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Google pointed this search query to our website this month. The query is interesting for the meanings imputed to “Leadership” and “Motivation”.
If we view Leadership as having the following attributes: 
Out in front
Public face
Target demanding
Driving
Hard
The do-as-I-say Boss
The Decision maker
Then under this sort of Leader, people have these experiences:
demand for performance involves a threat – perform or else
avoid identifying weaknesses
a lack of self directed work
the vision from the top is obscured
no-one cares how you feel about the work
do not feel personally involved
your opinion doesn’t count
do as little as possible commensurate with meeting targets
no discretionary effort
Such a work regime is familiar to many of us. It motivates us to do the job and not make a fuss. We are motivated to put as little effort to the work as is needed to satisfy the targets. We achieve our feeling of self-worth by how many get-out clauses we can build into the performance measures. We can beat the system!
On the face of it this is a win-win situation!
“Management” is delighted, people achieve targets and you can always recruit more if you don’t get quite the performance you expect. The SMART targets are readily monitored in computerised systems that ensure good feedback on performance to pick up problems last month. Management is straightforward and easy.
The “workers” are happy too. They have beaten the system, bonuses are good and even if long hours are needed, you don’t need to worry about achieving anything exciting. If you fail, you didn’t commit to it in the first place so what does it matter.
For the organisation though it is a paradox. Targets are being met, bonuses are soaring but performance just isn’t quite there. Faced with this the choice is between raising prices or accepting lower profits (or delivered value for NFP organisations).
In this organisation the answer is clear. Drive performance harder, increase the penalties and bonuses for performance and ensure everything is measured.
This style of Leadership is bad for overall performance, so therefore individual performance and motivation.
What style of Leadership is good for motivation?
The Leader-as-Servant has the following attributes:
Individuals matter
Individuals will get the help they need
Individuals are listened to
Individuals are important
The Leader-as-Servant model makes people feel:
The centre of attention
My development is important to my employer
They want me to be the best I can be
With their help I can do so much more
This seems to be a Lose-Win picture! People are happy but performance suffers surely! What people call the pink fluffy option!
The work lies fallow while the relaxed self-actualised individuals ummm their mantras to the background of unanswered telephone calls.
Poor performance is managed by expanding developmental efforts, skill training and clearly better management processes. Sadly these efforts require more people so the organisation has to grow. But it takes time to weave the new people into the organisation and performance will suffer in the short term as a result. But at least the poor performance issue has been addressed, just masked temporarily by the increase in headcount.
How many recognise this Leadership model?
What is needed for continuing success is a blend of Leadership styles and a mechanism that applies the most appropriate style.
The high performing Leader will have to deliver on: 
Vision
Strategy
Tactics
Operations
The Leader must know when to:
Show the way
Enable
Coach
Pitch in and help
In this high performance organisation people are motivated through a mix of self development and knowledge of their part in achieving the vision. Help is on hand to improve but continuing problems will be addressed in a firm yet sensitive way. People know their part in finding better ways of doing things and constantly innovate.
The innovation is supported centrally by delegating clearly defined decision making authority. Of course from time to
time “my” organisation is in difficulty but those times can be good as everyone chips in some extra effort.
This reactive Leadership style is a high workload. The extra performance means less top level investigation into failures and the comfort that the increasingly higher targets are hit monotonously. The reactive Leader has more time to lead as less time is needed for time wasting functions.
We can help you map your present situation with our Audit and draw up a plan to move you to reactive Leadership.
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