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Influence of non-conscius motives to leadership behaviour
Eva Boštjančič
Full text (pdf) | Views: 24 | Written in Slovene. | Published: January 21, 2010
Abstract: In the past century McClelland (1975) began exploring non-conscious motives and their influence on leader's behaviour. We investigated how leader's intrinsic motivation influences his leadership behaviour, both with managers and entrepreneurs. Our randomized sample included 59 executives employed in Slovenian and international companies with headquarters in Slovenia. We conducted a one hour long structured interview with each individual and asked at least nine of their subordinates to fill in two different questionnaires based on the executive's behaviour under study. Winter's motive scoring system for coding power, affiliation and achievement motives and expressions of responsibility was used to analyse the interviews. The evaluation method proved not to be sufficiently reliable. Factor analysis showed five different styles of leadership: value based leadership, directive leadership, participative leadership, productivity oriented leadership and supportive leadership. Achievement and power motivation are prevailing in entrepreneurs, whereas in managers the leader motivational profile is more often (33%) noticed (high power motivation, high concern for the moral exercise of power, and power motivation greater than affiliative motivation). The prediction of influence of unconscious motives presents a smaller part than expected.
Keywords: leadership styles, leaders, motives, unconscious
