The Psychology of Leadership: Understanding Motivation and Behavior

Individuals in different parts of life use psychology to understand the reactions and responses of human beings in a specific condition. Individuals must understand how their businesses can determine consumer behaviour and how leaders can aid individuals in understanding human behaviour and communicating and interacting better. Suppose there is a need to enhance leadership abilities. In that case, it is significant for an individual to understand the personality traits of a leader, the behaviour of the relationship between the leader and follower and the conditions that permit individuals to develop leadership qualities. The psychology of leadership is that branch of knowledge which studies the behaviour of humans. Psychology aids leaders in making them understand the behaviour of humans along with their environment in a better way to make them more successful leaders. To become a successful and effective leader, an individual must acquire and enhance their understanding of personal attributes and behavioural traits.

Most businesses have a viewpoint of seeing motivation as an important component in attaining success. Incorporating motivation gives an individual many advantages that promote successful leadership and the organisation’s growth. A leader’s responsibility is to promote motivation, which is considered important in their success. Motivation is the force which aids in driving people to act. Motivated leaders make a focused as well as dedicated workforce. Whenever the employees are motivated by their leaders, they feel engaged and keep up with their interest in their work, ultimately benefiting the company.

Embracing positive behaviour of leadership helps motivate the team to become more effective and enhances the team members’ ability to attain the organisation’s goals. These leadership behaviours aid the leaders in embracing talent within their specific departments. This is so because the team members value the chance of working with the leader. An individual needs to understand and learn how one can behave like a leader, which will ultimately directly impact the leaders ability to produce revenue and help the organisation achieve success. Behaviour in leadership refers to the actions and traits of an individual, making him an effective leader. This is the process through which an individual can assist, guide, advise, direct and influence the working of other team members to fulfil the organisation’s specific objectives. Leaders have to learn and understand the strategies and actions to enhance the efficacy of their team members. Mainly, they use these behaviours to motivate other people in their working environment when they work to fulfil the vision of the business group of individuals or any product. Behaviours of good leadership are important in becoming an individual who motivates and helps others to enhance their efficacy and attain the organisational goals. Leadership behaviours are mainly important to enhance the teams productivity by retaining team members and nurturing the future of leaders. Constant leadership can help in motivating team members to perform in a better way. And, if an employee receives better mentorship and leadership in their present job role, they are likely to work in that atmosphere and are not ready to leave the organisation. Behaviours of leadership are considered essential in developing and fostering the future leaders working in an organisation.

To demonstrate the behaviour of effective leadership, one has to follow these –

• Being honest – Honesty aids in creating a work atmosphere that feels that the organisation’s environment is open and fair. Other employees working in the organisation trust the decisions of their leaders and can also trust them while discussing their problems with them if they believe their leaders are honest with them. One must follow one’s commitments and words, an important element of honest leadership.
• Being confident in making decisions – Leaders have to make decisions confidently and swiftly, which is a leader’s basic duty. By being confident and making proper decisions, the organisation’s team members develop trust in the leaders decision-making ability. By doing so, individuals can enhance their efficiency as they see time as a crucial resource.
• Be approachable – A leader must have the ability to be approachable and work in a way where every individual working in the same organisation feels comfortable talking with them. They have to open the lines of communication for their team members. Leaders have to show that they are listening to the problems of their team members by asking them questions regarding their problems and giving proper attention to the individual speaking. This also helps the leader develop active listening skills and thus promotes communication. Leaders must ensure that their team members communicate frequently regarding the decisions made and whats happening in the team and the organisation.
• Providing feedback on the objective – Leaders have to talk with the team members about what exactly the leader wants his team members to do and how they can improve. Leaders can help them by making the team members understand if they do anything wrong instead of punishing them. Leaders can give feedback to the team members on their work performance, which will help the team members rectify their mistakes privately and not feel embarrassed in front of other team members or employees. Leaders can build trustworthy as well as positive relationships with their employees by recognising the mistakes of the employees and suggesting to them how to rectify them.
• Leading by example – Leaders must be the best example to motivate their team members and work with them. For example, if the team members have to work late, the leaders should work late to motivate them. If the team members have to attain a specific goal, then the leader must think of it as his goal, which needs to be attained by him along with his team members. As leaders often have to assign tasks to the team members, the team members have to appreciate their leader as he stays and works along with them to achieve their goals.
• Creating a reward program for the team members – Leaders must publicly recognise their team members’ accomplishments and achievements. This will make the employees feel that their work is appreciated and more motivated to complete their objectives and goals and achieve success. Also, organising reward programs for them will aid in motivating them to achieve the goals of the team and individuals. Moreover, they feel motivated when their seniors or leaders thank them for a good job or show appreciation for their work.
• Changing the work approach – An individual can practice being an effective leader. Individuals must change their learning methods to become leaders, and everyone else can see them as people with strong leadership attitudes and behaviour. Individuals who want to become a leader must redefine their job responsibilities and duties. One has to do many things while doing their daily tasks to aid the team, department and company members. The main aim is to be active while doing the work and find a way to aid in the organisation’s contribution meaningfully. To implement these novel behaviours, an individual has to begin by doing two actions that show leadership qualities. For instance, others notice and identify their colleagues’ and friends’ accomplishments and achievements who were given positive feedback to work on and enhance their abilities. The person has to focus on two leadership behaviours and adapt them mainly. After adapting the first two leadership behaviours, the individual has to recognise two more behaviours and adapt them into their daily routine and make these behaviours come naturally in their daily activity.
• Addressing possible issues before they become problems – A leader has to monitor their team closely and figure out the areas where there exists a chance of developing any problem. Suppose there exists any lag in the productivity of the organisation. In that case, the leader can identify the problem and make corrective decisions to resolve it before it becomes a bigger problem that the organisation faces. Also this aids in enhancing the overall productivity of the team members and also aids in maintaining a proper way of communication with the team members regarding their performances.
• Paying attention to the employees` needs and trying to fulfil them – While monitoring the team members to assess the issues, leaders can also interact with the team members to determine if they require something or their needs. Several employees work better without much supervision from their leaders, while some believe their work is best as they work with challenging tasks. When the leader knows the requirements of each team member and tries to fulfil those needs, they receive respect and love from their team members in return. This helps in enhancing the satisfaction of the job and motivation.
• Encouraging creativity by communicating comfortably – Allowing and encouraging employees to come and talk to the leader regarding their ideas. When the team members understand that they can talk to their leader comfortably about the possible changes and the ways to enhance the working atmosphere, the leaders are likely to create more innovative solutions for the problems. For instance, an employee gives suggestions on how to complete a difficult task efficiently.

Several reasons how motivation leads to success within leadership are discussed –

• Motivated leaders are more liable to motivate their teams – The main feature of leadership is encouraging employees to attain success towards a common objective. Motivated leaders have the capability of doing this in a better way. They are frequently passionate about their job, which becomes an example for others and thus promotes the same motivation among the other members of the team, which ultimately makes them do better. A leader who motivates their team members and other employees fosters good morale and thus motivates the employees to complete their well.
• Productivity can be enhanced by being motivated – Motivated leaders, along with their team members, mostly work hard, which leads to increasing productivity. This is so that the leader and their team members want to complete the target and achieve success by enhancing productivity. When the productivity of the organisation increases, it ultimately leads to better and enhanced results, and further, this converts into better job security and offers more chances for the advancement of the leaders as well as their team members. Greater productivity also aids in producing tangible profits for the company, like increased benefits and sales and a competitive edge.
• Motivation results in better decision-making – Employees who feel motivated while working tend to have higher levels of optimism and positivity. This results in making better decisions as the employees watch out for the possible chances for success; they also feel open-minded, work on novel ideas, and are willing to take risks. Through this, leadership can be beneficial as it permits the organisations to promote creativity and innovation and thus adapt to the changes.
• Motivation can improve communication – Motivated leaders are mostly busy with their tight-scheduled work; they still communicate openly. Motivated leaders can communicate their vision and receive support from the team members effectively. When the team members feel enthusiastic and motivated in their work, they feel comfortable sharing their thoughts, ideas and feedback. Better and enhanced communication normally establishes better cooperation, understanding and relations among team members and between the employees and their team members.
• Pessimism is tackled by being motivated – Motivated leaders help combat pessimism, which is considered the most significant benefit. Maintaining a positive attitude and confidence among employees also helps in enhancing leadership. This promotes positive thinking and thus leads to much better results. Motivated leaders encourage their team members to look for possible chances for success even when the circumstances are challenging. This aids the team members to behave confidently.
• Job satisfaction also increases by being motivated – Motivated individuals mostly have the aim of fulfilling and experiencing a greater level of satisfaction in their jobs. This becomes useful as motivated individuals are mostly committed towards their jobs and go beyond the expected work when they feel comfortable and enjoy working. Also, job satisfaction enhances productivity as the employees work hard and enjoy their work to the fullest.
• Motivation results in enhanced teamwork – Motivated employees are more likely to come together and work to attain a common objective. Working collaboratively and cooperatively is critical in leadership as it aids in developing more coordinated teams. Motivated team members work with a positive attitude and enhance the team dynamic. Positive and coherent teams are more efficient and productive, which helps benefit the organisations.
• Better staff retention is the result of motivation – When the employees feel motivated and comfortable while working within an organisation, they are likely to stay and continue working for the organisation. They are likely to stay in the organisation because they are busy with their work and have greater satisfaction with their jobs. Leaders benefit from motivated employees as they aid in minimising the associated costs and turnover. It also motivated employees to take less time to finish their assigned work.
• Creativity can be inspired by being motivated – When the workforce of an organisation feels motivated, they are likely to become more open-minded and can think about novel ideas. And this ultimately results in enhanced creativity. Leadership benefits from enhanced creativity because it helps enable the companies to establish creative as well as novel solutions to issues. Leaders who tend to be creative are also adaptable, which is advantageous when there are modifications. The profits from creativity allow the company to stay competitive in their specific sectors and find newer methods to expand its growth.
• Motivation promotes a positive work atmosphere – Motivated employees frequently agree with a positive environment in the workplace. This type of work atmosphere provides advantages to leadership by offering the employees a basis for attaining success, which helps in enabling the organisation to develop and grow. There are many aspects of a positive work atmosphere, like mutual respect and effective communication, which aid in encouraging the employees and also reducing their stress. With this type of work environment, novel talents are also attracted towards the organisation because the potential employees try to join the organisations with good reputations.
• Motivated employees can handle challenges – Motivated leaders have higher levels of determination and flexibility, which gives them the persistence to find solutions to problems. This is important for the leaders, as they are mostly responsible for navigating complexities faced by the organisation. The highly motivated workforce is resourceful and innovative, which further aids the organisation in combating difficulties and achieving success.
• Motivation results in long-term success – Motivation is considered a key to attaining success in the long term. Motivated leaders have the capability of creating a vision and inspiring those employees who are capable of achieving it. Motivated workers see their jobs positively and are always ready to work and be engaged with their work, which shows higher productivity levels. Moreover, motivation in leadership results in lasting effects that not only influence the employees but also profit the company.

Conclusion

Motivation helps provide a better understanding of the behaviour of humans, but if combined, individuals can see those patterns that guide and assist the team members in understanding why several employees take part as they do. Furthermore, motivation and leadership help open the minds of the employees and team members to think about novel ideas and thoughts and make the employees capable of thinking about how to behave and why to behave like this. This helps in understanding the basic principles of human behaviour and permits the leader to become their mentor and guide them to do better and understand well to enhance productivity while getting appreciated for their work. Understanding this helps the organisation by choosing those leaders who acquire both the qualities of motivation and behaviour to fill the role of an effective leader.

Author Bio: Mark Edmonds, a carefully prepared master at Academic Assignments, has practical experience in engaging students with top-level leadership assignment help. With abundant involvement and profound knowledge in brain research, Mark creates an instructive substance that unwinds the intricacies of motivation and conduct in leadership. His commitment to cultivating academic greatness has made him a hotspot for students seeking far-reaching assignment help. Mark’s obligation to student success radiates through his different scope of assignment help services, guaranteeing students have the knowledge and abilities they need to flourish.