Power Is the Great Motivator (Harvard Business Review Classics) [Paperback]

David C. McClelland (Author), David H. Burnham (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 4, 2008 | ISBN-10: 1422179729 | ISBN-13: 978-1422179727

In this provocative exploration into the nature and value of power in organizations, authors David McClelland and David Burnham reveal how the drive for influence is essential to good management. The authors provide a wealth of counterintuitive insights about what using power really means in today's business landscape. Power Is the Great Motivator is a must-read for all managers seeking to foster high morale and a strong sense of responsibility and commitment in their workforce.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

The late David C. McClelland was a professor of psychology at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1976 when this article first appeared. David. H. Burnham was at that time the president and chief executive officer of McBer & Company, a behavioral science consulting firm. He is currently a principal of the Burnham Rosen Group, a strategic-consulting and leadership-training firm in Boston.

Product Details

• Paperback: 65 pages
• Publisher: Harvard Business School Press (August 4, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1422179729
• ISBN-13: 978-1422179727
• Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 4.1 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,132,662 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #89 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Business & Investing > Management & Leadership > Motivational

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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What is the motivation for a successful manager?, March 20, 2003

By 

Gerard Kroese (The Netherlands) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Power Is the Great Motivator (HBR Classic) (HBR OnPoint Enhanced Edition) (Digital)

The late David C. McClelland was a Professor of Psychology at Harvard University when this article first appeared in 1976. David H. Burnham was at that time the President and CEO of McBer & Company, a behavioral consulting firm. He is currently a principal of the Burnham Rosen Group, a strategic consulting and leadership-training firm in Boston. This article was originally published in the March-April 1976 issue of the Harvard Business Review.

"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.