Motivation and emotion/Book/2026/Power motivation in leadership

Power motivation in leadership:
How does power motivation influence leadership styles and effectiveness?

Overview

Imagine a leader standing for their inauguration, surrounded by a concentration of wealthy and influential individuals. At first glance, this may reflect a preference for resources and influence. But a closer look raises a psychological question: what motivates a leader to seek and exercise power, and how might this shape the way they lead?

The scenario is not hypothetical. It reflects the current leadership of United States President Donald Trump [Embed link to Wikipedia article], whose 2025 administration included an unusually large concentration of wealthy and influential individuals. This concentration of political and economic power is illustrated by the individuals present at Trump's inauguration (see Figure 1). This provides a contemporary example for examining the relationship between power motivation and leadership.

But power is reflected not only in who a leader surrounds themselves with, but also in how they exercise their influence. For example, using a social media platform as a political megaphone and bypassing traditional bureaucratic communication channels. Donald Trump's leadership style is highly self-focused and centred on power and image.

This raises the question: does the desire for power necessarily make someone an effective leader? Individuals seek leadership for a variety of reasons, and how they use their influence affects how they interact with followers, make decisions, and pursue goals. Psychology can explain these differences by examining power motivation and how individual motives influence leadership behaviour.

This chapter will explore power motivation [Provide APA style citation; move link to References] and how it influences leadership styles, behaviour and effectiveness. Exploring the duality of its expression and how that interplays into a leader being successful (Friederichs et al., 2023).

Power motivation is the desire to influence, control, and have the ability to impact others; it is very relevant to leadership as leaders consistently have the ability to influence decisions (McClelland, 1970).
Power motivation can be expressed via socialised or personalised power. The type of expression determines the leader's behaviour and effectiveness, either producing positive outcomes for effective decision-making or negative, self-serving outcomes (Reeve, 2018; McClelland, 1970; Carvalho & Conde, 2024).
Being able to understand and tell the distinction between the type of power motivation being expressed is crucial to see how leaders exercise authority and how followers respond. Psychological science can help explain why some power-motivated leaders use influence to control, while others use it to empower (Reeve, 2018).

Focus questions

[Use bullet points as shown in Tutorial 2]

1. What psychological theories account for power motivation in leadership style?

2. How does a leader's orientation towards power influence their specific leadership style?

3. What is implicit motivation, and how does it differ from explicit power motivation in leaders?

4. What is the relationship between power motivation and overall leadership effectiveness?

Understanding Power Motivation

Focus question: What psychological theories account for power motivation in leadership style?

What are your thoughts when you hear motivation and power, separately and together? Motivation, a term used to describe the push to act, and power, often associated with aggression, together they hold a heavy definition.
Motivation is the driving force that guides human behaviour; it is the use of will-power and self-discipline - channelling effort to achieve a goal. Certain individuals have predominant motive of power, being motivated by the internal urge to dominate, influence, or control (Kurt, 2021).
Power motivation has three characteristics: strong action, emotional impact, and concern for status, frame, and reputation. It is influenced by cultural values and socialised experiences (McClelland,1970).
The need for power, nPower, can be expressed in two manners: dominant or prosocial. There is a contrasting nature between how power is expressed for leadership, affecting how leaders behave. Dominant power is associated with antisocial behaviour and guides individuals to achieve personal benefit and status, using aggression and assertive manners. This contrasts with prosocial power, which motivates leaders to be benevolent and supportive (Friederichs et al., 2023).
Power seekers can be effective, well-adjusted, and highly motivated. Power is a source of human control; only the mentally healthy can wield it successfully. Those with this form of nPower struggle to feel satisfied unless they are in a position that fulfils their power-hungry needs, such as making decisions, influencing an audience, or obtaining information to become influential. Such occupations are teachers, journalists, clergy, psychologists, diplomats, business executives, political leaders and advisors (Reeve, 2018).

David McClelland's is popular within the psychology community for his thoughts on power motivation, with the most well-known theories, the Three Need Theory and the Two Faces of Power theory. In studies done by McClelland, it was discovered that those with high nPower tended to drink more heavily, making a comment that nPower can either manifest through drinking or 'hold office.'

McClelland's Three Need Theory

McClelland (seen in Figure 2.) proposed Three Need Theory, describes that every individual is driven by three dominant, unconscious needs: The need for power, affiliation, or achievement (one is more dominant than the others), definition can be seen in Table 1, (Kurt, 2021).
The Three Need Theory can also be looked at along with Herzberg's Two-Factor theory and Maslow's theory of Hierarchy of Needs. Looking into how motivation affects health, as success impacts stress, blood pressure, and hormone levels (McClelland,1970).
Individuals develop motivation at different degrees, influenced by personal experiences and exposure. When an experience causes a positive emotional response, the individual is more likely to seek that feeling out again through a similar experience (Reeve, 2018).
Explained through the McClelland Acquired Needs Theory, positive emotional experiences develop acquired needs through the reinforcement of the behaviour (Kurt, 2021).

Table 1: Three Need Theory
Need	Definition	High Behaviour	Low Behaviour
Need for Achievement	Situations that challenge individuals with explicit standards.	Individual exhibits a need to win and receive recognition.	Constant fear of failure, typically avoids responsibilities.
Need for Affiliation	Situations that afford warm relationship opportunities.	A desire within for control, typically exaggerates own position.	A heavily dependent individual, tries to minimise own position and importance.
Need for Power	Situations that enable others to exert influence over others.	Individual demands and expects loyalty and harmony.	Individual remains 'aloof' and keeps social distance from influence over others.

Two Faces of Power

The Two Faces of Power theory, is a subgroup with the three needs of power theory propised by McClelland which introdiced the two faces of power, splitting the nPower into two manner's, personalised power or socialised power, also referred to as pPower, and sPower (McClelland, 1970). pPower is seen as socially unacceptable way of expression, is is closely linked to control, in a way it is the definition that power is sometimes thought as, aggressive, and self-desired, those with this form of power see like as a me-against-the-world. sPower, is more socially acceptable form of expression, leaders are motivated through inspiring others (Bargh & Lee-Chai, 2002).
Leaders can take on both forms of power; McClelland believes that a true leader can balance both. They can exercise personal dominance and socialised leadership (Bargh & Lee-Chai, 2002).
pPower can become problematic when leaders become too absorbed by the maintenance of their position and influence, the ability to dominate, manipulate, and disagree. However, the issue isn't high-power motivation; it's how it is expressed (McClelland, 1970).

Recap

What is the driving force that guides human behaviour?

	Personalised power focuses on achievement, and socialised power focuses on affiliation
	Personalised power focuses on personal dominance and control, and socialised power focuses on benefiting others
	Personalised power is consistently associated with an effective leadership style, whereas socialised power is associated with an ineffective leadership style.

	Avoiding situations where they might influence others
	Seek opportunities to influence, control, or have an impact on others
	Avoid challenging tasks for fear of failure

Power Orientation and Leadership Style

Focus question: How does a leader's orientation towards power influence their specific leadership style?
Power motivation is the drive; power orientation is the how; it is the framework of how a leader will manage to become influential. There is a negative stereotype around having a high power motivation, with theories that it automatically relates to undesired behaviour, unlike prosocial power motivation, which is regularly associated with generosity. However, those with high power motivation can have different power orientations. Ego-power orientation is associated with pursuing goals to satisfy the self and achieve a sense of self-fulfilment; this doesn't automatically mean they are using it for harm, as it depends on their position of influence and work. Social-power orientation is linked to directing power toward collective outcomes (Carvalho & Conde, 2024).

Author note: add more information into this section - do more research/potentially move it around.

Effective leadership involves more than holding a position of authority; it is about how leaders behave and interact. There are five essential characteristics to leadership: self-image, socialised power, sustained dialogue, and strategic intent, providing a practical framework for a successful leader (Power, 2026). Power motivation and leadership are relevant across different contexts, from political leaders to supervisors, building a relationship with employees and an environment of trust (Power, 2026; Friederichs et al., 2023)

Leadership styles refer to the way a leader behaves when directing, influencing and interacting. Although leadership styles reflect theoretical models, they can also be shaped by individual characteristics and techniques (Khajeh et al., 2018; "What Are the Different Leadership Styles?", 2024). Different styles place varying emphasis on factors seen in Table 2 (Deakin University, 2024; Bwalya, 2023). Research suggests that transformational leadership can produce positive outcomes by motivating and inspiring followers, benefiting the group rather then for personal interests, rather than focusing on personal interest, (Peyton et al., 2019)

Table 2. Leadership Styles
Leadership styles
Style	Description	Example Leaders
Autocratic	Leader holds complete control over decision-making with no input from followers. Consistently exercises control over the decision-making process. Expects strict compliance with policies and procedures, and does not take input from followers. They micromanage and control subordinate work. They make quick decisions because they do not have to consult. There is a lack of creative innovation (Bwalya, 2023).	Adolf Hitler and Kim Jong-un
Democratic	Leader is involved in team members' decision-making process, continuously encourages communication, and seeks feedback on matters, valuing input and ideas, wanting followers to participate in shaping strategies and goals (Bwalya, 2023).	Former President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela and Former Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern
Laissex-faire	The leader is distant and has minimal involvement in decisions, unlike autocratic leadership, as laissez-faire lets followers make decisions with little guidance or supervision, trusting their ability to manage responsibilities. They are comfortable with mistakes and take accountability for followers' mistakes. This empowers employees and enables faster decision-making. However, the lack of guidance can cause confusion and lack of coordination (Bwalya, 2023).	Former President Herbert Hoover and Mahatma Ghandi
Servant	Leader is prosocial and motivated by power, focusing on the needs and well-being of others. Aiming to support and empower followers, in hopes they reach their full potential (Bwalya, 2023).	Pope Francis
Transformational	Based on inspiration and motivation to achieve performance, with high expectations and focus on challenging others to exceed self-interest. Focuses on transforming followers through inspiration, motivation, and effective communication. They rely on the leader's influence; if the leader fails to provide proper guidance, it can impact followers (Bwalya, 2023).	Former President of South Africa Nelson Mandela and Former President of the United States Barack Obama
Transactional	Focuses on the exchange relationship between the leader and their followers. The leader maintains stability and achieves goals by providing rewards and punishments based on performance. Very goal-oriented, with clear expectations, and quick decision-making (Bwalya, 2023).	Bill Gates and Former Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel

Implicit Motivation

Focus question: What is implicit motivation, and how does it differ from explicit power motivation in leaders?

Implicit motives are unconscious needs that influence how people respond emotionally to particular situations. They form early on through preverbal experiences and interactions, lying dormant until potential incentives set them off. They are revealed through patterns of thought, emotion, and behaviour (Reeve, 2018)
Implicit motives differ from explicit motives, which are a conscious goal or value that people can describe and self-report (Slabbinck & Van Witteloostuijn, 2020). They can predict long-term behaviour, especially when the situation provides a way to satisfy the motive.
According to McClelland, implicit motives are unconscious and therefore can't be accurately measured through self-reporting. They are assessed via indirect methods, ie., analysing imaginative stories (Reeve, 2018). The Dual-Motive System.

Leadership Motive Pattern

Leadership Motive Pattern (LMP) developed from McClelland's work on motivation, describes a profile associated with effective leadership. It is consistent with three elements: high implicit power, low implicit affiliation, and high activity inhibition. Together, these elements help explain how a leader can balance self-control and a drive for nPower while also prioritising social benefits (Reeve, 2018).
Leaders who are motivated to influence are usually less dependent on being personally liked or accepted. Their high npower encourages them to seek influence, while their low need for affiliation reduces their reliance on close relationships, and their high inhibition allows them to regulate their impulses. In contrast, individuals with high need for power, low affiliation, and low inhibition are often unsuccessful and rated poorly, as they struggle to regulate their desire for influence, lack self-discipline, and can be seen as narcissistic or aggrandising (Reeve, 2018).
Author note: add more information into this section - a case study on a public figure...

Need for Power

Individuals with a high nPower, are motivated by their desire to impact, control, or influence others or their environment. They want to establish, maintain, and expand their power. High-power-striving individuals therefore seek dominance, reputation, status, or positions of authority (Reeve, 2018).
Individuals like this enjoy the ability to demonstrate influence and be able to reinforce their power. They are motivated to attain and maintain leadership positions because these roles provide opportunities to exercise authority and influence over others. Successfully obtaining power can provide a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment, reinforcing their motivation (Reeve, 2018). Look into the chemical reaction potentially (comment made after tutorial three).
These individuals tend to thrive off inspirational speeches, and they feel more energetic and their physiological arousal increases (Reeve, 2018).

Power Motivation and Leadership Effectiveness

Focus question: What is the relationship between power motivation and overall leadership effectiveness?
Power motivation can influence leadership effectiveness depending on how the motive is expressed and regulated. A high nPower can motivate individuals to seek leadership distinction; the shape power motivation takes will enable one to understand its effect on leadership effectiveness.

The expression of the power motivation can develop through social and environmental experiences. Individuals who develop power-strivings may have experienced childhood environments in which the parents established demanding standards, potentially contributing to a desire for recognition and admiration. nPower has been associated with aggressive tendencies, although high power motivation doesn't automatically result in overt aggression. Social norms, laws, and consequences can constrain this expression, causing that desire to control to remain internal rather than manifest as overt aggression (Reeve, 2018).
Individuals high in the need for power may be attracted to occupations that provide career-wise; individuals with high rates in need for power are drawn to professions with influential opportunities (Reeve, 2018).

Destructive Power Dynamics and Power Abuse

A relationship between aggression and the need for power has been identified, with studies finding men being more argumentative. However, a high need for power doesn't necessarily result in aggression. Social norms, laws, and consequences can constrain this expression, causing that desire to control to remain internally rather than through overt aggression.
Tend to harbour inclinations that are both benevolent and malevolent towards others, strive to improve the world, whilst also influencing everyone.
Dark side of implicit motive is the combination of opportunity to use power for personal benefit, which is the 'abuse of power.' Additionally, there is a link to sexual misconduct and excessive drinking (Spanler et al., 2014).
Unrestrained affiliation can lead to favouritism and corruption in political and bureaucratic organisations. Achievement, ignore political/interpersonal issues. High need for achievement, find it difficult working in groups, making decisions, ad enforcing authority, ignoring interpersonal relationships (Spanler et al., 2014).

Key Predictors of Effective Leadership

Effective leader, is a combination of power strivings which are complemented with self-discipline inhibition, ie., power under control, which gives rise to charismatic leadership, and high morale.
High affliction motivation will motivate followers by communication concern, respect, appreciation, and support, developing high-quality leader followers interactions.
Leaders with weak moral identify act in self-interest ways.
Leaders benefit from a prosocial enactment strategy, action orientation through prosocial power motivation leads to reduced power related anxiety, greater well-being.
Achievement strivings were associated with ineffective presidential, because achievement-oriented individuals were highly active but also frustrated.
Successful presidents would have effective communication and combative skills, and a sense of humour. Additionally five variables that define a presidential effectiveness are, direct presidential action, perceived greatness, performance on social and economic issue, and international relations.
Leadership motive pattern can determine when a leader will engage in war and when a leader will pursue peace.

Case Study: John F. Kennedy

- Kennedy, also referred to as JFK, was commended for his optimistic and ambitious presidency; though his term was short, he achieved success across the board (Reeve, 2018; McCann & Mollan, 2023).

- Created a modern framework for future presidents to follow; he blended political office with pop-culture celebrity. He was open-minded and engaged with the government and public (Reeve, 2018; McCann & Mollan, 2023).

- Historians consider Kennedy a strong example of effective leadership because of his charismatic communication and calm management, seen in Figure 4. Kennedy is found to have a high need for power and low affiliation needs, fitting McClelland's framework of leadership motives (McCann & Mollan, 2023).

- Leadership theorist James MacGregor Burns has written about JFK's presidency as a 'transformational leadership' style (McCann & Mollan, 2023).

- McClelland's experiment on business school students, exposing them to a JFK inaugural speech, found that after the speech, the students demonstrated more strengthened and uplifted experiences. This showed that JFK, as a leader, influenced his audience through inspiration (McClelland, 1970).

Quiz Yourself

Conclusion

Psychological theory and research consistently suggest that power motivation influences leadership through the way individuals obtain, maintain, and regulate power. A high nPower can motivate individuals to pursue positions that provide ongoing opportunities for impact, control, and influence (Reeve, 2018). There is a question around whether power motivation is positive or negative, when it is inherently neither. There is a difference between personalised power (pPower), the motivation for personal control and self-interest, and socialised power (sPower), the opportunity to influence and benefit others; this distinction helps explain why power motivation can produce drastically different leadership outcomes (McClelland, 1970; Carvalho & Conde, 2024).
The focus questions can be answered through McClelland's Three Need Theory, which explains why there are individual differences in their nPower, nAchievement, and nAffiliation, while the Two Faces of Power distinguishes between personalised and socialised expressions of power. The Leadership Motive Pattern further suggests that high power, low affiliation, and high activity inhibition can contribute to effective leadership, as the leader can balance pursuing influence with self-control (Reeve, 2018).
Effective leadership is not determined by how much power a person wants, but how they use it. Leaders who regulate their power motivation and direct their influence towards collective goals, fostering development and outcomes, are more likely to be well received by the public or their subordinates (Peyton et al., 2019; Friederichs et al., 2023).
Understanding power motivation can help identify both the strengths and risks of leadership, highlighting the importance of self-discipline and ethical use of authority.

References

Bargh, J. A., & Lee-Chai, A. Y. (2002). The use and abuse of power : Multiple perspectives in the causes of corruption. Psychology.

Bwalya, A. (2023). Leadership styles. Article in Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Innovation, 11(8), 181–193. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.23932113

Carvalho, J. M. S., & Conde, A. (2024). Individual power in human motivation – review and theoretical perspective. Acta Psychologica, 249, 104452–104452. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2024.104452

Deakin University. (2024, December 5). What are the different leadership styles? Deakin.Edu.Au. https://leadership.deakin.edu.au/blog/different-leadership-styles

Friederichs, K. M., Waldenmeier, K., & Baumann, N. (2023). The benefits of prosocial power motivation in leadership: Action orientation fosters a win-win. Plos One, 18(7), e0287394–e0287394. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0287394

Khajeh, A., Abu, M., & Asaari, H. (2018). Impact of leadership styles on organizational performance. Journal of Human Resources Management Research, 2018(2166–0018), 2166–2184. https://ibimapublishing.com/articles/JHRMR/2018/687849/687849-1.pdf

Kurt, D. S. (2021, May 23). McClelland’s Three Needs Theory: Power, Achievement, and Affiliation. Education Library. https://educationlibrary.org/mcclellands-three-needs-theory-power-achievement-and-affiliation/#1

McCann, L., & Mollan, S. (2023, November 20). JFK 60 years on: His leadership style and the reality behind the myths. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/jfk-60-years-on-his-leadership-style-and-the-reality-behind-the-myths-216477

McClelland, D. C. (1970). The two faces of power. Journal of International Affairs, 24(1), 29–47. JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24356663

Peyton, T., Zigarmi, D., & Fowler, S. N. (2019). Examining the relationship between leaders’ power use, followers’ motivational outlooks, and followers’ work intentions. Frontiers in Psychology, 9(2620). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02620

Power , D. P. G. (2026). The five essentials of leadership | APS. Psychology.Org.Au. https://psychology.org.au/inpsych/2017/august/power

Reeve, J. (2018). Understanding motivation and emotion (7th edn, pp. 152–176). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Slabbinck, H., & Van Witteloostuijn, A. (2020). Explicit and implicit basic human motives, and public service motivation. Frontiers in Psychology, 11(1542). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01542

Spanler, W. D., Tikhomirov, A., Lee Sotak, K., & Palrecha, R. (2014). Leader motive profiles in eight types of organizations. ScienceDirect, 25(6). https://www-sciencedirect-com.ezproxy.canberra.edu.au/science/article/pii/S1048984314001040

External links

[Move these links into References and cite; replace with links to the most relevant external non-academic resources]

Article on Transformational leadership style (Deakin University, 2024)
Power motivation, the benefits of prosocial power (Friederichs et al., 2023)
The Two Faces of Power Journal (McClelland, 1970)