As such, it is not the infamous “kick in the tail” in the sense of pressure,
harassment and threats that motivates employees, nor is it necessarily the positive
aspects of raises, shorter working hours, a company car or retirement benefits.
Leaders cannot motivate employees by either cracking the whip or promising
incentives, as Herzberg recognized very early in his studies. Motivation comes
from business activities that mean something to the employees, activities that are
varied and multifaceted (Herzberg 2003, pp. 30–62, 1959). The concept of “job
enrichment” belongs to the classics on psychology of work and organizational
psychology, but even now, 50 years later, Herzberg’s insights have not been widely
implemented by employers.
One of the dangers that stem from exclusively extrinsic motivation of employees
is that employee morale suffers. Peter F. Drucker made the following comparison:
“And so just as an orchestra can sabotage the most capable and self-assured
conductor, the employees of a knowledge-based organization can most certainly
sabotage a capable but arrogant leader” (Drucker 1999, p. 37). Motivation is
often used as the magic word. Motivation gurus are notorious for saying things
like “anything is possible!”; “think positively!” or total nonsense like “Tschaka –
you can do it!” The result can be a sense of increased depression when the guru is
gone and employees realize that all they received was a verbal placebo – and
strangely enough, that the company that just encouraged them to think positively
and move forward still has the same old managers, policies, and ways of doing
things.
The father of modern management research, Peter F. Drucker, encouraged
intrinsic motivation through the sensible assigning of employees, good information
exchange, and extensive empowerment of employees, allowing them to be part of
decision-making processes. He did not believe that leaders need to drive people, but
felt they should instead release their employees’ internal drive through favorable
conditions. “Only someone who has achieved something can have a sense of achi-
evement. Only someone whose work has valuable can have a sense of their own
value. The only true basis for real pride, a real sense of value and achievement is the
active and responsible co-determination of ones work and organization” (Drucker
1956, p. 370).
2.3.2.3 Understanding Those You Lead
With Drucker’s words in mind, thepath-goal theorycalls for managers to put
themselves in the shoes of those being managed. Management must know the
immediate and long-term goals of the employees in order to reconcile them with
leadership and business goals. The employees’ goals therefore determine the
method of leadership. Additionally, managers have to have empathy. The path-
goal theory illustrates the factors influencing readiness to perform, factors that can
be used as the basis for suggestions on how to promote results-oriented leadership,
or “management by objectives.”
2.3 The Relationship Between Leader and Led 81