both intrinsic and extrinsic rewards to motivate people according to the specific organizational situations. Intrinsic rewards are internal satisfactions that a person receives in the process of performing a task. It is his internal mental happiness, status-feel and satisfaction he gains while working in a particular workplace. Whereas, extrinsic rewards are rewards that are given by another person, like managers or leaders such as pay, promotion and higher status (Daft and Lane, 2009, 226- 227). Frederick Herzberg in the 1960s developed his two-factor theory of motivation and explained that people are more motivated by intrinsic factors rather than extrinsic factors. Intrinsic rewards or factors include achievement, recognition, challenge and advancement. According to traditional perspectives about motivation, people are almost always motivated by money. Under the new leadership paradigm, pay or monetary factors are not always the best motivators, but intrinsic factors are (Lussier, et al, p. 85). True leaders use either intrinsic or extrinsic rewards for motivating their people according to specific situations. People in a coal factory or mine may always expect highest possible technology to ensure maximum safety and security more than in most other workplaces. But people in a textile or education will be prompted to gain higher pay. It is where leaders are to think creatively to find what makes people motivated in these sorts of situations. Leaders in the coal or mine factory may choose intrinsic rewards whereas extrinsic in education or textile industry. Satisfying NEEDS for motivation In 1940s, Abraham Maslow developed ‘need hierarchy theory’ and explained that people are motivated through five levels of needs- they are, psychological, safety, belongingness, esteem and self-actualization. Psychological needs are people’s basic needs such as food, shelter etc. Once these are met, they are concerned about safety and security. Then people need love, friendship, acceptance and affection. After this level, people focus on ego, status, self-respect etc and finally they look at their fuller potential such as growth, achievements etc. Maslow’s motivation theory gave greater depth in explaining how people can be motivated and what do leaders do to motivate them (Lussier, et al, p. 82). In 1950s, David McClelland developed Acquired Need Theory and explained that people are motivated by their very basic and fundamental needs for achievement, affiliation and power. This theory proposed that all people have the need for achievement, affiliation and power, but to varying degrees (Lussier, et al, p. 86). Need for achievement is desire to accomplish something difficult, achieve better success and surpass others. Need for affiliation is desire to form close personal relationship, avoid conflict and establish friendships. Need for power is the desire to influence or control others, be responsible for others and possess authority over others. Effective leaders should recognize the basic and most important needs of their subordinates and motivate them by making them fulfill their needs. People need different things at different situations. In recession times, they may expect job security whereas in time of higher inflation they will be highly satisfied with higher-pay. In a functional organization, they may expect authority and leadership whereas better communication in a line organization. People in an under-developed country are to satisfy their basic needs for shelter, health and food, whereas people in a capitalized and developed region can be motivated by making them fulfill their self-actualization needs. In short, there is no hard rule on what specific need a leader should always consider for making their people motivated, but it is up to their discretion to find most important needs of people and motivate them by helping them fulfill such needs. Ensuring rewards equal to efforts for motivation J. Stacy Adam developed a motivation theory named Equity Theory and explained that people are motivated when their inputs are equal to outputs. People in all organizational setting compare their efforts and their earnings. They compare their work load and additional earnings. They compare the total inputs with their outputs. In a more challenging workplace, they must be well rewarded (Lussier, et al, p. 87). Their inputs comprise of large numbers of factors such as education, qualification, languages known and spoken, skills, talents, physical ability, body language, seniority, experience, attitude, status etc. Their outcomes are pay, status of job, security and safety in the workplace, facilities, timing, amenities provided in the workplace, easiness of job, additional incentives such as children’s’ education, insurance etc. Equitable distribution of pay and other facilities are crucial to the organization. Successful leaders are able to recognize the efforts their people put in and compare them with the total outputs they earn in order to find deviations and make corrections accordingly. Leaders thus find out what makes their people dissatisfied and attempt to satisfy them by meeting some of their needs that they still are expecting to be met. People compare efforts and outcome, but good leaders should balance them. Leaders must evaluate high performance of employees and offer them extra rewards as Equity theory highlights the consensus that high performance must be rewarded. Reinforcing desirable behavior for motivation B. F Skinner developed Reinforcement Theory of motivation with which he explained that people are motivated by reinforcing desirable behaviors. He argued that leaders or mangers don’t necessarily identify and satisfy needs, but rather, understand the relationship between behavior and consequences and then arrange contingencies that can reinforce desirable behaviors and discourage undesirable behaviors (Lussier, et al, p. 93). Skinner’s theory suggested four types of reinforcements; that are positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, extinction and punishment. Positive reinforcement includes pay, promotion, appreciation, thanking and increased status. People will be motivated to get positive reinforcement or to avoid negative reinforcement. Reprimand and reminder or show cause notices etc are examples of negative reinforcement. Withholding a positive reinforcement is extinction and activities such as demotion, harassment, firing, probation and fining etc are punishment that provides undesirable consequence for an undesirable behavior. From Skinner’s point of view, a successful leader must be able to use recognize effective reinforcement and apply any of the four reinforcements in times of relevance and appropriateness. True leaders should find how each reinforcement in a given organization impacts the inspiring of the people and they should be motivated either to get positive reinforcement or to avoid negative reinforcement. Evaluative Conclusion This paper addressed theoretical perspectives and contemporary views about leadership and effective leaders. Good leaders are those who listen to others, influence and inspire them and make them do whatever the leaders wanted them to do regardless of their linking or disliking. Good leaders are good motivators and they have to use most effective ways and strategic means to motivate their people. Frederick Herzberg explained intrinsic and extrinsic rewards and proposed that motivation occurs only when intrinsic rewards are ensured. Maslow identified five-step need hierarchy and proposed that people are motivated to satisfy their needs. David McClelland found that people are motivated for needs of affiliation, achievement and power. J. Stacy Adam developed his theory arguing that people are motivated only when they feel their outputs equal their inputs. B.F Skinner developed reinforcement theory and proposed that people are motivated to get positive or avoid negative reinforcements. Though there are different theories to explain motivation, no single theory fits all the different situations persisting in different organizations. This paper suggested that, however, it is up to the discretion of the leader about what specific method or strategy to be considered to motivate his people. References Carmeli, A., Ben-Hador, B., Waldman, D. A., & Rupp, D.E. (2009). How Leaders Cultivate Social Capital and Nurture Employee Vigor: Implications for Job Performance, Journal of Applied Psychlogy, American Psychological Association, EBSCO database Corcoran, T. (2008), The Leadership Bus: How to Be a Truly Effective and Successful Leader, AuthorHouse, Daft, R. L., & Lane, P. G. (2008), The Leadership Experience, Fourth edition, Cengage Learning Holbeche, L. (1998), Motivating people in lean organizations, Illustrated edition, Butterworth-Heinemann, Lussier, R.N., Achua, C.F., & Lussier, R.N. (2009), Leadership: Theory, Application, & Skill Development, Fourth edition, Cengage Learning Manning, G., Curtis, K., & Manning, G. (2003), The Art of Leadership, The McGraw Hill International Parker, J.P., & Begnaud, L.G. 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