Motivational Theories

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Motivational Theories Deimara Macon

Insight can be gained from the various types of motivational theories. The leadership styles practiced determines the motivational theory to be utilized. Positive responses gained through insight and feedback is a determinant as well. Three styles of leadership are identified through Lewin’s Theory and are proven influential. They are authoritarian (autocratic), Participative (democratic), Delegative (Laissez-Faire). Autocratic leaders are known to be just that, autocratic. There is a clear division of who the leader is and that of the followers, when functioning under the autocratic leadership style. Little to no input from the followers is needed, and the leader independently makes all decisions. When engaging in autocratic leadership, clear expectations are provided for all tasks. The what, when, and how any given task should be approached and completed is known. Research finds, those under the authoritarian style prohibits creative decision-making therefore making integrating leadership styles, such as democratic, difficult. This type of leadership is most effective when there is a short time frame (e.g. 2-3 days) and the leader is the most knowledgeable person in the group. Research has found the Participative is the most effective leadership style than that of the three leadership styles identified by Lewin identifies. Participative leadership offers guidance to group members while participating in the group. Input from others in the group is encouraged and allows for creativeness, motivation, and interacting amongst the group. Although followers are encouraged to participate in the decision-making, the leader of the group makes the final decision. The least productive leadership style of all three types, according to Lewin (1939), is Delegative (Laissez-Faire) Leadership. Webster defines delegate as giving a task to somebody else with responsibility to act on your behalf; to give somebody else the power to act, make decisions, or allocate resources on your behalf (Encarter, 2012). Participants in this type group are more demanding toward the leader and less cooperative. Stress levels in leaders are increased due to this. Little to no guidance from the leader decreases the chance of independent work ethics being established. The delegative leadership style can be effective, although it is the least productive. This style works effectively when group members are highly qualified individuals in an area of expertise, but often leads to undefined roles and lack of motivation. In contrast, transactional (Maslow), also known as managerial leadership focuses on the role of supervision and organization as well as group performance. In this style of leadership, the leader promotes compliance of his followers thorugh both rewards and punishments. These leaders are not innovative, but rather things stay the same. Rather than the focus being on the task, leaders of