Motivation
Administration in Social Work, 33:347–367, 2009 Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC ISSN: 0364-3107 print/1544-4376 online DOI: 10.1080/03643100902769160
Administration in Social Work, Vol. 33, No. 2, February 2009: pp. 0–0 1544-4376 0364-3107 WASW Work
Motivation and Leadership in Social Work Management: A Review of Theories and Related Studies
ELIZABETH A. FISHER
E. A. Fisher Motivation and Leadership in Social Work Administration
Department of Social Work, Shippensburg University, Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, USA
Social work managers are confronted with the responsibilities of leading employees and motivating them to succeed. Managers may yield better results when they couple their practice wisdom with a theoretical foundation. This conceptual paper may help social work administrators and educators by providing an overview of relevant theories of motivation and leadership and how they apply to social work. The theories that are introduced include Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, Herzberg’s two-factor or motivatorhygiene theory, McClelland’s trichotomy of needs, McGregor’s Theory X – Theory Y, Likert’s System 1 – System 4, Blake and Mouton’s managerial grid, Hersey and Blanchard’s situational leadership, and Atwater and Bass’s transformational leadership. KEYWORDS leadership, motivation, theory
Social work managers are often charged with motivating employees to perform well in their jobs. While management skills may suffice for task-related issues, motivation and organizational innovation requires leadership (Shin & McClomb, 1998; Pearlmutter, 1998). Some managers have learned to lead successfully based on their practice wisdom and personal experience, but as a group social work administrators may rely too heavily on these two facets. Classic studies of leadership have demonstrated that managers who conform to the tenets of one leadership theory or another, versus none at all, achieve more in their own eyes and those of their workers (Hall &
Administration in Social Work, Vol. 33, No. 2, February 2009: pp. 0–0 1544-4376 0364-3107 WASW Work
Motivation and Leadership in Social Work Management: A Review of Theories and Related Studies
ELIZABETH A. FISHER
E. A. Fisher Motivation and Leadership in Social Work Administration
Department of Social Work, Shippensburg University, Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, USA
Social work managers are confronted with the responsibilities of leading employees and motivating them to succeed. Managers may yield better results when they couple their practice wisdom with a theoretical foundation. This conceptual paper may help social work administrators and educators by providing an overview of relevant theories of motivation and leadership and how they apply to social work. The theories that are introduced include Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, Herzberg’s two-factor or motivatorhygiene theory, McClelland’s trichotomy of needs, McGregor’s Theory X – Theory Y, Likert’s System 1 – System 4, Blake and Mouton’s managerial grid, Hersey and Blanchard’s situational leadership, and Atwater and Bass’s transformational leadership. KEYWORDS leadership, motivation, theory
Social work managers are often charged with motivating employees to perform well in their jobs. While management skills may suffice for task-related issues, motivation and organizational innovation requires leadership (Shin & McClomb, 1998; Pearlmutter, 1998). Some managers have learned to lead successfully based on their practice wisdom and personal experience, but as a group social work administrators may rely too heavily on these two facets. Classic studies of leadership have demonstrated that managers who conform to the tenets of one leadership theory or another, versus none at all, achieve more in their own eyes and those of their workers (Hall &