The 2 great motivators every leader should know about
By Stephanie Oley

The recent rise of burnout among leaders serves as a reminder that even those at the top need tools, tactics and encouragement to stay motivated. But what is motivation and how do we maintain it, especially over long periods and in situations where everyone is watching?

According to long-term CCE psychology facilitator Eleanor Shakiba, maintaining motivation starts with understanding its two broad components. First, there’s your own personal ability to keep soldiering on – even in difficult times. Second is your role in building the motivation of others, such as your team.

Most people experience an occasional lack of motivation. According to leading psychologists, rewards largely influence our desire to accomplish things. These rewards could be intrinsic, such as your own satisfaction levels, or extrinsic, such as the money or recognition gained through doing certain things. It’s natural to lose interest in a task or project if our value of the reward diminishes, or if the reward itself is not available. Let’s look at each of these more closely.

Intrinsic or extrinsic factors: what motivates you?

Activities you engage in for fun are examples of intrinsic motivation. Think about your hobbies: the enjoyment you get from those activities is rewarding enough. You may also feel intrinsically rewarded after completing a challenging work task. As explained on the popular VeryWell Mind psychology website, when we are intrinsically motivated, we feel a combined sense of independence, mastery and purpose.

Interestingly, the same researchers found that intrinsic motivation can diminish when extrinsic rewards enter the picture. For example, children who enjoyed painting produced less interesting work when motived by a reward. And some athletes lost interest in their sport when a trophy was offered. Psychologists call this the over-justification effect. The activity becomes devalued, and we start to question our original motives for ever starting it.

By contrast, extrinsic motivation comes from a desire to gain external rewards or avoid repercussions. Most of us work to earn money, which is an external reward. Different industries also offer non-monetary external rewards. For example, medicine and the law might reward with intellectual prestige. Business leadership might be about creating a legacy. Theatre, music and the arts might reward with stardom. For many people, the motivation to work would diminish if we didn’t receive these or other rewards.

Remaining motivated means creating an environment where you have both types of motivators. This brings us back to this discussion on motivation for leaders.

It's lonely at the top

On paper, those in leadership roles have it all – enviable bonuses or pay packets, glittering trophies, social status and the certainty they get to keep those rewards. However, many will agree that life as a leader can be isolating, filled with personal and professional challenges that few can help resolve.

Added to this, a 2023 report from global recruiter The Adecco Group revealed that around 44 per cent of leaders are reporting burnout. Listed on WHO’s International Classification of Diseases since 2019, burnout is a phenomenon that far exceeds feelings of temporary stress. It’s an overwhelming sense of not being able to cope. The survey of around 15,000 leaders described unusually heavy workloads in the wake of mass resignations, and feeling the pressure of a too-uncertain global marketplace.

While the solutions to these issues are vast and varied, choosing the right reward system is one way to boost your motivation to complete tasks. For some people, this might mean building a resilient and optimistic mindset. Mindset matters a lot in business, and it’s no secret that people with optimistic, resilient thinking patterns build more positive solutions and flourishing organisations. With a little coaching, you can learn how to turn challenges, negative experiences and setbacks into positives.

Another solution is to build your self-confidence, which is more closely linked to motivation than you might think. For example, if you tend to suffer from imposter syndrome, your motivation levels can suffer as a result. This in turn can cause you to gradually lose confidence in your ability to get things done. Listing the ways that you find your work intrinsically rewarding can boost your motivation in the workplace.

The more know about motivation, the more you will be able to control as a leader.