Leadership Styles and Motivation Theories in Organizational Behavior

Organizational Behavior 1
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Organizational Behavior 2
Introduction
Effective leadership style is a critical element for organizational success. An organization
that is under good leadership is more likely to do well in business and gain a competitive edge.
Different companies use different leadership styles. Every company has a different
organizational culture and thus it is important to identify which style would work best in any
particular culture. Psychologists like Maslow, Herzberg, McClelland, and many more have
presented several theories that make the process of leading people easier and effective. A good
leader is the one who is able to communicate the vision and mission of the company in a clear
way and motivate the employees to work productively for achieving the set goals. The
organizational success is mostly dependant on the cooperation and coordination of the leader and
employees. The motivation can be given in many ways. Through the rewards (they may be
intrinsic or extrinsic), appraisal, etc. Motivation further leads to employee engagement. The level
of employee engagement is higher when the individual is able to identify himself as part of the
organization. Therefore, managing diversity in the workplace is also one of the core
responsibilities of the leader.
Leadership for Managers
Over the years different psychologists have given different concepts and theories of
leadership. The concept of leadership has been a topic of interest. The leadership theories help us
get a better understanding of the whole concept of it. An effective leader is not born, he
inculcates those characteristics and traits that make him a good leader. He has the power to
influence people and motivate them to do better (Garrett & Camper, 2015). The followers always
look up to the leader, he is like an ideal, a trend-setter. Therefore, it is essential that the leader

Organizational Behavior 3
has all the qualities that encourage people and not otherwise. Maslow gave the need hierarchy as
a motivational theory. This theory is often used to motivate the employees by fulfilling the need
pyramid. In any business, leader should identify the importance of motivation. Abraham Maslow
gave the hierarchy of needs in which he characterized the needs in five categories, namely-
Physiological needs, safety needs, social needs, esteem needs, and self-actualization needs
(Ganesan, 2010). The physiological needs are the basic necessities like food, water, etc. Then
comes safety needs, i.e. the need to feel safe from any type of harm be it physical or financial.
The third category is social need which is the need of an individual to be a part of a social group.
The next category of needs is esteem needs which are about the respect received from others and
one’s self-esteem. The last category of the need hierarchy pyramid is self-actualization, the need
to develop to one’s full potential. According to Maslow, the person will satisfy the needs in their
definite form, one after the other. If one level has been met, the focus will be on the next level. I
think this theory is one of the most successfully established ways of motivating employees
(Healy, 2016). The leaders can fulfill the physiological needs by providing incentives and
bonuses. The next level, i.e. safety needs can be fulfilled by providing them proper working
conditions and a healthy environment. The social need can be met by frequent meetings,
appraisals, and celebrating small victories. The next set of needs, esteem needs can be fulfilled
recognizing the contributions of the employees making each member their worth to the team and
the organization. The last set of needs which is self-actualization needs can be fulfilled by
keeping in view the individual professional goals while assigning them tasks and empowering
them for personal growth (Weston, 2018). A motivated team is an asset to the company and vice-
versa. I have worked for two organizations and in my personal experience, leaders prefer to use
Maslow’s theory in managing the employees and teams. Whenever I was appreciated for my

Organizational Behavior 4
work and contribution, I always desired to do more and better. So, this theory completely fits the
scenario.
Source- www.strategosinc.com
Another theory of motivation is the Herzberg’s two-factor theory which also has
established itself when it comes to motivating employees. This theory asserts that in every
organization there are two factors that can be managed for better motivation, i.e. motivators and
hygiene factors (Kuijk, 2018). The motivators are the factors that encourage an employee to
work harder whereas absence of hygiene factors brings about de-motivation. In the XYZ
organization I worked, our leader used it to motivate our team and these factors are present
within the work only such as a sense of achievement, appraisal, recognition, etc. However, the
hygiene factors, more precisely the absence of the hygiene factors are the reason for employee