The leader must understand that for many followers, the expenditure of effort on the part of the follower leads to satisfaction on the job (Isaac et al.).
While the debate over nature vs. nurture continues as it applies to leadership, it is clear that although not everyone can be a charismatic leader that possesses the natural attributes to engender this level of motivation and commitment among their subordinates, it is possible to develop those management skills that can help motivate others to superior performance in a sustainable fashion. According to Rogoff, Lee and Suh (2004), "Discovering which factors or practices lead to business success and which lead to failure is a primary, and as yet unfulfilled, purpose of business research" (p. 364). To help address this deficiency, these researchers conducted a mail survey of 189 pharmacy owners in the state of New Jersey to identify those characteristics that these individuals deemed most important to contributing to the success of their operations. The survey determined that an overwhelming majority (91%) of the pharmacy owners considered hard work ethics, dedication, knowledge and a commitment to professional service as being key to their success (Rogoff et al.). Other factors cited by these authors as being important to pharmacy managers were human resource issues such as the ability to hire qualified and hard-working people that were honest and possessed the appropriate level of professional knowledge (Rogoff et al.).
Conclusion
The research showed that successful management through effective motivation practices can make or break a company. While everyone setting is different,...
Other factors that were shown to contribute to employee motivation were the personal attributes of the leader with those viewed as hard-working and ethical being regarded as particularly effective at motivating others. In the final analysis, it would seem reasonable to conclude that everyone wants different things in the workplace, but everyone can be motivated to superior performance given the appropriate mix of management techniques.
References
Byham, W.C. (2002). 14 leadership traps: Why many CEOs don't have the leadership bench strength they need. T&D, 56(3), 56.
Isaac, R.G., Zerbe, W.J. & Pitt, D.C. (2001). Leadership and motivation: The effective application of expectancy theory. Journal of Managerial Issues, 13(2), 212.
Maddock, R.C. & Fulton, R.L. (1998). Motivation, emotions, and leadership: The silent side of management. Westport, CT: Quorum Books.
Rogoff, E.G., Lee, M.S. & Suh, D.C. (2004). Who done it? Attributions by entrepreneurs and experts of the factors that cause and impede small business success. Journal of Small Business Management, 42(4), 364.
Zauderer, D.G. (2005). Leading with character: What can we learn from a recent federal government human capital survey that found that many employees hold their leaders in low regard and feel they do not generate high levels of motivation and commitment? The Public Manager, 34(1), 44.
