Leadership and Employee Motivation: The employees perspective

Abstract

Keeping individuals motivated in this day in age, proves to be a struggle for any leader, understanding what motivates individuals to be better makes for a successful leader. Successful leadership is not based solely on the perception of the leader, but rather must include the perceptions of the followers. The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to gain and in-depth understanding how employees experience leadership and how this impacts on their motivation to perform their work functions. This study critically analyses Frederick Herzberg’s two-factor theory and assesses its application as a theory to leadership behaviours and employee motivation. The study identified that the different types of motivational behaviours used by transformational and transactional leaders have a direct impact on the intrinsic motivation of the employee and validated Herzberg’s (1959) two-factor theory. This study provides an opportunity to advance fields such as management, employee motivation and organisational development by examining what factors motivate employees.