Leaders and Followers: The Role of Achievement Motives and Their Effects on Motivating...

8/12/2019 Leaders and Followers: The Role of Achievement Motives and Their Effects on Motivating Strategies for Enhancing

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TITLE: Leaders and Followers: The Role of Achievement Motives and Their

Effects on Motivating Strategies for Enhancing Performance

AUTHRS: Patricia Ann !astelli" Ph#$#

Lawrence Technological Universit%" USA

Fran& !astronova" Ph#$#


'ac()eline Stavros" E$M


'ane *allowa% Seiling" Ph#$#

Taos Instit)te" USA

A+STRA!T: Recognizing achievement motive disposition is important for leaders in

understanding what motivates their followers. Incorporating motivatingstrategies into this process with the goal of enhancing performance, however,

has not been sufficiently addressed in the literature. This study provided an

analysis of low and high self-attributed need for achievement and their effectson the motivation needs of followers. The findings provide recommendations

on how leaders can increase followers interest and effort to enhance

performance.

,E-.R$S: Achievement motive" leaders" followers" motivating strategies" motivation"/erformance

T-PE F

PAPER: 'o)rnal Article

LEA$

!0TA!T: Patricia !astelli" Ph#$#

Associate rofessor !utcomes Assessment "oordinator

"ollege of #anagement

$awrence Technological %niversity &'((( )est Ten #ile Road

*outhfield, #I +(-'(

&+.&(+./(00

castelli1ltu.edu

"astelli et al. 2 #otivating 3ollowers '
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


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LEA$ERS A0$ FLL.ERS: THE RLE F A!HIE1EME0T MTI1ES A0$

THEIR EFFE!TS 0 MTI1ATI0* STRATE*IES FR E0HA0!I0*

PERFRMA0!E

Abstract4

Recognizing achievement motive disposition is important for leaders in understanding

what motivates their followers. Incorporating motivating strategies into this process with the

goal of enhancing performance, however, has not been sufficiently addressed in the literature.

This study provided an analysis of low and high self-attributed need for achievement and their

effects on the motivation needs of followers. The findings provide recommendations on how

leaders can increase followers interest and effort to enhance performance.

"astelli et al. 2 #otivating 3ollowers &


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Acknowledgement:We thank Dr. Roy Bohlin and Dr. John Keller for permitting the use and

modification of their Course Interest and Course Effort Surey instruments.

*timulated by the 5awthorne studies 6Roethlisberger 7 8ic9son, ':/:;, wor9 motivation

has been a focus of researchers since the ':/(s. Researchers have ta9en various approaches

from loo9ing at congruence between individuals needs and organizational demands

6Argyris, ':;< sources of wor9 satisfaction 6wor9 design and psychological processes;pectancy model< #c"lelland 7 )inters 6':0:; personality-based approach to

motivation< #aslow 6':(; and his hierarchy of needs 6motives;?which is the easiest to

remember< and others. @et with all this research, $evinson 6&((0; suggests there is still a

crisis in motivation.B 5e as9ed e>ecutives what the dominant philosophy of motivation is

for American management. Their response was the typical carrot-and-stic9 philosophy,

reward and punishment?and, they added, it is not wor9ing anymore.

#otivational systems are at the center of behavioral organization 6Cmmons

':::< *teers, #owday 7 *hapiro, &((+< *chein, ':(< and Dnopf, ':0;. Cmmons states,

Eehavior is a discrepancy-reduction process, whereby individuals act to minimize the

discrepancy between their present condition and a desired standard or goalB 6':::, p. &;. If we

loo9 at this from the standpoint of how leaders can motivate their followers to enhance their

performance, participation in any organization involves e>ercising choice< a person chooses

among alternatives, responding to the motivation to perform or ignore what is offered. This

suggests that a followers consideration of personal interests and the desire to e>pand 9nowledge

and s9ill has significant motivational impact, reFuiring the leader to consider motivating

strategies to enhance performance.

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As noted above, there are many competingB theories of motivation which are offered as

e>plaining the behavior of people in organizations 6*chein, ':(;. The diversity of these theories

brought $oc9e and $atham 6&((+; to recommend that the theory of motivation must be studied

from new perspectives. Eecause the topic of employee motivation plays a central role in the

field of management 6*teers et al., &((+;, attention must be paid to the prospect of motivation as

it moves into the &'stcentury. The Fuestion must be as9ed, according to *teers et al, how can

we e>tend or modify current models of wor9 motivation so they continue to be relevant in the

futureGB 6p. /:;.

In response to this Fuestion, this writing will discuss achievement motive disposition as

important for leaders in gaining an understanding of what motivates their followers. 3irst, we

will review how motivation has been defined and used in organizational settings. He>t, we

discuss the differences between low and high self-attributed needs for achievement and

measurements. Third, we focus on both self-attributed and implicit motives to help leaders

understand how they can best motivate their employees and bring it into action to align with

organizational values, vision, mission, goals and obectives. 3ourth, we present motivating

strategies from the literature and a new application of the AR"* model as it pertains to an

individuals low or high self-attributed need for achievement. 3ifth, we present

recommendations for leaders aimed at increasing followers interest and effort, to enhance their

performance.

.HAT IS MTI1ATI02

*teers et al. noted various definitions by writers who have attempted to define the term

motiation, a term that is derived from the $atin word for movement 6movere;. They note that

At9inson offers the definition as the contemporary 6immediate; influence on direction, vigor,

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and persistence of actionB 6':0+, p. &; and =room offers a process governing choice made by

persons...among alternative forms of voluntary activity4 6':0+, p.0;. According to #addoc9 and

3ulton, #otivation, surprisingly enough, has not been defined in a scientifically acceptable,

reasonable and legitimate manner. It has not even been defined in a practical, commonsense or

useful manner.B According to these authors, leadership is defined in one word4 motiation.B

They suggest that motivation has not been adeFuately defined because it is too near to emotion

and no one wants to flirt with emotionB 6'::, p. >ii;. Their suggestion that motivation is the

silent side of leadershipB is pertinent to the tendency of researchers to describe motivation, but

not to e>plain it. To prepare future leaders to motivate people they must understand how one is

motivated.

In the ':&(s psychologists Thorndi9e, )oodworth, and 5uss moved theorists toward the

concept of learning in motivated behavior suggesting that past actions that lead to positive

outcomes would tend to be repeated. Taylor, an industrial engineer, and his associates focused on

the inefficiencies of factory production proposing a paternalistic approach to management. *ocial

influences on behavior began to emerge in the ':/(s. Jroup dynamics then emerged 6e.g.,

#ayo, '://< Roethlisberger and 8ic9son, ':/:< Eendi>, ':0; as significant to the motivation of

the individual in the group. Ctzioni 6':0'; offer three types of involvement of organization

members which impact motivation4 6'; alienatie6not being psychologically involved and forced

to be a member of the group;< 6&; calculatie6involvement to the e>tent of going a fair days

wor9 for a fair days pay


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*ince this time, numerous studies have been conducted under various achievement-

related testing situations with similar results. %nder normal testing conditions, individuals with

high self-attributed need for achievement did not perform better on a laboratory tas9 than low

need achievers. 5owever, when an e>ternal demand for achievement was added, high need

achievers did perform better than low need achievers 6see At9inson 7 $itwin, ':0(< Doestner,

)einberger 7 #c"lelland, '::'< atten 7 )hite, ':< #c"lelland ':a< #eyer, ':/cellence

and that, furthermore, satisfaction is derived from doing the ob well rather than from the

enoyment of the end product. Their motives are said to be implicit and primarily aroused by

factors intrinsic to the process of performing an activity. Thomas 6&((&; states that rewards

come from tas9 purposes, namely meaningfulness and progress. The implication4 leaders in

organizations would motivate individuals by assigning challenging tas9s that stretch their

9nowledge and s9ills.

Ey contrast, according to #c"lelland, social-e>trinsic individuals seem to have the goal

of attaining approval from others rather than satisfying internal standards. Their motives tend to

be highly self-attributed and are aroused by social factors that are e>trinsic to the process of

performing an activity. The inference here in the wor9place is for leaders to provide e>ternal

stimuli by way of social incentives related to success. Cncouragement, ongoing feedbac9, and

praise often motivate these types of individuals. These incentives and motive types are often not

considered by leaders for improving followers performance.

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"urrently, there is little research available which addresses the relationship between

achievement orientation and specific motivating strategies to enhance performance. Cven so,

there is a logical implication that effort and performance can be enhanced when these aspects are

ta9en into account. Ey understanding the differences in motivational systems, leaders may be

able to provide incentives and apply various motivating strategies while satisfying both

achievement orientations. This would seem a sensible approach when e>amining performance in

real world settings.

A!HIE1EME0T 0EE$S A0$ MEASUREME0T

*ince the (s, numerous studies e>amined the relationship between implicit and self-

report measures of achievement motive. Researchers concluded that not only were self-report

and implicit measures of achievement motive uncorrelated, but they possessed very different

behavioral relationships 6de"harms, #orrison, Reitman, 7 #c"lelland, ':< 5ec9hausen,

':(< Dreitler 7 Dreitler, ':0< Dorman, ':+< $owell, ':&;. They found that implicit needs

are primarily aroused by factorsintrinsicto the process of performing an activity. *elf-attributed

needs are aroused by social factors that aree!trinsicto the process of performing an activity.

These two different, independent systems of motivation differ in the way they energize, select,

and direct behavior. Table ' contrasts the two forms of motive based on research from the

literature.

--Insert Table ' here?

Doestner, )einberger 7 #c"lelland 6'::'; designed a research study to e>amine

possible relationships between motives and incentives. They sought to determine the manner in

which the two types of motives 6implicit and self-attributed; combine with two 9inds of

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situational factors 6tas9-intrinsic and social-e>trinsic; to affect performance. The results support

the hypothesis that e>trinsic social factors in a performance situation are li9ely to combine with a

persons self-attributed achievement motive to influence performance, whereas tas9-intrinsic

factors, such as level of challenge, influence performance in conunction with a persons implicit

need to achieve. Thus, when a memory tas9 was introduced with an e>plicit emphasis on

achievement, subects high in self-attributed need for achievement performed better than those

who were low. !n the other hand, in a neutral condition the reverse pattern was obtained.

Importantly, it was shown that the implicit need for achievement did not interact with the social

incentives regarding achievement to facilitate performance. These findings support earlier

claims in research literature 6atten and )hite, ':< Eiernat, '::;.

Doestner et al. 6'::'; conclude that these results suggest people scoring high in the self-

attributed motives are more li9ely to selectively remember information relevant to their view of

themselves. This implies that individuals who attribute high achievement motivation to

themselves are vulnerable to performing Fuite poorly unless some other motivational factor,

either in the form of e>ternal incentives or strong implicit motive, is also present. This research

suggests that the challenge for leaders is to devise a systematic approach to coaching that

considers both high and low achievement characteristic needs. In order to do this, leaders must

understand the nature of self-attributed and implicit motives.

SELF3ATTRI+UTE$ A0$ IMPLI!IT MTI1ES

In the past thirty years, researchers have focused more on information processing and the

way in which motivational thoughts are converted into action 6e.g., Anderson 7 Jlassman, '::0plicit desires to

achieve, it is not as obvious to a low need achiever when a goal is not being met. In describing

how an implicit motive functions, it is not appropriate to spea9 of wishing, wanting, and

committing oneself to the goal that is recognized as the natural incentive for that motive

6#c"lelland et al., '::;. Instead, the motive is better conceived of as leading to an activity that

is the incentive for that motive. Thus, low need achievers have learned through e>perience to

see9 out certain activities that provide the pleasure of moderate challenge. 5owever, they do not

necessarily 9now that they have a goal of doing better. It seems sensible then, that low need

achievers 9now less about what is guiding their behavior than do individuals with an e>plicit or

high self-attributed achievement needs. The literature suggests that low need achievers are

less able to plan appropriate corrective action when things go awry 6#c"lelland, et al., '::;.

According to *eiling 7 Rou> 6&((0;, motivation is seen as something that can be

e>panded through applying chosen and spontaneous instances of recognition, affirmation and

reward. They caution, however, that these methods are temporary and less than effective in the

long term. Their wor9 on constructive accountability suggests that motivation processes are

dependent upon ongoing interaction activities with respected others that can include peers,

leaders andMor other influential people. These interactions are what stimulates connection to and

interest in wor9. They argue that when others disappear or act disinterested in our wor9, we also

lose interest. This view supports prior research from Doestner, )einburger 7 #c"lelland

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6'::'; regarding subects who possess high self-attributed needs for achievement. Interaction

with others, including the leader is important for high need achievers. This suggests that

motivating strategies include opportunities for freFuent interaction with the leader as well as

team members. 3or both high and low need achievers, the leaders use of an interesting variety

of coaching techniFues and feedbac9 is critical for producing interest and effort.

MTI1ATI0* STRATE*IES

$oc9e 7 $atham 6&((&; state, #otivation theory in the realm of wor9 needs to draw on

findings from other fieldsB 6p. /:/; suggesting that social psychology 6Eandura, ':0;,

educational psychology 68wec9, ':0;, and positive organizational psychology 6"armeon et al,

&((/; have benefited the study of organization behavior. Dellers wor9 in instructional

motivation is significant to this crossover effect.B According to Deller 6':/;, instructional

motivation attracts learners toward the instruction and increases their efforts in relation to the

subect matter. Dellers 6'::; research on motivation, performance, and instructional influence

illustrates how motivation can be integrated with the aspects of instructional science. Dellers

wor9 helps e>plain what influences a person to approach or avoid a tas9, and how to ma9e a tas9

more interesting. Deller clearly distinguishes effort and performance as categories of behavior4

performanceB means actual accomplishment, whereas effortB refers to whether the individual

is engaged in actions aimed at accomplishing the tas9. Therefore, effort is a direct indicator of

motivation. 8eci and Ryan offer self-determination theory proposing that motivated behaviors

vary in the degree to which they are self-determined 6autonomous; versus controlledB 6in

Cmmons, ':::;. "onseFuently, according to Deller 6'::;, people can be viewed as more or less

motivated by the vigor or persistence of their behavior.

Intrinsic and C>trinsic *trategies

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According to 8eci and #oller 6'::&;,

)hen people are e>periencing satisfaction of their basic psychological needs, they tend

to do what interests them. In other words, they tend to be intrinsically motivated. Thus,

intrinsic motivation reFuires e>periencing an activity as interesting, while also feeling

some support for ones basic needs. The fact that interest is so central to intrinsic

motivation implies, of course, that if an indiidual did not find an actiity interesting" he

or she #ould not $e intrinsically motiated for it. %nder such circumstances, for the

person to do all the activity at all would reFuire some type of e>trinsic motivation?

e>trinsic motivationB being defined as doing an activity for some operationally

separable conseFuence 6p., emphasis added;.

C>pectancy-valence theories 6e.g., orter 7 $awler, ':0; had proposed that intrinsic and

e>trinsic motivation are additive, yielding total motivation. This led to the suggestion that

activities 6learning, wor9, etc.; should be designed to be as interesting as possible to stimulate

intrinsic motivation and that social conte>ts should be organized to provide e>trinsic rewards that

are contingent upon effective performance at the activities. That way, there would be ma>imal

motivation, consisting of the sum or the intrinsic motivation from the interesting activities and

the e>trinsic motivation form the contingent rewards 6p.+;. Attribution theory however, made

a different prediction. de"harms 6':0; suggested that when people perceive the locus of

causality for their behavior to be within themselves, they tend to be intrinsically motivated, but

when they perceive the locus of causality to be e>ternal, they tend to be e>trinsically motivated.

5arac9ewicz and #anderlin9 6':+; argue that performance-contingent rewards do not

undermine intrinsic motivation but instead enhance it. erformance-contingent rewards are those

given for doing well at an activity?that is, for meeting or surpassing some standard 6p.;.

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8aft 6&((&; defines motivation as the forces either internal or e>ternal to a person that

arouse enthusiasm and persistence to pursue a certain course of action. 5is simple model of

motivation has four elements4 3irst, a need creates desire to fulfill needs 6food, friendship,

recognition, achievement;, ne>t behavior results in actions to fulfill needs, third, rewards satisfy

needs either intrinsically or e>trinsically, and fourth, feedbac9 informs a person whether the

behavior was appropriate and should be used again. 8aft states that intrinsic rewards appeal to

the Nhigher needs of individuals, such as accomplishment, competence, fulfillment, and self-

determination. C>trinsic rewards appeal to the Nlowerneeds of individuals, such as materials

comfort and basic safety and security. The problem is that conventional management approaches

often appeal to an individuals lower, basic needs and rely on e>trinsic rewards and punishments

?carrot-and-stic9 methods?to motivate subordinates to behave in desired ways. According to

8aft,

Although e>trinsic rewards are important, leaders wor9 especially hard to enable

followers to achieve intrinsic rewards?both individually and systemwide. Cmployees

who get intrinsic satisfaction from their obs often put forth increased effortKleaders also

strive to create an environment where people feel valued and feel that they are

contributing to something worthwhile, helping followers achieve systemwide intrinsic

rewards 6&((&, p. &;.

5ughes et al. 6&((0; describe performance as those behaviors directed toward the

organizations mission or goals, or the products and services resulting from those behaviors.

They state that performance differs from effectiveness, which generally involves ma9ing

udgments about the adeFuacy of behavior with respect to certain criteria such as wor9-group or

organizational goals. In order for leaders to understand and influence follower motivation,

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leaders must be 9nowledgeable about different motivational theories 6need, individual difference,

cognitive, and situational;. 5ughes et al. state, 4$eaders who are 9nowledgeable about different

motivational theories are more li9ely to choose the right theory for a particular follower and

situation, and often have higher-performing and more satisfied employees as a result56p. &+;.

Thus, leaders would need to spend more time with their followers to determine what interests

them intrinsically and whenever possible, provide opportunities to perform particular tas9s they

find rewarding. 5ughes et al. understands that this is not always possible. 5owever, they state

that leaders may be able to get higher-Fuality wor9 and have more satisfied employees by

reassigning wor9 according to values and intrinsic interests.

Motivational Learning Strateg%: The AR!S Model

Deller 6':;, Deller and *uzu9i 6':;, and Deller and Dopp 6':; identified four

categories of motivation in learning situations4 attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction

6AR"*;. According to Deller, the AR"* model contains specific methods or strategies that are

aimed at producing motivational outcomes when learners are lac9ing sufficient conditions such

as interest or motives.

%ttention refers to whether the learners curiosity is aroused and if stimulation can be

sustained over time. Releancerefers to the learners perception of the personal need

satisfaction in relation to the instruction, or whether a highly desired goal is seen as being related

to the learning e>perience. Confidence refers to the perceived li9elihood of success, and the

e>tent to which success is up to the learner. Satisfaction refers to the combination of e>ternal

rewards and internal motivation, and whether these motivators are compatible with the learners

anticipations. Dellers AR"* categories originate from a macro-theory of the relationships of

individual and environmental characteristics on effort, performance, and outcomes.



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%sing Dellers AR"* model, Eohlin, #ilheim 7 =iechnic9i 6'::/; collected data

regarding the instructional motivation perceptions of adults in a variety of learning

environments. "ollege students and community education students were used in this study. Two

instruments were used by Eohlin, #ilheim 7 =iechnic9i 6'::(;4 the "ourse Interest *urvey

Revised 6"I*R; and the "ourse Cffort *urvey Revised 6"C*R;. Ey utilizing these instruments,

instructional motivation needs of the two groups of adult learners were identified and analyzed.

The results of the first factor analysis 6using the effort responses of learners in college

classes; gave some support to the categories of the AR"* model with each of the first four

factors entirely or predominately composed of items from one category of each 6attention,

relevance, confidence, and satisfaction;. According to Eohlin et al. 6'::/;, this suggests that the

theoretical nature of the categories in the AR"* #odel are consistent with the nature of the self-

reported motivational needs of adults in college courses and wor9shops. Eohlin believes this

also supports the long standing position that motivation often refers to time-on-tas9 or similar

measures of effort.

"onnecting AR"* to Achievement #otive

rior research from Doestner, )einburger 7 #c"lelland 6'::'; regarding achievement

motive and instructional motivation needs as assessed by Eohlin, #ilheim 7 =iechnic9i 6'::/;

suggest a correlation between intrinsicMe>trinsic needs on effort, performance, and outcomes. It

is helpful to 9now that although many individuals may possess a mi>ture of both achievement

orientations, one is usually predominant. "astelli 6'::+; used the AR"* model in conunction

with achievement motive to determine appropriate motivating strategies based on the need

orientation of the learner. The maor findings of this study centered on the interest variables as

being most critical for predicting self-attributed needs of achievement. In fact, the interest

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Fig)re 7# !once/t)al Model for This St)d%

*elf-Attributed Achievement #otive O 3 6Interest P Cffort P Jender, Age and 8egree *tatus;

Method

A random sample of wor9ing professionals were determined and appropriate subect

sample sizes were established that consisted of undergraduate, graduate and doctorate students in

a college of management at a private university. The participants were located at various levels

in organizations.

Three survey instruments were used to conduct this research. 3or the first survey,

subects were as9ed to complete a self-report inventory of the achievement scale using Qac9sons

ersonality Research 3orm 6'::;. This information provided a basis for determining subects

low and high self-attributed needs for achievement. 3or the second and third surveys permission

was granted to modify Eohlin et al. 6'::/; "ourse Interest *urvey Revised and the "ourse Cffort

*urvey Revised. The instruments were modifiedfrominstructor and student relationships to

leader and follower relationships in order to determine how leaders can better motivate their

followers to enhance performance within their organizations. 3or the Interest *urvey Revised

and the Cffort *urvey Revised 6"astelli"&((0;, subects were as9ed to rate the importance of

their leaders various motivating strategies with regard to their own interest and effort,

respectively. This information was used to determine strategies leaders can use to effectively

motivate their followers in the wor9place. In addition, critical demographic information 6gender,

age, degree status; was collected.



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The validity of Qac9sons ersonality Research 3orm is discussed e>tensively by Qac9son

6'::; in the ersonality Research 3orm #anual. Deller and *ubhiyah 6':; and Eohlin and

others 6'::/; also provide validity for the "ourse Interest and "ourse Cffort *urveys.

Analysis was also performed to determine the overall reliability for all survey instruments used

in this study. The pooled results for Qac9sons achievement scale was .0. Individual item

reliability ranged from .0' to .00. *pearman-Erowns correction was .'. Eohlin and others

"ourse Interest and "ourse Cffort *urveys Revised show consistent high reliability, with Cffort

6.:; slightly higher than Interest 6.;.

These survey instruments provide a strong basis for determining the motivation needs of

followers and specific motivating strategies they value most from their leaders.

S)mmar% of Res)lts

The data indicates that age is significant in all categories of interest 6e>cept satisfaction;

and all categories ofeffort 6e>cept relevance;. Jender is not significant in the categories of effort

and interest.

#eans and standard deviations were also analyzed for each of the items in the Interest

and Cffort *urveys. In comparing the results between groups with low or high self-attributed

needs for achievement, the data indicates that nearly identical strategies 6leader uses an

interesting variety of coaching techniFues, leader is a positive role model, leader builds self-

esteem, appropriate challenge level; were found most important to both groups. The data also

indicates that the high self-attributed need for achievement group rated all of the items as more

important than subects with low self-attributed need for achievement. "orrelations of all

variables were analyzed. The data indicates that age and degree status are common in self-

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attributed need for achievement. In the motivational characteristic categories of interest and

effort, no significance was seen.

8iscriminant analysis was employed to determine if profile and motivational

characteristics could be used to predict low and high self-attributed needs for achievement. The

results of the canonical discriminant functions indicate that the variables used as predictors in

this study 6profile and motivation characteristics; is significant and, therefore, can be generalized

to the population to which the study sample was drawn.

3urthermore, the results indicate that in the category of interest, attention was most

powerful in predicting self-attributed needs for achievement. !ther powerful predictors were

also in the area of interest 6satisfaction and relevance;. *atisfaction, confidence, and relevance

6interest; and attention 6effort; showed a negative correlation indicating an inverse effect on

motivating strategies. Thus, not employing specific motivating strategies or not employing

motivating strategies effectively can actually de-motivate followers.

3inally, classification results were analyzed to determine how often low and high self-

attributed need for achievement groups could be predicted. The data indicate that with the

predictors used in this study, learners with low self-attributed needs for achievement could be

correctly classified &. percent of the time, and learners with high self-attributed needs for

achievement could be correctly classified 0.+ percent of the time. The classification results

indicate that the profile and motivational characteristics used in this research are fair predictors

in determining self-attributed needs for achievement.

The initial premise for this study suggested that self-attributed needs for achievement

may not always be considered by leaders in organizational settings. 3urthermore, failing to

incorporate various motivational strategies to accommodate different need achievement

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orientations may inhibit follower performance. In addition, the specific motivational needs of

followers may vary based on gender, age, and degree status. The relationships between these

variables were analyzed and reported.

The findings indicate that motivational strategies vary in their effectiveness dependent

upon the need orientation of the follower. Therefore, the approach a leader ta9es in motivating

hisMher followers could accelerate or impede their performance outcomes. The results of this

study suggest guidelines leaders can use for selecting motivation strategies that may enhance

interest and effort to enhance performance. The implications are highlighted below.

$IS!USSI0

'. %ttentionis an important factor for gaining and sustaining the both need achievers effort.

#otivating strategies should be incorporated that capture the followers interest. %sing a

variety of coaching techniFues employed by the leader that include feedbac9 on performance

is also important. #a9ing the follower feel enthusiastic about the challenge may enhance

effort. C>ecutive coaching has been found as most effective when it genuinely applies to

ones inner desires and capacities 6Dauffman 7 *coular, &((+;.

&. Releanceis a very important component for both need achiever groups. This is evident in

the area of interest where leader viewed as a positive role modelB is a critical attribute to all

respondents. In the area of effort, appropriate challenge level is important to the low need

achievers whereas wor9ing with others is most important to the high need achievers.

/. Confidenceis a significant factor to both need achiever groups in both the interest and effort

categories. A leaders ability to build followers self-esteem is viewed as vital. "onsistency

should also be maintained to produce ongoing effort and for sustaining interest. 5owever,

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interest and effort may decline for both groups if the leader fails to establish trust, or

undermines the capabilities of followers worth.

+. Satisfactionis important to facilitate continuing motivation for both interest and effort.

3inding levels of challenge that are appropriate is important to both need achiever groups.

Results suggest that for the high need achievers, interest and effort may be contingent upon

the personal satisfaction obtained from the learning e>perience. Therefore, proects and tas9s

should be designed to meet the personal needs of the individual.

. 5igh need achievers cited all categories of attention, relevance, confidence and satisfaction

for both interest and effort as more important than low need achievers. This implies the

increased need for the leaders involvement in their daily activities.

0. The age of the individual may be correlated to self-attributed needs for achievement. The

results suggest that the older the individual, the more they tend to be high need achievers.

*imilarly, the more education individuals possess, the higher the tendency for self-attributed

needs for achievement.

. Jender does not appear to be a factor in determining low or high self-attributed needs for

achievement.

. !verall, the leaders ability to increase followers effort is most important in continuing

motivation.

The maor findings of this study centered on the leaders ability to build self-esteem of

their followers and importance of leaders to be viewed as positive role models. Results that

interest and effort can be used to improve motivation indicate that followers will e>hibit

significant gains in continuing motivation when relevant selections of these strategiesMattributes

are practiced by the leader.

"astelli et al. 2 #otivating 3ollowers &&


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*ince effort categories were cited as most important for both low and high need

achievers, improving their desire to return to tas9 6effort; remains an important obective. The

increased desire to persist in a tas9 has long-range implications for advancements in learning and

performance. This implies that a more intensified use of effort variables in motivating followers

may prove beneficial. 3or convenience of the reader, Table & provides a brief overview of need

achievement preferences.

--Insert Table & here--

!oncl)sion

)hile a leader may be Fuite pleased with the output of his or her staff, it is more than

li9ely that there is room for improvement. %nderstanding what motivates followers to

perform their best wor9 is 9ey in order to achieve the highest level of satisfaction for both the

leader andyour team. Also, it is crucial that the leader puts this understanding to use by

consistently providing the incentives and tools which he or she finds to be effective.

The findings indicate that the motivational needs of the low and high need achievers

do not differ as much as was first believed. Eoth achiever types indicated that effort was more

critical than interest. The effortput forth by the follower is enhanced by the leaders ability and

willingness to use an interesting variety of coaching techniFues, appropriate challenge levels, and

self-esteem building methods for both achiever groups. The same is true in the area of interest,

although both groups found that their interest in a given area was secondary to the effortthey

made when attempting to accomplish their goals. It was concluded that both the low and high

need achievers reFuire essentially the same Fualities of their leaders in order to enhance their

performance.

It is the effective leaders ob to build self-esteem, to set appropriate challenge levels, to

"astelli et al. 2 #otivating 3ollowers &/


24/33

utilize motivating coaching techniFues, and so on, regardless of the followers particular achiever

traits. The leaders role in promoting interest and effort is critical to the followers success. Also,

the leader must serve as a positive role model, despite the indication that the low need achiever is

intrinsically motivated. roper application of specific motivating strategies will help both low

and high need achievers, may increase interest and effort, and will ultimately fulfill the obective

of enhanced performance.

"astelli et al. 2 #otivating 3ollowers &+


25/33


26/33

Ta8le 9# A S)mmar% of 0eed Achievement Preferences for Leader Motivation

!haracteristics Low 0eed Achievers High 0eed Achievers

Interest: !verall less critical !verall less critical

than effort than effort

Attention $eader uses an interesting $eader uses an interesting

variety of coaching techniFues variety of coaching techniFues

Relevance $eader is a positive role $eader is a positive role

model model

"onfidence $eader builds self-esteem $eader builds self-esteem

*atisfaction Appropriate challenge level Appropriate challenge level,$eader helps me accomplish

my personal goals

Effort: !verall more critical !verall more critical than

than interest interest

Attention $eader uses an interesting $eader uses an interesting

variety of coaching techniFues variety of coaching techniFues

Relevance Appropriate challenge level )or9ing with other people

"onfidence $eader builds self-esteem $eader builds self-esteem

*atisfaction Appropriate challenge $eader helps me accomplish

level my personal goals

$emogra/hics: AR"* strategies cited AR"* strategies cited

as less critical as more critical

Jender $east critical $east critical

Age @ounger learners more apt !lder learners more apt

to be low need achievers to be high need achievers

8egree $ess education apt to #ore education apt to

*tatus be low need achievers be high need achievers

Hote4 In all cases, the high need achievers cited each motivating strategy 6AR"*; within the

interest and effort variables as more important than the low need achievers.

"astelli et al. 2 #otivating 3ollowers &0


27/33

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