An understanding of systems and management is critical for leaders; however, I think the most important understanding for an effective leader is human motivation. Leaders must have followers, and without a grasp of what motivates people and proper application of that knowledge, prospective leaders will have few followers.
While the current accountability models employ rewards and punishments as primary motivators, extensive research has shown that these are poor motivators - especially for tasks without easy solutions (i.e., teaching and learning). In a thought provoking article in Education Week, Deborah Stipek states,“The promise of reward and the threat of punishment do not motivate people to perform effectively and sometimes undermine their performance when those approaches make them feel coerced, disrespected, or incompetent.”
Stipek offers three elements that must be present for humans to be motivated to solve complex problems: a sense of autonomy, of respect, and of efficacy. Similarly, a Daniel Pink TED Talk, reveals that people are motivated to solve difficult problems when: 1. They have autonomy, 2. They feel mastery, and 3. They have purpose. What is different about these motivators? Unlike rewards and punishment, they are internal motivators. They get to the "heart of the matter."
The lesson for school leaders is while there is a place in our motivational arsenal for external motivators (rewards and punishments), we must understand and utilize internal motivators (autonomy, efficacy, and purpose), to lead people towards solving complex problems.
