Motivation

Abstract

In the previous chapters, we touched briefly on motivation as it is related to leadership. This chapter will explore some of the most commonly cited literature on motivation and attempt to describe the development of motivation theory. Although motivation is considered in the general and nursing research literature to be crucial to the way in which leaders apply their skills and influence (McClelland 1975; Burns 1978; Mackie 1987), there is little research in nursing to demonstrate the motivations of effective nurse leaders. The literature on nurse leadership that touches on motivation appears to accept and assume the same motivation factors for nurse leaders as for other leaders. However, this could be an erroneous assumption as some research suggests that there are significant differences in motivation factors in terms of preferred rewards between professional leaders and other types of leader (Miner 1982). It appears that there may also be a gender factor to be considered — both Albarn-Metcalfe (1989) and Nicholson and West (1988) have found differences between the sexes in ambition and motivating factors.