How can we motivate our collaborators? - Expectancy theory

Written on . Posted in Developing managerial skills

Expectancy theory was developed by Vroom in 1964. This theory says that, provided the rewards we expect to get are what matters to us, the stronger the bond between our efforts and our job performance and between our job performance and these rewards, the higher the motivation. This theory is innovative and throws light on three important assumptions on our side:

  • expectancy: if we increase our efforts at work, our job performance will improve
  • instrumentality: if our job performance improves, we will receive a reward. In other words, job performance is the means for us to get what we want
  • valence: the rewards we will get are valuable to us and we believe it is worth working hard in this direction, and if the rewards are not appealing to us, we won't be motivated enough to put more effort into a work project.
All in all, this theory makes us reflect on the fact that, as managers, we should make sure:
  1. the rewards we promise our collaborators are relevant to them;
  2. our collaborators receive the rewards we have promised them if their job performance is satisfactory and objectives are reached;
  3. we give our collaborators all the resources and means they need to reach the objectives, otherwise they will feel their job performance depends not only on their efforts but also on something which is out of their control and this might decrease their motivation.

Rethinking the Adaptive Leadership model through the Italian Adaptive Leadership Behavior Questionnaire

Since Heifetz designed the adaptive leadership framework in 1994, the academic literature has benefitted from many qualitative research studies focusing on specific adaptive challenges and how the adaptive leadership framework can be practically used to face these. It seems very few have dealt with adaptive leadership through the quantitative lens and have attempted to measure adaptive leadership behaviors or tested Heifetz’s adaptive leadership six-dimensional model. In response, my PhD research aimed to measure the perception of adaptive leadership behaviors across the Italian corporate context and to investigate whether Heifetz’s adaptive leadership model can apply to the Italian culture. Findings and contribution to knowledge can be read in the thesis: Novellini, P. (2023) Rethinking the Adaptive Leadership model through the Italian Adaptive Leadership Behavior Questionnaire, PhD thesis, University of Sunderland.

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Novellini - Hall Italian Adaptive Leadership Behavior Questionnaire

Do you want to measure the perception of adaptive leadership within your company or team? You can use 'Novellini - Hall Adaptive Leadership Behaviour Questionnaire', a new tool in the literature of leadership. This questionnaire was designed especially to be used in the business environment with a perspective on the higher level figures in the hierarchy. However, you can use it in any type of environment and at any level by adapting the terminology to the reality you want to focus on.

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