"What makes or motivates a good manager?" A good manager is successful; motivation comes from the need for achievement. "But what has achievement got to do with good management?" Based on their research and workshops the authors conclude that the top manager of a company must possess a high need for power - that is, a concern for influencing people. In fact, their need for power has to be greater than their need to be liked. The authors discuss their workshop techniques for measuring managerial effectiveness and insights into their research, including the power factor. This research led them to three kinds of managers: (1) The institutional manager = high in power motivation, low in affiliation motivation, and high in inhibition; (2) the affiliative managers = the need for affiliation is higher than the need for power; and (3) personal-power managers = the need for power is higher than the need for affiliation but with a low inhibition score. They provide us with scores for each kind of manager on sense of responsibility, organizational clarity and team spirit, whereby the institutional manager comes out on top. But do not be concerned, the authors also believe that managers can change their styles. The authors believe that the most important point from their research is that managers of companies "can select those who are likely to be good managers and train those already in managerial positions to be more effective with more confidence."
Great article on the relation between motivation and effectiveness of managers. It makes a good relation between the need for power and achievement and management styles. And although this article was originally published in 1976, it is still very actual. This OnPoint-version includes a retrospective commentary by David McClelland. Recommended to executives, managers, human resources professionals, and MBA-students. The authors use simple business US-English.