Motivational Theories and Principles in Leadership Online Course

Motivational Theories and Principles in Leadership

Unlock the power of motivation to become a more effective and inspiring leader. This course is designed for current and aspiring leaders, managers, team supervisors, and anyone who wants to better understand what drives people and how to lead with purpose.

Motivated teams perform better, stay engaged longer, and contribute to a healthier work environment. This course explores the most influential motivational theories and how to apply them in real-life leadership settings to get the best from yourself and others.

You will learn how to:

  • Apply motivational theories to real-world leadership situations

  • Identify what motivates different people and adapt your approach

  • Boost team performance and morale

  • Encourage personal accountability and ownership

  • Lead with empathy, clarity, and inspiration

This course equips you with the knowledge and confidence to lead through motivation—building stronger teams, improving performance, and creating a positive workplace culture.

This unit standard is suitable for learners who will be working within a Public Sector, Local Government, commercial or community environment, and will fulfil a leadership role as part of their job. This unit standard will also add value to public officials who are seeking to develop a career pathway towards an accomplished integrated development planner or public sector management and administration specialist.

Course Content

  • The term motivation is defined and discussed with examples
  • Motivating triggers are discussed with examples
  • Motivation is discussed in relation to its impact on performance levels
  • The negative impact of demotivation is discussed with examples
  • Typical indicators for measuring motivation levels are identified and selected for a leadership context
  • Motivation is discussed from an inspirational perspective and the importance of inspiration in driving self and others is explained with examples
  • Two theories of motivation are compared in terms of how each enables people to be motivated in both the personal and work environment
  • A theory is chosen and explained in terms of its application to self
  • A theory is chosen and explained in terms of its application to a team
  • An action plan is compiled to motivate self and others based on the chosen theories
  • Self-motivation levels are analysed and motivational problem areas identified in relation to leadership abilities
  • A plan to enhance self-motivation is outlined and implemented within a given timeframe
  • Techniques for sustaining self-motivation are identified and implemented in a leadership context
  • Leadership principles and skills are applied to enhance self-motivation in work context
  • The techniques leaders can use to motivate a team are identified and applied in their own work context
  • The importance of leading by example is discussed and the concept of being a role-model in a leadership context is explained with examples
  • The importance that recognition, information, communication, empathy, decision-making and environment play in motivating others is discussed with examples
  • The importance of creating a positive, conducive environment is discussed in relation to motivation
  • Feedback mechanisms are identified and applied to effectively motivate others
  • An action plan for motivating own work teams is outlined and implemented within given timeframes
  • The concept of empowerment is discussed as it relates to motivating others in a leadership context
  • The role of personal success in inspiring self and others is discussed with examples
  • Non-accredited: Short course only  
  • Duration: 1h 30m
  • Delivery: Classroom/Online/Blended
  • Access Period: 12 Months 
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