Motivationis defined as “the extent to which persistent effort is directed toward a goal” (Campbell, Dunnette, Lawler &Weick).
Effort: The first aspect of motivation refers to the amount of effort being applied to the job. This effort is defined in relation to its appropriateness to the objectives being pursued. One may, for example, apply tremendous effort to inappropriate tasks that do not contribute to the achievement of the stated goals.
Persistence: The second characteristic relates to the willingness of the individual to stay with a task until it is complete. For example, an important task that gets accomplished with effort but allows the person to rest on their laurels for an extended period does not display persistence.
Direction: Is the effort directed towards achieving organizational goals or related to the individual’s self-interest. Direction is therefore measured in terms of how persistent effort is applied in relation to the goals being pursued.
Goals: Two different kinds of goals has to be pursued simultaneously. They are individual goals and organizational goals which may produce quite different results if they are not compatible.
Leadership may be defined as: the influence that particular individuals (leaders) exert upon the goal achievement of others (subordinates) in an organizational context.
Leaders have an ability to see how different aspects of a situation fit together and influence each other, thus instilling self-confidence creates a belief in other people’s abilities, therefore, emphasis is placed on empowerment and freedom.
leadership has two distinct aspects:
- The individual who exerts influence
- Those who are the objects of this influence.
To be an assertive leader one has to discover the various key constituents of leadership skills which would help a new leader to assimilate and achieve his/ her goals of leadership objectives