MOTIVATION

MEANING & DEFINITION

The term ‘motivation’ has been derived from the word ‘motive’.
Motive may be defined as an inner state of our mind that activates and
directs our behaviour. It makes us move to act.
It is always internal to us and is externalized via our behaviour.
Motivation is one’s willingness to exert efforts towards the
accomplishment of his/her goal.
Fred Luthans defined motivation as a “process that starts with a
physiological or psychological deficiency or need that activates
behaviour or a drive that is aimed at a goal or incentive”.
Koontz and O’ Donnell: “Motivation is a general term applying to the
entire class of drives, needs, wishes and similar forces.”
 MEANING & DEFINITION
Motivation is the process that initiates , guides and maintains goal-
oriented behaviors.
Getting glass of water to reduce thirst.
Motivation involves biological, emotional, social and cognitive force
that activate behavior.
It is the process that accounts for an individual’s intensity, direction
and persistence of efforts towards attaining goal.
The willingness to exert high level of effort to reach organizational
goals, conditioned by the effort’s ability to satisfy some individual need.
 MEANING & DEFINITION
Effort - a measure of intensity or drive
Goals – the effort should be directed towards and consistent with ,
organizational goals
Needs – motivation is a need satisfying process
Need is an internal state that makes certain outcome appear attractive
 CHARACTERISTICS OF MOTIVATION
It is a psychological concept
It affects the whole individual and not a part of him.
It is never an unending process.
Non-fulfilment of basic needs makes a man sick.
Goals are motivators
Self-concept is a unifying force.
It is different from satisfaction, inspiration and manipulation.
 THEORIES OF MOTIVATION
Content theories
Maslow’s need hierarchy theory
Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene theory
McClelland’s needs theory
Alderfer’s ERG Theory
Process theories
Vroom’s expectancy theory
Adam’s equity theory
Goal setting theory
Reinforcement theory
 MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF NEED THEORY
He hypothesized that within every human exists hierarchy of 5 needs
Physiological needs- It includes hunger, thirst, shelter etc.
Safety- Security and protection from physical harm
Social –affection, belongingness, acceptance and friendship
Esteem- internal esteem factors like self-respect, autonomy and achievement
and external esteem factors like status, recognition and attention.
Self-actualization- the drive to become what one is capable of becoming
includes growth, achieving one’s potential and self-fulfillment
MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF NEED THEORY
 MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF NEED THEORY
Maslow separated the five needs into higher and lower needs.
Physiological and safety needs as lower order.
Social, esteem and self-actualization as higher order needs.
Higher order needs are satisfied internally
Lower order needs are satisfied externally.
 TWO FACTOR THEORY
◦ Two factor theory is also called Motivation-Hygiene theory.
◦ Proposed by Frederick Herzberg, when he investigated the question, “What
do people want from their job?”.
◦ He concluded:
◦ Intrinsic factor such as advancement, recognition, responsibility and
achievement seem to be related to job satisfaction.
◦ Dissatisfied respondent tended to cite extrinsic factors such as supervision, pay
company policies and working conditions.
◦ Here opposite of satisfaction is not dissatisfaction.
◦ The opposite of Satisfaction is No Satisfaction.
◦ The opposite of Dissatisfaction is No Dissatisfaction.
TWO FACTOR THEORY
 MCCLEDLLAND’S THEORY
◦ The theory focuses on three needs
◦ Achievement
◦ Power and
◦ affiliation
◦ Need for achievement: The drive to excel, to achieve in relation to a set of
standards, to strive to succeed.
◦ They seek personal responsibility in finding solutions to the problems.
◦ They want to receive rapid feedback on their performance so they can tell easily they
are improving or not.
◦ High achievers perform best when they perceive their possibility od success as 50-50
◦ They can set moderately challenging goals. High achievers are not gamblers, they
dislike succeeding by chance.
 MCCLEDLLAND’S THEORY
◦ Need for power: They need to make others behave in a way they would not
have behaved otherwise.
◦ Individual have high in need for power enjoy being ‘in charge’
◦ Strive for influence over others
◦ Prefer to be placed into competitive and status-oriented situations.
◦ Tend to be more concerned with prestige and gaining influence over others than with
effective performance.
◦ Need for affiliations: The desire for friendly and close interpersonal relationships
◦ This need has received least attention from the researchers.
◦ Individuals with high affiliation motive strive for friendship.
◦ Prefer cooperative situations than competitive one.
MCCLEDLLAND’S THEORY
 ALDERFER’S ERG THEORY
◦ In 1969, Clayton P. Alderfer, simplified Maslow’s theory by categorizing
hierarchy of needs into three categories:
◦ Growth
◦ Relatedness
◦ Existence
◦ Alderfer’s ERG theory of motivation builds on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.
◦ It states that humans have three core types of need: Existence, Relatedness and Growth.
◦ These needs may be of different levels of priority for different individuals, and their relative
importance for an individual may vary over time.
◦ They can move upwards, and they can move downwards.
ALDERFER’S ERG THEORY
 EXPECTANCY THEORY
◦ Victor H. Vroom, developed the expectancy theory in 1964, producing a
systematic explanatory theory of workplace motivation.
◦ Expectancy Theory argues that humans act according to their conscious
expectations that a particular behavior will lead to specific desirable goals.
◦ This theory asserts that the motivation to behave in a particular way is determined
by an individual’s expectation that behavior will lead to a particular outcome,
multiplied by the preference or valence that person has for that outcome.
◦ Work hard Appraisal Bonus, Promotion
EXPECTANCY THEORY
 COMPONENTS OF EXPECTANCY THEORY
◦ Expectancy: The belief of the person that her/his effort (E) will result in attainment
of desired performance (P) goals.
◦ Instrumentality: The belief of the person that she/he will receive a reward (R) if
the performance (P) expectation is met.
◦ Valence: The value of the reward according to the person

Expectancy Instrumentality Valence Motivation

 GOAL THEORY
◦ Edwin Locke proposed Goal Theory in 1968.
◦ It proposes that motivation and performance will be high if individuals set specific
goals which are challenging, but accepted, and where feedback is given on
performance.
◦ Setting specific goals generates higher levels of performance than setting general
goals
◦ The goals that are hard to achieve are linearly and positively connected to
performance. The harder the goal, the more a person will work to reach it.
◦ Important feature of goal setting theory are as follows:
◦ Willingness to work towards attainment of goal is main source of job motivation. Clear,
particular and difficult goals are greater motivating factors than easy, general and vague
goals.
 GOAL THEORY
◦ Specific and clear goals lead to greater output and better performance. Unambiguous,
measurable and clear goals accompanied by a deadline for completion avoids
misunderstanding.
◦ Goals should be realistic and challenging . This gives an individual a feeling of pride
and triumph when he attains them , and sets him up for attainment of next goal. The
more challenging the goal, the greater is the reward generally and the more is the passion
for achieving it.
◦ Principles on which goal setting works
◦ Clarity A goal must be specific and clear
◦ Challenge An easy or tedious goal is demotivating. But keep a realistic balance: don’t
expect anyone in your team to spin straw into gold.
◦ Commitment Your employees have to understand and buy in to the goal
 ADAM’S EQUITY THEORY
◦ Developed by John Stacey Adams in 1963
◦ Equity Theory suggests that if the individual perceives that the rewards received
are equitable, that is, fair or just in comparison with those received by others in
similar positions in or outside the organization, then the individual feels satisfied.
◦ Adams asserted that employees seek to maintain equity between the inputs that
they bring to a job and the outcomes that they receive from it against the perceived
inputs and outcomes of others.
 REINFORCEMENT THEORY
◦ B.F. Skinner was best known for his groundbreaking theories on behavior. Along with
his associates, Skinner proposed the Reinforcement Theory of Motivation. It states that
behavior is a function of its consequences—an individual will repeat behavior that led to
positive consequences and avoid behavior that has had negative effects. This
phenomenon is also known as the ‘law effect’.

◦ The Reinforcement Theory ignores an individual’s internal motivations and focuses on

environmental factors instead. This is why many organizations dedicate their time and
effort to improve the workplace culture. A healthy work environment has the power to
motivate employees and boost their morale. In many ways, the Reinforcement Theory
becomes a tool for influencing individual behavior.
 WHY DO WE NEED MOTIVATION?
◦ Motivated employees increase workplace productivity and efficiency
◦ Motivated individuals are proactive and more likely to change their negative or
indifferent attitudes
◦ People who are motivated focus on growth and avoid conflicts
◦ Motivated employees are better at accepting and growing with positive change
◦ Different methods of motivation help boost morale, reducing absenteeism and turnover
rates
◦ A well-motivated workforce is committed to meeting the organization’s objectives
 TYPES OF MOTIVES
◦ Biological motives are called as physiological motives. These motives are essential for
the survival of the organism.
◦ Such motives are triggered when there is imbalancement in the body.
◦ When there is some variation in these levels the individual is motivated for restoring the
state of equilibrium.
◦ This balance is very essential for the normal life.
Biological Motives (Primary Motives)

Hunger Thirst Sex Need for

Oxygen
Regulation of Need for Need for Elimination Maternal
Body sleep avoidance of of Waste Drive
Temperature pain
 SOCIAL MOTIVES
◦ Social motives are specific only to human beings. they are learnt in social groups as a
result of interaction with the family and society. That is why their strength differs from
one individual to another.
◦ Achievement Motive: Achievement motivation refers to a desire to achieve some goal.
This motive is developed in the individual who has seen some people in the society
attaining high success, reaching high positions and standards.
◦ the high achievers choose and perform better at challenging tasks, prefers personal
responsibility, seeks and utilizes feedback about the performance standard, having
innovative ideas to improve performance.
◦ On the other hand, low achievers do not accept challenges, puts on average standards and
accepts failures easily.
 SOCIAL MOTIVES
◦ Aggressive Motive: It is a motive to react aggressively when faced frustrations.
Frustration may occur when a person is obstructed from reaching a goal or when he is
insulted by others. Even in a fearful and dangerous do or die situation the individual may
resort to aggressive behaviour. Individual expresses such behaviour to overcome
opposition forcefully, which may be physical or verbal aggression.
◦ Power Motive: People with power motive will be concerned with having an impact on
others. They try to influence people by their reputation. They expect people to bow their
heads and obey their instructions.
◦ Usually people with high power motive choose jobs, where they can exert their powers.
They want people as followers. They expect high prestige and recognition from others.
 SOCIAL MOTIVES
◦ Acquisitive Motive: This motive directs the individual for the acquisition of material
property. It may be money or other property. This motive arises as we come across
different people who have earned a lot of money and leading a good life. It is a human
tendency to acquire all those things which appear attractive to him.
◦ Curiosity Motive: Curiosity is a tendency to explore and know new things. We see
people indulge in a travelling to look at new places, new things and new developments
taking place outside their environment.
◦ People want to extend their knowledge and experiences by exploring new things.
◦ Gregariousness: It is a tendency to associate oneself with other members of the group or
same species. Individual will conform to social norms. It is developed because many of
the needs like basic needs, safety and security needs are fulfilled.
 PERSONAL MOTIVES
◦ Some other motives which are allied with both of the above said motives. These are
highly personalized and very much individualized motives.
◦ Force of habits: Once the habits are formed, they act as drivers and compel the person
to perform the act. The specialty of habits is that, they motivate the individual to indulge
in that action automatically. exercising, reading newspapers, chewing tobacco, smoking.
◦ Goals of life: Every normal individual will have some goals in the life. They may be
related to education, occupation, income, sports. Once a goal is set, he will be motivated
to fulfil that goal. The goals people set, depend upon various factors like knowledge,
information, guidance, support, personality, facilities available.
 PERSONAL MOTIVES
◦ Levels of Aspiration: Aspiration is aspiring to achieve or to get something or a goal. But
such achievement depends upon the level of motivation the individual has. The effort to
attain that goal varies from one individual to another. Higher level of aspiration is
advisable. However, it should be on par with his abilities also.
◦ Attitudes and interests: Our attitudes and interests determine our motivation. These
are specific to individual. interests differ from one individual to another. Example,
interest in sports, T.V, etc. Whenever we have a positive attitude, we will have
motivation to attain. In negative attitude, we will be motivated to avoid. If a person
is interested in music, he will be motivated to learn it. In this way, our personal
motives determine our behaviour.
 UNCONSCIOUS MOTIVATION
◦ Sigmund Freud, the famous psychologist has explained elaborately about
unconscious motivation. According to him, there are certain motives of
which we are unaware, because they operate from our unconscious.
◦ These motives or desires which are repressed by our conscious remain in
our unconscious and will be influencing our behaviour.
◦ Our irrational behaviour, the slip of tongue, slip of pen, amnesia, multiple
personality, somnambulism, etc., are some examples of such behaviours for
which we do not have answers apparently.
 LEADERSHIP
◦ Leadership is the potential to influence behaviour of others. It is also understood as the
capacity to influence a group towards the realization of a goal. Leaders are required to
develop future visions, and to motivate the members to want to achieve the vision.
◦ According to Keith Davis, “Leadership is the ability to persuade others to seek defined
objectives enthusiastically. It is the human factor which binds a group together and
motivates it towards goals.”
◦ According to George Terry, “Leadership is the activity of influencing people to strive
willingly for group objectives.”
◦ John C Maxwell defines leadership, “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way,
and shows the way.”
 CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD LEADER
◦ A good leader has a futuristic vision and knows how to turn his ideas into real-world success
stories. Some of the important leadership qualities that separate good leaders from a bad one
are:
◦ Honesty and Integrity: Honesty and integrity are two important ingredients which make a
good leader. Unquestionable integrity.
◦ Confidence: To be an effective leader, you should be confident enough to ensure that others
follow your commands. As a leader, you have to be oozing with confidence and assertiveness
to gain the respect of your subordinates. This does not mean that you should be
overconfident, but you should at least reflect the degree of confidence required to ensure that
your followers trust you as a leader.
◦ Inspire Others: Probably the most difficult job for a leader is to persuade others to follow. It
can only be possible if you inspire your followers by setting a good example. When the going
gets tough, they look up to you and see how you react to the situation. If you handle it well,
they will follow you. As a leader, you should think positively and this positive approach
should be visible through your actions.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD LEADER
◦ Stay calm under pressure and keep the motivation level up. As John Quincy Adams
puts it, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become
more, you are a leader.” If you are successful in inspiring your subordinates, you can
easily overcome any current and future challenge easily.
◦ Commitment and Passion: Your team looks up to you and if you want them to give
them their all, you will have to be passionate about it too. When your teammates see you
getting your hands dirty, they will also give their best shot. It will also help you to gain
the respect of your subordinates and infuse new energy in your team members, which
helps them to perform better.
◦ Good Communicator: Clearly communicate your vision to your team and tell them the
strategy to achieve the goal, it will be very difficult for you to get the results you want.
Simply put, if you are unable to communicate your message effectively to your team,
you can never be a good leader.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD LEADER
◦ Decision-Making Capabilities: Apart from having a futuristic vision, a leader should
have the ability to take the right decision at the right time. Decisions taken by leaders
have a profound impact on masses. A leader should think hard before taking a decision
but once the decision is taken, stand by it.
◦ Accountability: Arnold H Glasow said, “A good leader takes little more than his share
of the blame and little less than his share of the credit.” Make sure that every one of your
subordinates is accountable for what they are doing. If they do well, give them a pat on
the back but if they struggle, make them realize their mistakes and work together to
improve.
◦ Delegation and Empowerment: It is important for a leader to focus on key
responsibilities while leaving the rest to others. Empower your followers and delegating
tasks to them. If you continue to micromanage your subordinates, it will develop a lack
of trust and more importantly, you will not be able to focus on important matters, as you
should be. Delegate tasks to your subordinates and see how they perform.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD LEADER
◦ Creativity and Innovation: Steve Jobs, the greatest visionary of our time answers this
question this way, “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” In order
to get ahead in today’s fast-paced world, a leader must be creative and innovative at the
same time. Creative thinking and constant innovation is what makes you and your team
stand out from the crowd. Think out of the box to come up with unique ideas and turn
those ideas and goals into reality.
◦ Empathy: Leaders should develop empathy towards their followers. Unfortunately, most
leaders follow a dictatorial style and neglect empathy altogether. Due to this, they fail to
have a close connection with their followers. Understanding the problems of your
followers and feeling their pain is the first step to become an effective leader.
LEWIN’S LEADERSHIP STYLES
 LEWIN’S LEADERSHIP STYLES
◦ A leadership style refers to a leader's characteristic behaviors when directing, motivating,
guiding, and managing groups of people. Great leaders can inspire political movements
and social change. They can also motivate others to perform, create, and innovate.
◦ As you start to consider some of the people who you think of as great leaders, you can
immediately see that there are often vast differences in how each person leads.
◦ Fortunately, researchers have developed different theories and frameworks that allow us
to better identify and understand these different leadership styles. Here are just a few of
the most prominent leadership frameworks and styles that have been identified.
◦ In 1939, a group of researchers led by psychologist Kurt Lewin set out to identify
different styles of leadership.
 LEWIN’S LEADERSHIP STYLES
◦ this early study was very influential and established three major leadership styles that
have provided a springboard for more defined leadership theories.
◦ In Lewin's study, schoolchildren were assigned one of three groups with an authoritarian,
democratic, or laissez-faire leader.
◦ The children were then led in an arts and crafts project while researchers observed the
behavior of children in response to the different styles of leadership.
◦ The researchers found that democratic leadership was the most effective style in
inspiring the children to perform well.
 AUTHORITARIAN LEADERSHIP
◦ Authoritarian leaders, also known as autocratic leaders, provide clear expectations for
what needs to be done, when it should be done, and how it should be done.
◦ This style of leadership is strongly focused on both command by the leader and control
of the followers. There is also a clear division between the leader and the members.
◦ Authoritarian leaders make decisions independently with little or no input from the rest
of the group.
◦ Researchers found that decision-making was less creative under authoritarian leadership.
Lewin also concluded that it is more difficult to move from an authoritarian style to a
democratic style than vice versa.
 AUTHORITARIAN LEADERSHIP
◦ This method is usually viewed as controlling, bossy, and dictatorial.
◦ Authoritarian leadership is best applied to situations where there is little time for group
decision-making or where the leader is the most knowledgeable member of the group.
◦ The autocratic approach can be a good one when the situation calls for rapid decisions
and decisive actions.
◦ However, it tends to create dysfunctional and even hostile environments, often pitting
followers against the domineering leader.
 PARTICIPATIVE LEADERSHIP
◦ Lewin’s study found that participative leadership, also known as democratic leadership,
is typically the most effective leadership style.
◦ Democratic leaders offer guidance to group members, but they also participate in the
group and allow input from other group members.
◦ In Lewin’s study, children in this group were less productive than the members of the
authoritarian group, but their contributions were of a higher quality.
◦ Participative leaders encourage group members to participate but retain the final say in
the decision-making process. Group members feel engaged in the process and are more
motivated and creative.
◦ Democratic leaders tend to make followers feel like they are an important part of the
team, which helps foster commitment to the goals of the group.
 DELIGATIVE LEADERSHIP
◦ Researchers found that children under delegative leadership, also known as laissez-faire
leadership, were the least productive of all three groups.
◦ The children in this group also made more demands on the leader, showed little
cooperation, and were unable to work independently.
◦ Delegative leaders offer little or no guidance to group members and leave decision-
making up to group members.
◦ While this style can be useful in situations involving highly qualified experts, it often
leads to poorly defined roles and a lack of motivation.
◦ Lewin noted that laissez-faire leadership resulted in groups that lacked direction where
members blamed each other for mistakes, refused to accept personal responsibility, and
produced a lack of progress and work.
 TRAIT THEORY OF LEADERSHIP
◦ The trait theory of leadership is an early assumption that leaders are born and due to
this belief, those that possess the correct qualities and traits are better suited to
leadership. This theory often identifies behavioural characteristics that are common in
leaders.
◦ Trait theory of leadership is one of the first academic theories of leadership and
attempts to answer why some people are good leaders and others are not. This line of
research emerged as one of the earliest types of investigations into the nature of
effective leadership and is tied to the "great man" theory of leadership first proposed by
Thomas Carlyle in the mid-1800s. Thomas Carlyle used such understanding to identify
the talents, skills and characteristics of men who rose to power.
◦ The trait theory of leadership is based on the characteristics of many leaders – both
successful and unsuccessful – and is used to predict leadership effectiveness. The
resulting lists of traits are then compared to those of potential leaders to assess their
likelihood of success or failure. Once found, the theory is that these natural leaders can
then be nurtured to become great leaders.
 TRAIT THEORY OF LEADERSHIP
◦ Key Characteristics of leadership traits are:
◦• Knowledge of the business
◦• Initiative
◦• Tenacity
◦• Energy
◦• Good cognitive skills and capable of using good judgement and decisions
◦• Flexibility
◦• Creativity
◦• Charisma
◦• Emotional intelligence
◦• Drive and motivation to succeed
◦• Confidence
 TRAIT THEORY OF LEADERSHIP
◦ Traditionally, the most ardent versions of trait theory see these “leadership
characteristics” as innate, and as such, some people are seen to be ‘born leaders’, due to
their psychological makeup. Proponents of this theory believe that leadership
development consists of identifying and measuring leadership qualities, screening
potential leaders from non-leaders, and then training those with potential.
◦ In fact, modern thinking suggests that the above traits are little more than characteristics,
which although some people can possess them naturally, can be learned, and built into
one’s behaviours and thinking, thus affecting their leadership potential.
◦ In tandem with modern day thinking, leadership is seen as a skill to be mastered and
therefore, the above characteristics can all be sharpened. As a result, it is wise to first
understand these ‘traits’ and then develop areas of weakness, in order to become a great
leader yourself. The trait theory of leadership focuses on identifying different personality
traits and characteristics that are linked to successful leadership across a variety of
situations.
 TRAIT THEORY OF LEADERSHIP
◦ Thomas Carlyle and the trait theory of Leadership
◦ According to Carlyle, history is shaped by extraordinary leaders. This ability to lead is
something that people are simply born with, Carlyle believed, and not something that
could be developed. Carlyle's ideas inspired early research on leadership, which almost
entirely focused on inheritable traits.
◦ Some of the implications of the trait theory of leadership are that:
◦• Certain traits produce certain patterns of behavior
◦• These patterns are consistent across different situations
◦• People are born with these leadership traits
◦• Controversy Over Leadership Traits
◦
 TRAIT THEORY OF LEADERSHIP
◦ Early studies on leadership focused on the differences between leaders and followers
with the assumption that people in leadership positions would display more leadership
traits than those in subordinate positions. What researchers found, however, was that
there were relatively few traits that could be used to distinguish between leaders and
followers.
◦ For example, leaders tended to be higher in traits such as extroversion, self-confidence,
and height, but these differences tended to be small.
◦ There are some obvious problems with the trait approach to leadership. Since advocates
of this theory suggested that certain traits were linked to strong leadership, why doesn't
every person who exhibits these supposed “leadership traits” become a great leader?
What about great leaders who don't possess the traits typically linked to leadership?
What about the role of situational variables or characteristics of the group?
 RESEARCH POINTS TO CERTAIN LEADERSHIP TRAITS
◦ One recent group of studies was done regarding what employees prioritize in their leaders.
Although intelligence and trustworthiness were consistently desired, the traits the
employees desired in their leaders were dependent on the level of leadership they had. They
wanted more interpersonal traits such as compassion and agreeableness in their lower-level
supervisors and more dominant traits such as ambition and assertiveness in their higher-
level supervisors.
◦ Some of the traits most commonly associated with great leadership include the following.
◦ Intelligence and Action-Oriented Judgment: Great leaders and smart and make choices
that move the group forward.
◦ Eagerness to Accept Responsibility: Strong leaders take on responsibility and don't pass
the blame on to others. They stand by their success and take ownership of their mistakes.
◦ Task Competence: A great leader is skilled and capable. Members of the group are able to
look to the leader for an example of how things should be done.
 RESEARCH POINTS TO CERTAIN LEADERSHIP TRAITS
◦ 4. Understanding Followers and Their Needs: Effective leaders pay attention to group
members and genuinely care about helping them succeed. They want each person in the
group to succeed and play a role in moving the entire group forward.
◦ 5. People Skills: Excellent interpersonal skills are essential for leading effectively. Great
leaders know how to interact well with other leaders as well as with team members.
◦ 6. Need for Achievement: Strong leaders have a need to succeed and help the group
achieve their goals. They genuinely care about the success of the group and are
committed to helping the group reach these milestones.
◦ 7. Capacity to Motivate People: A great leader knows how to inspire others and
motivate them to do their best.
◦ 8. Courage and Resolution: The best leaders are brave and committed to the goals of the
group. They do not hide from challenges.
◦ 9. Perseverance: Strong leaders stick with it, even when things get difficult or the group
faces significant obstacles.
 RESEARCH POINTS TO CERTAIN LEADERSHIP TRAITS
◦ 10. Trustworthiness: Group members need to be able to depend upon and trust the person
leading them.
◦ 11. Decisiveness: A great leader is capable of making a decision and is confident in his or
her choices.
◦ 12. Self-Confidence: Many of the best leaders are extremely self-assured. Because they are
confident in themselves, followers often begin to share this self-belief.
◦ 13. Assertiveness: A great leader is able to be direct and assertive without coming off as
overly pushy or aggressive.
◦ 14. Adaptability and Flexibility: Effective leaders don't get stuck in a rut. They are able to
think outside of the box and adapt quickly to changing situations.
◦ 15. Emotional Stability: In addition to being dependable overall, strong leaders are able to
control their emotions and avoid overreactions.
◦ 16. Creativity: Perhaps most importantly, great leaders not only possess their own
creativity, they are also able to foster creativity among members of the group.
 RESEARCH POINTS TO CERTAIN LEADERSHIP TRAITS
◦ 10. Trustworthiness: Group members need to be able to depend upon and trust the person
leading them.
◦ 11. Decisiveness: A great leader is capable of making a decision and is confident in his or
her choices.
◦ 12. Self-Confidence: Many of the best leaders are extremely self-assured. Because they are
confident in themselves, followers often begin to share this self-belief.
◦ 13. Assertiveness: A great leader is able to be direct and assertive without coming off as
overly pushy or aggressive.
◦ 14. Adaptability and Flexibility: Effective leaders don't get stuck in a rut. They are able to
think outside of the box and adapt quickly to changing situations.
◦ 15. Emotional Stability: In addition to being dependable overall, strong leaders are able to
control their emotions and avoid overreactions.
◦ 16. Creativity: Perhaps most importantly, great leaders not only possess their own
creativity, they are also able to foster creativity among members of the group.
 RESEARCH POINTS TO CERTAIN LEADERSHIP TRAITS
◦ No Universal List of Traits Exists
◦ More recently, many researchers have focused on a contingency approach to leadership
which postulates that people who possess certain traits can be more effective in some
leadership situations and less so in others. While research has suggested that certain traits
can sometimes be associated with strong leadership, it also shows that no universal list
has emerged that identifies the traits that all great leaders possess or that will guarantee
leadership success in all situations.
◦ While these traits are often linked to effective leadership, it is important to note that few
leaders possess all of these traits. Generally, a strong leader will have many of these
qualities, but aspects of the situation also play an important role in determining if people
are able to lead well. In many cases, it is the interaction between these traits and the
situation that determines leadership quality.
 RESEARCH POINTS TO CERTAIN LEADERSHIP TRAITS
◦ Strengths/Advantages of Trait Theory
◦ It is naturally a pleasing theory.
◦ It is valid as lot of research has validated the foundation and basis of the theory.
◦ It serves as a yardstick against which the leadership traits of an individual can be
assessed.
◦ It gives a detailed knowledge and understanding of the leader element in the leadership
process.
 RESEARCH POINTS TO CERTAIN LEADERSHIP TRAITS
◦ Limitations of the Trait Theory
◦ There is bound to be some subjective judgment in determining who is regarded as a
‘good’ or ‘successful’ leader
◦ The list of possible traits tends to be very long. More than 100 different traits of
successful leaders in various leadership positions have been identified. These
descriptions are simply generalities.
◦ There is also a disagreement over which traits are the most important for an effective
leader
◦ The model attempts to relate physical traits such as, height and weight, to effective
leadership. Most of these factors relate to situational factors. For example, a minimum
weight and height might be necessary to perform the tasks efficiently in a military
leadership position. Physical attributes are not important to be an effective leader.
◦ The theory is very complex.