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T H R E E K E Y
MOTIVATIONS
D R I V E P E R F O R M A N C E
DAVID C. MCCLELLAND (1917–1998)
Motivation is a key component of job performance.But what people say about their motives
cannot be taken at face value......because motivations are largely unconscious.Power: the drive to
influence and manage
other people.Achievement: the drive to
excel and improve in all efforts.Affiliation: the drive to
form and maintain warm
relationships with
other people.IN CONTEXT
APPROACH
Need theoryBEFORE
1938 American psychologist
Henry Murray develops his
theory of how personality is
shaped by psychogenic needs.1943 Abraham Maslow’s A
Theory of Human Motivation
presents his hierarchy of needs.1959 In Motivation to Work, US
psychologist Frederick Herzberg
states that achievement, rather
than money, motives people.AFTER
1990 In Flow: The Psychology
of Optimal Experience, Mihály
Csíkszentmihályi discusses
motivation for achievement.2002 Martin Seligman explores
motivation as the expression of
character strengths.2004 In Leadership That Gets
Results, US psychologist Daniel
Goleman applies McClelland’s
ideas to leadership in business.Tests reveal that there are three key
motivations that drive performance.