Motivation Theories: 1. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Motivation Theories
Motivation is a state-of-mind, filled with energy and enthusiasm, which drives a person to
work in a certain way to achieve desired goals. Motivation is a force which pushes a person
to work with high level of commitment and focus even if things are against him. Motivation
translates into a certain kind of human behaviour.
It is important to ensure that every team member in an organization is motivated. Various

psychologists have studied human behaviour and have formalized their findings in the form
various motivation theories. These motivation theories provide great understanding on how
people behave and what motivates them.
Motivation is a huge field of study. There are many theories of motivation. Some of the
famous motivation theories include the following:
1. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
Abraham Maslow
postulated that a
person will be
motivated when his
needs are fulfilled. The
need starts from the
lowest level basic
needs and keeps
moving up as a lower
level need is fulfilled.
Below is the hierarchy of
needs:
 Physiological:
Physical
survival necessities such as food, water, and shelter.
 Safety: Protection from threats, deprivation, and other dangers.
 Social (belongingness and love): The need for association, affiliation, friendship, and
so on.
 Self-esteem: The need for respect and recognition.
 Self-actualization: The opportunity for personal development, learning, and
fun/creative/challenging work. Self-actualization is the highest level need to which a
human being can aspire.

The leader will have to understand the specific need of every individual in the team and
accordingly work to help fulfil their needs.
2. Hertzberg’s two factor theory
Hertzberg classified
the needs into two
broad categories
namely hygiene factors
and motivating factors.
Hygiene factors are

needed to make sure
that an employee is not
dissatisfied. Motivation
factors are needed for
ensuring employee's
satisfaction and
employee’s motivation
for higher
performance. Mere
presence of hygiene
factors does not
guarantee motivation,
and presence of motivation factors in the absence of hygiene factors also does not work.
3. McClelland’s theory of needs

McClelland affirms that we all have three motivating drivers, and it does not depend on our
gender or age. One of these drives will be dominant in our behaviour. The dominant drive
depends on our life experiences.
The three motivators are:
 Achievement: a need to accomplish and demonstrate own competence People with a

high need for achievement prefer tasks that provide for personal responsibility and
results based on their own efforts. They also prefer quick acknowledgement of their
progress.
 Affiliation: a need for love, belonging and social acceptance People with a high need
for affiliation are motivated by being liked and accepted by others. They tend to
participate in social gatherings and may be uncomfortable with conflict.
 Power: a need for control own work or the work of others People with a high need for
power desire situations in which they exercise power and influence over others. They
aspire for positions with status and authority and tend to be more concerned about
their level of influence than about effective work performance.
4. Vroom’s theory of expectancy
Victor Vroom stated that people will be highly productive and motivated if two conditions
are met: 1) people believe it is likely that their efforts will lead to successful results and 2)
those people also believe they will be rewarded for their success.
People will be motivated to exert a high level of effort when they believe there are
relationships between the efforts they put forth, the performance they achieve, and the
outcomes/ rewards they receive.
5. McGregor’s theory X and theory Y
Douglas McGregor formulated two distinct views of human being based on participation of
workers. The first is basically negative, labelled as Theory X, and the other is basically
positive, labelled as Theory Y. Both kinds of people exist. Based on their nature they need to
be managed accordingly.
 Theory X: The traditional view of the work force holds that workers are inherently
lazy, self-centred, and lacking ambition. Therefore, an appropriate management style
is strong, top-down control.
 Theory Y: This view postulates that workers are inherently motivated and eager to
accept responsibility. An appropriate management style is to focus on creating a
productive work environment coupled with positive rewards and reinforcement.
Conclusion
Motivation is the state of mind which pushes all human being to perform things with the
highest spirit and with positivity. The leader will have to ensure that every individual in the
team and the organization is motivated. The various motivation theories helps in
understanding what will motivate people.
Role of Motivation Theories in Leadership
As a business manager, your role is to guide and motivate employees into getting the job
done. Therefore, leadership and motivation go hand in hand. Over the years, researchers
have developed a number of leadership and motivational theories, which managers can
employ to fit a situation.
Significance
Without leadership, employees are lost, resulting in a chaotic work environment. Without
motivation, employees fail to perform to the best of their ability. If used effectively,
leadership and motivational theories enable you to lead employees and the company toward
success. You achieve this by understanding the key elements of basic leadership and
motivational theories and applying them accordingly.
Leadership Elements
Leadership theories are separated into four main groups: behavioral, trait, contingency, and
power and influence. Under behavioral theory, autocratic leaders make decisions without
consulting anyone else, democratic leaders consider the teams’ input when making
decisions, and laissez-faire leaders practice noninterference, allowing the team to make
many of the decisions. Under contingency theory, the situation dictates the leadership style
that is used. The argument is that one leadership style doesn’t dictate the type of leadership
that should be applied, but rather the situation itself does. Under trait theory, leaders have
certain common attributes that they share and the style of leadership emerges from these
characteristics. Power and influence theory is based on power and influence tactics leaders
use to get things done.
Motivational Elements
Famous psychologist Abraham Maslow's motivational theory has helped managers to

conceive employee motivation. The theory includes Maslow's hierarchy of needs, which
breaks down basic human needs into five categories: physiological, safety, social, self-
esteem and self-actualization. As a manager, helping an employee to fulfill those needs
motivates him into becoming a better worker. Physiological needs are those required to
survive physically, such as food and water. Safety needs instill security, such as a home or
a comfortable routine. Social needs concern the desire to belong and form meaningful
relationships. Self-esteem needs are developed based on confidence and sense of
achievement. Once the individual has obtained those four needs, he develops self-
actualization, which requires him to find himself. By taking a sincere interest in your
employees, recognizing their basic needs and taking steps to meet them, you inspire and
motivate employees.
Application
In more recent years, researchers have developed the transformational leadership theory,
which is appropriate in most corporate situations. Under this theory, leaders guide with
meaning, values and a higher purpose. Specifically, it requires you to have integrity, set a
positive example, encourage, support, inspire, apply effective communication, provide
stimulating assignments, give credit where and when its due, expect the best from workers,
set realistic goals and help employees focus on team interests rather than individual needs.
To motivate employees, combine effective leadership with satisfying employee needs,
treating workers fairly, rewarding jobs based on performance and applying effective
discipline

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Motivation Theories

It is important to ensure that every team member in an organization is motivated. Various

1. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

2. Hertzberg’s two factor theory

Hygiene factors are

3. McClelland’s theory of needs

The three motivators are:

 Achievement: a need to accomplish and demonstrate own competence People with a

4. Vroom’s theory of expectancy

5. McGregor’s theory X and theory Y

Role of Motivation Theories in Leadership

Famous psychologist Abraham Maslow's motivational theory has helped managers to

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