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When I was a student of management many years ago, I learned that the roles of management were: to plan, to organize, to staff, to motivate, and to control.

Behavioral science, which took over the teaching of management in business schools, made motivation a central flag of leadership theory.

I beg to differ.

Leaders should not motivate. If they need to motivate, they have already failed—in their staffingdecision.

‍I suggest that the role of leadership is not to motivate, but to ensure that leaders themselves, or the organizational systems they design, do not demotivate.

That means do not hire people who are not motivated and then it is your job to motivate them. Do not hire mules and try to motivate them to become racing horses. Hire racing horses—and make sure your organization does not turn them into mules.

When motivation declines, the real question is not how to motivate, but diagnose and remove what is demotivating.

A common mistake we all make is to analyze demotivation through our own style. But what demotivates us is not necessarily what demotivates others.

Using the PAEI code clarifies this.

• (P) types become demotivated when there is no support to accomplish their tasks—when bureaucracy interferes with getting things done.
• (A) types are demotivated by lack of order, clarity, and predictability.
• (E) types lose motivation when there is no horizon to aim for, no future to create.
• (I) types are demotivated by poor social dynamics—lack of caring, socialization, and mutual support.

The role of leadership, therefore, is to design the organization—its systems, structure, culture, and processes—to provide a PAEI system not only of pecuniary rewards like salary and bonuses, but not less important, of the of non-pecuniary rewards. A system in which all styles feel their needs are being met. A system with a mission people can identify with, tasks that are not demotivating, sufficient order and predictability, and a climate of mutual support and friendship.

Once such a system exists and is tested, hire the people you need—people whose style fits the task—and who are already motivated to do their work.

Do not motivate. Hire people who are motivated to start with. People who are excited to do the job. And then validate that their PAEI style matches the PAEI code of the task. (Adizes Institute has a test for that purpose ALIS, the Adizes Leadership Indicators Suite)