Mc.

Clellends 3 Needs Theory

The Theory of Needs concept was popularized by American

behavioral psychologist David McClelland.

 Building on earlier work of Henry Murray (1938), McClelland states

in 1961 that the motivation of an individual can result from three

dominant needs: the Need for Achievement, Power and Affiliation.

 Need for Achievement

The Need for Achievement (N-Ach), is the extent to which a person wants to perform

difficult and challenging tasks on a high level. Some characteristics of high N-Ach people:

 They want to have success and need to receive positive feedback often.

 They seek to stretch themselves and thus tend to avoid both low-risk and high-risk situations. They avoid

low-risk situations because the easily attained success is not a genuine achievement. In high-risk

projects, achievers see the outcome as one of chance rather than a result of their own effort.

 They like to work alone or with other high achievers.

 McClelland believes that these people make the best leaders, although there can be a tendency to

demand too much of their staff in the belief that they are all also highly results driven.
 Need for Affiliation

The Need for Affiliation (N-Affil) means that people seek good interpersonal

relations with others. Some characteristics of high N-Affil people:

 They want to be liked and accepted by others, and attach importance to a personal

interaction.

 They tend to conform to the norms of their work group.

 They strive to make and keep relationships with a high amount of trust and mutual

understanding.

 They prefer cooperation over competition.

 Obviously, they perform well in customer service and client interaction situations.

 McClelland believed that a strong Need for Affiliation undermines the objectivity and

decision-making capability of managers.

 Need for Power

The Need for Power (N-Pow) is typical for people who like to be in

charge.
 They can be grouped into two types: personal and institutional power.
 People with a high need for personal power want to direct and influence others.

 A high need for institutional power means that people like to organize the efforts of others to

achieve the goals of the organization.

 High power people enjoy competition and status-oriented positions.

 While these people are attracted to leadership roles, they may not possess the

required flexibility and people-centered skills.

 Managers with a high need for institutional power tend to be more effective than

those with a high need for personal power.

Generally, all three needs are present in each individual. They are shaped and acquired

over time by the cultural background of the individual and his life experience.

Training can be used to modify a need profile. Nevertheless, one of the needs is the

dominant one, also depending on the personality. Unlike Maslow, McClelland did not

specify any transition stages among the needs.

The importance of the different needs at work depends upon the position one occupies.

The need for achievement and the need for power are typical for middle and top

managers.