Importance of Goals in Motivation and Leadership - Essay Example

University: Importance of Goals in Motivation and Leadership. Name: Date: IMPORTANCE OF GOALS IN MOTIVATION AND LEADERSHIP. INTRODUCTION. In the contemporary business world, leaders are faced with the arduous task of motivating their employees in a bid to create a sense of accomplishment to both the employees and other stake holders in the organization. The ability to motivate employees through goal setting and goal attainment is one of the measures of successful organizational leadership. This paper, therefore, discusses the critical role played by setting goals in an organization with respect to improving leadership and motivation within the organization. As such, the paper will explore the various literature on leadership and motivation to effectively present the theories and their applicability at a multilevel perspective. Further, the paper will explore the various influences that goals have on organization behavior and the dynamics involved in streamlining these behaviors to organizational goals. More than ever before, organizations are faced with a rapidly growing pool of highly competent professionals. Organizations have also set up stringent human resource practices that have created cut throat competition allowing only the best candidates to join organizations. However, it is the fundamental role of every organization’s leadership to articulate the institutional objectives and goals to these employees (Armstrong & Armstrong, 2012, p.73). For an organization to achieve consistent and top notch results, the organizations leadership has to ensure that every team player in the organization has a clear understanding of both the goals of the organization as well as the strategies in place to aid in achievement of these goals (Tosi & Pilati, 2011, p.42). Intrinsic Vs Extrinsic Motivation in Leadership. Vast literature addresses the role of leadership in goals setting. However, a common line draws from most of the scholars who have delved in this subject; that there is an undeniable link between goal setting and employee motivation and leadership. In looking at the existing motivation theories in relation to goal setting today, there are two main levels involved. These are broadly categorized as intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. The major emphasis in analyzing these two categories of motivation is to determine the impact that they have on employee behavior as well as showcasing the extent to which they affect goal setting and attainment. Intrinsic motivation, also known as self-motivation, according to Lin, is defined as what people will invariably do without external influence (Lin, 2007, p.58). This theory explores the individual motivation factors and asserts that individuals will normally work towards personally purposeful goals. For the success of intrinsic motivation to be attained, therefore, the individual has to be given a set of both challenging and attainable goals to achieve. At an organizational level, it is the key responsibility of the organization leadership to offer continuous feedback to employees so as to fully tap the potential of self-motivation. Moreover, setting attainable goals will be a sure tactic to keep employees motivated and feel in control of the outcome of their activities. At a team level, intrinsic motivation plays a more crucial role as it allows in sharing out responsibilities (Miner, 2005, p.36). A team leader should be able to align goals to each team member with an understanding of the individual’s motivating factors and self-esteem. Essentially, a team leader should be able to delegate duties based on knowledge of what each team member finds most fulfilling and is equally capable in. Secondly, there is the important role played by extrinsic motivation by leaders to aid in goal setting and attainment. Extrinsic motivation chiefly undertakes to evaluate the ability to provide others with situations that foster motivation of the individual (Sansone & Harackiewicz, 2000, p.61). As such, an individual’s behavior will be more centered towards achievement of the organization’s goals if there is continuous flow of positive feedback and recognition for outstanding work from the management. When an organization sets goals and clearly defines them to employees, the employs get a sense of control of the results expected by the organization. As such, they are in a position to align their behavior due to the fact that they are held accountable and responsible for the decisions that they make. Therefore, extrinsic motivation allows the management to maintain a compact workforce which is bound by a common goal while allowing the individuals to use these goals as personal benchmarks to assess productivity (Armstrong & Armstrong, 2012, p.105). Teams equally draw significant benefits from extrinsic motivation whereby the organization’s management may set targets at a team level and thus prompt the teams to work in solidarity towards attainment of the goals. Advances in Temporal Motivation Theory One of the most critical and effective techniques used by organization management in ensuring that employees remain focused on goals is through building a system of beliefs and values. Temporal motivation theory draws strong links between employee behaviors when presented with the reality of closing deadlines. The theory intimates that employees will be motivated to carry out a task with a higher level of seriousness if the task is due within a shorter time and the result are more immediate than if the task has no immediate deadline and results (Naile & Selesho, 2014, p.177). What this theory seeks to explain in relation to motivation and goal setting is the fact that for employees to be kept motivated, there is a need for there to be constant watch, feedback and reward for each set of goals completed. In essence, this theory presents an interesting analogy on the whole subject of motivation in goal setting. First, by acknowledging the pivotal role played by deadlines in improving motivation towards achievement of goals, it becomes increasingly clear that there needs to be a reward system in place that should acknowledge extra effort. Organization management, therefore, has to set up a consistent reward system that hails stellar performance so as to spur better productivity amongst employees (Sansone & Harackiewicz, 2000, p.72). In the team setting, it is equally important for team leaders to give timelines for tasks and reward team members who strive to meet these deadlines without compromising performance. Advances in Frederick’s Motivation-hygiene Theory. Similarly, Frederick’s Motivation-hygiene theory provides fundamental insights on the subject of goal setting and motivation. Frederick’s theory augments that there are certain factors that, if well utilized, could lead to motivation of employees. Moreover, the theory maintains that another set of factors lead to demotivation of employees. As such, the theory observes that for employees to remain motivated towards attainment of a particular goal, the management should prudently evaluate the motivators (Dartey & Amoako, 2011, p.4). These are the factors that encourage employees to strive towards achieving better results. For instance, Frederick highlights the importance of recognition in improving performance. He cites that if an employee is accorded recognition for impressive performance by the managers, he or she will in return have higher satisfaction from the job. Consequently, this employee will seek to maintain this performance in carrying out their duties. In the same light, other factors such as prospects for future growth in the job present motivation for employees to attain the set goals having in mind that in the long term, excellent performance will pay off (Steel & K"onig, 2006, p.904). Therefore, it is the duty of the management in the organization to recognize the factors that effectively motivate the employees towards attainment of particular organization goals. While the goals are many and are of varying nature, it remains the core responsibility of the organization’s leadership to foster good relations with the employees and in this way, the organization’s goals are well understood by the employees (Dartey & Amoako, 2011, p.7). Team leaders should also take the time to understand the motivation factors for every team member and apply this effectively in the goal setting process. Advances in Locke’s Goal Setting Theory In the early 1960s, Edwin Locke put forward a fascinating theory that examined the relationship between performance of employees in an organization and goal setting. He found that the primary role of goals was to give employees direction on what needed to be done and how much effort would be needed to accomplish the task. In this regard, Locke’s Goal Setting theory encompassed a variety of factors that, if well implemented and adhered to, would ultimately lead to improved performance. In his theory, he argued that for a goal to be effectively met by an individual, team, or organization, it had to communicated in a particular manner and meet certain requirements (Locke &Latham, 2006, p.266). First, Locke argued that goals had to be clear. In this regard, it was observed that goals that were ambiguous, general, and easy did not have the desired effect of motivating the employees towards working hard to achieve them. On the other hand, clear, specific, albeit difficult goals produced better results. Fundamentally, the clarity of a goal should be enhanced through professional handing of communication within the organization. Moreover, for team leaders and organization heads to create motivation in employees to accomplish certain goals, coherent and explicit communication channels have to be put in place to cater for both vertical and horizontal communication (Manzoor, 2011, p.86). In addition to this, Locke’s theory explains the need for the goals to be measurable. Under this categorization, a measurable goal meets the critical component ability to quantify progress. In motivation and organization leadership, a measurable goal will enable the team to know when they have accomplished the objective at hand. Similarly, having a measurable goal will enable an organization to determine how much in profits they need to make for the next financial year. This quality of being able to put down a goal in specific terms of either monetary, metric or other quantitative value develops an essential element in both the leadership and motivation process in an organization (Miner, 2005, p.124). The reward of having measurable goals is that the employees are able to stay on track and can assess individual performance on a daily basis. The fact that teams can also evaluate their performance within short time periods makes it possible for them to apply any corrective measures on realizing they may have not attained the set goals. Overall, having measurable goals enables the organization to be in a position to delegate responsibilities to the various departments and set targets. Thirdly, for goals to achieve the desired motivational impact and effectiveness of the leadership towards its realization, a goal should be attainable. Many theoretical frameworks have argued that the success of an organization basis largely on setting high standards within the business environment. In the highly competitive business world, it is neither surprising nor uncommon to find the management exerting pressure on the employees and team leaders to achieve what would be considered unattainable goals. If the goals are not attainable, this usually has a negative effect on employee motivation, mainly leading to demotivation of employees (Manzoor, 2011, p.39). With this in mind, it is important for organizations to clearly understand and set the right attitudes, and set goals based on the skills and abilities of the employees. In so doing, organization are able to focus on those goals that are not only attainable, but also those that have the effect of motivating employees and team leaders towards their achievement. Closely resembling the attribute of being attainable is the characteristic of goals being realistic. In practice, an organization will only be able to attain tangible success in the long run and maintain a highly motivated workforce only if it sets goals that have the effect of making substantial progress on the productivity of the organization (Locke &Latham, 2006, p.266). In this regard, realistic goals enable employees remain focused and equally give teams the optimism of accomplishing these goals. Moreover, having realistic goals enables the employees to have a conducive environment where they are not only willing but also have the ability to work. Lastly, goals should have the characteristic of being time bound. Time bound goals enable organization leaders to set up deadlines that employees and teams can working towards meeting. This characteristic is best substantiated in the Temporal Theory. Having goals grounded into a time frame makes it possible for employees to center their efforts towards achieving these goals by the set time (Steel & K"onig, 2006, p.902). It equally plays a pivotal role in assigning work to teams whereby the effectiveness of the leadership of the time is analyzed through their capability to meet the set deadlines. In addition to these, organizations are in a position to assess performance by gauging what has been achieved within a set time frame, say a financial year. CONCLUSION. Undeniably, as can be seen from the above literature, goals play a critical role in determining organizational behavior and the impact of this behavior on the performance. The long term benefits associated with goal setting on the leadership and motivation of employees at all levels in the organization strongly outweigh any associated limitations of the theories on human motivation and leadership (Tosi & Pilati, 2011, p.79). Undoubtedly, as organization expand, there even a more urgent need to use goals as a means to motivate employees and organizational leadership. Moreover, the effectiveness and value of teamwork in any organization can only have substantial effect on the productivity if they are continually given goals to achieve. Finally, successive goal setting is a process that should be accompanied by managing change and relentlessly embracing any positive change that is meant to make the goals more attainable, coherent and in line with an organization’s long-term mission and vision. REFERENCES. Armstrong, M., & Armstrong, M. 2012. Armstrong's handbook of human resource management practice. London, Kogan Page. Dartey-Baah, K. and Amoako, G. 2011. Application of Frederick Herzberg's Two-Factor theory in assessing and understanding employee motivation at work: a Ghanaian Perspective. European Journal of Business and Management, 3(9), pp.1--8. Lin, H. 2007. Effects of extrinsic and intrinsic motivation on employee knowledge sharing intentions. Journal of information science. Locke, E. and Latham, G. 2006. New directions in goal-setting theory. Current directions in psychological science, 15(5), pp.265--268. Manzoor, Q. 2011. Impact of employees’ motivation on organizational effectiveness. European Journal of Business and Management, 3(3), pp.36--44. Miner, J. B., 2005. Essential theories of motivation and leadership. Armonk, NY [u.a.], Sharpe. Naile, I. and Selesho, J. 2014. The Role of Leadership in Employee Motivation. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 5(3), p.175-179. Sansone, C., & Harackiewicz, J. M. 2000. Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation the search for optimal motivation and performance. San Diego, Academic Press. Steel, P. and K"onig, C. 2006. Integrating theories of motivation. Academy of Management Review, 31(4), pp.889--913. Tosi, H. L., & Pilati, M. 2011. Managing Organizational Behavior Individuals, Teams, Organization and Management. Cheltenham, Edward Elgar Pub.  Read More