How to Lead, 4th Edition

Chapter 14

Motivate your team: practice

We have looked at what the theory of leadership says. Now let’s hear what leaders say about human nature.

First, in our survey of more than 1,000 current and emerging leaders, we found the most important quality valued in a leader was the ability to motivate others. When we asked our participants how satisfied they were with the motivational capabilities of their leaders, we found a huge motivation gap. Although motivation was seen as the most important attribute of a leader, only 37% were satisfied with the performance of their leaders in this respect. Clearly, there is a problem for many leaders, but an opportunity for you. If you can motivate your team, you will be ahead of your peers and respected ...