Leadership and Motivation

Leadership

“A leader is a dealer in hope” is a famous quote by Napoleon Bonaparte. When we hear the word 'leader', the images that flashes through our minds are of Mahatma Gandhi, Abraham Lincon, Martin Luthar King, Nelson Mandela etc. Although managers are seldom called on to be leaders in the heroic mold of a Gandhi or a Mandela, their leadership abilities and skills play a major role in their organisation's success or failure.

Wikipedia defines leadership as “a process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task”. Simply put, leadership is the process of directing and influencing the activities of people.

Motivation 

Organisational goals are unattainable without the enduring commitment of members of the organisation. Motivation contributes to a person's degree of commitment. Wikipedia defines motivation as “the psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal and elicits, controls, and sustains certain goal directed behaviors”. In simple words, motivation is a set of factors that cause, channel and sustain an individual's behaviour. 

Difference between Leadership and Motivation

Leadership and motivation are synonymous with each other and are used interchangeably. But we must know that there is a fine line distinguishing the two. These are two inter-related but distinct traits that can or cannot be possessed by a single individual. Leaders aim at achieving work excellence for each task while motivation aims at achieving personal excellence for each group member. Both work in unison to achieve overall organisational excellence.

Leadership Theories

• Trait theory
• Attribute pattern approach
• Behavioral and style theories
• Situational and contingency theories
• Functional theory
• Integrated psychological theory
• Transactional and transformational theories
• Emotions
• Neo-emergent theory

Motivation Theories

• Incentive theory
• Escape-seeking dichotomy mode
• Cognitive dissonance theory
• Need hierarchy theory
• Herzberg's two-factor theory
• Alderfer's ERG theory
• Self-determination theory
• Goal-setting theory
• Models of behavior change
• Unconscious motivation
• Intrinsic motivation and the 16 basic desires theory

Leaders Vs Followers

When leaders make a mistake, they say, "I was wrong." When followers make mistakes, they say, "It wasn't my fault." A leader works harder than a follower and has more time; a follower is always "too busy" to do what is necessary. A leader goes through a problem; a follower goes around it and never gets past it. A leader makes and keeps commitments; a follower makes and forgets promises. A leader says, "I'm good, but not as good as I ought to be;" a follower says, "I'm not as bad as a lot of other people." Leaders listen; followers just wait until it's their turn to talk. Leaders respect those who are superior to them and try to learn something from them; followers resent those who are superior to them and try to find chinks in their armor. Leaders feel responsible for more than their job; followers say, "I only work here." A leader says, "There ought to be a better way to do this;" followers say, "That's the way it's always been done here."

My Learnings

Managers are people who do things right, while leaders are people who do the right thing. Motivation is what makes people go to work every morning, it is what makes people seek out guidance and it is why people persist until they accomplish what they have set out to do. A leader who is not motivated himself, cannot motivate others. A leader must first be motivated from within in order to inspire others to action.

Kiran

Roll No. 76

IM 19, Section B