LEADERSHIP & MOTIVATION

Effect of Leadership on Motivation of Employees

Effect of Leadership on Motivation of Employees

Introduction

Although people usually know exactly what leadership is and the things required to become effective leaders, there is confusion as to the factors that affect motivation. Some people believe that motivation is the method used in order to make people to work; others believe that motivation is the things that make people to work on their own without much supervision. These forces include money, improved working conditions and fringe benefits. Some believe that it is something related only to management. Although there are several views about leadership and its impact on motivation, people still do not know exactly how leadership has an impact on motivation. There are several types of leaders and each of them should know how to motivate their employees. The problem faced by most leaders is that they treat every employee in the same manner. However, since every employee is motivated differently, they need to be treated differently so that they are motivated to work (Shao, Resick & Schaubroeck, 2011, p. 1-6).

Leadership style is high debated topic in management since it can greatly influence managers and employees. Although all leadership styles have their own advantages, it is thought that cooperative leaders are able to motivate employees more compared to authoritative leaders. However, this varies from organization to organization and requires plenty of trials in order to determine the best approach for the organization.

Discussion

It is better to first understand leadership before understanding motivation. According to Peter Drucker, Leadership is about ensuring that effort is not placed in unproductive areas (Riggio, 2009). According to this view, leadership is about mobilizing resources in a way that would bring in maximum efficiency so that the goals could be achieved. In order to achieve goals, they first need to be set and prioritised. A good leader not only sets goals but also prioritises them in order to achieve the organizational goals (Riggio, 2009). However, this view can be altered since supervisors do not often know which of their tasks is important to achieve the organizational goals and which ones are not important. The reason is that since tasks are interrelated, it becomes all the more difficult isolating them from the remaining tasks. Leadership also requires managers to learn from their mistakes so that they are not repeated.

Leaders also need to identify their role and ask the members of his team to define the role of their organization and the work they are doing because it is only when a person know what he is doing that he can achieve his goal as well as that of the organization. A successful team should know its role as well as the strategies. Without knowing what it has to do, no team can achieve success and help the organization achieve its goals.

This depicts leaders as team players unlike powerful executives that make decisions that affect the entire organization. The task of managing employees is much more complicated since it involves making decisions ...