 | We All Need The Same Training |
| Leadership vs. Management |
| What Is Leadership? |
| Human Wants |
| Four Competencies Needed |
| Three Kinds Of Leaders |
| Primary Needs |
| Secondary Needs |
The Secondary Needs
Leading people can be very frustrating. It can be very perplexing. 
Trying to get a student to be interested in classwork, act responsibly, and participate in class can be nerve-racking. Trying to get a teacher to stop being so negative or to quit criticizing everything and everyone can cause emotions ranging from anger to pity. Attempting to get an administrator to see teachers' concerns and take positive corrective action can be maddening. Yet, what we need to understand is that all behavior has a purpose and a reason. And all behavior has a driving force. Make no mistake: All behavior is an effort by an individual to meet his or her needs—especially those that are very important to him or her. And until we understand the reason for the behavior in terms of needs, we will continue to be stymied by the behavior of those being led.
There is simply no way a teacher or administrator can lead without a thorough knowledge of the secondary needs. They are the foundation of human motivation—and getting those being led to do what we want them to do. The secondary needs lie at the root of causing others to want our leadership. Called derived needs, they are psychological and learned. Never forget this fact: They are learned. They can be changed. Although the degree of intensity and priority of each need can and does vary from person to person, all these needs are within us all.
It is through the secondary needs that people self-actualize. It is via the secondary needs that a leader individualizes and personalizes leadership. The secondary needs allow each person being led to answer the primary question: What's in it for me? It is through these needs that we show the way and guide those being led to want to learn, to want to try to reach goals, and to want to enhance their standard and level of living. It is within these needs that we influence those being led to self-actualize and to want to find high productivity and high satisfaction. It is also through these needs that students and educators alike improve their self-worth and maximize their potential.
A leader must be fully aware that people will seldom give up their wants, needs, and motivations. Indeed, people will usually fight hard to meet and fulfill their needs. If they can't meet them with us, they will try to meet them elsewhere in other arenas of their lives. For instance, students who can't meet their needs in the classroom and school will try to meet those needs outside the classroom and school. So it is with educators. Some experts believe that so many people have so much difficulty fulfilling their needs in the workplace, they have given up trying. As a result, their needs are being met by hobbies, clubs, sports, and other activities away from work.
There are eight secondary needs or motivators. Remember, we acquire these needs as well as an intense desire to meet them. As a leader, we must know the need, how it is manifested by behavior, and how we can use the need to motivate those being led to do what we want them to do. The behavior gives us the real clues we need to cause those being led to want our leadership.
The Secondary Needs (Psychological And Learned)
- Gregariousness
- Aggression
- Affiliation
- Inquisitiveness
- Achievement
- Power
- Status
- Autonomy
Like the primary needs, all eight of the secondary needs are possessed by all people of all ages. However, we must understand that, until the primary needs are met, the force of the secondary needs will be weakened.
Linking The Need To The Person
When you're trying to lead people, you must look at them individually to see which of the secondary needs is most important to them. A particular need may be the strongest force in a person's life. For instance, some people are totally driven by status. Others are actually driven by affiliation. Others are driven primarily by achievement. The key is to link the need with the individual. And, of course, because we all have these needs, we can use them all when leading a group or an individual. Don't think for a moment that there is anyone who is not trying to meet all these needs to a certain degree. There isn't. Therefore, don't be fooled by the person who says, "I'm not influenced by status at all." The fact that he or she makes such a statement should tell you that such a proclamation is a form of status.
Through our leadership, we as leaders want to use the work of the classroom and schools to actually promote meeting the needs of those being led. After all, the classroom and school can meet these needs extremely well. And every time we fulfill a secondary need, it becomes easier to cause others to want our leadership. It is via the secondary needs that we, those being led, and the school achieve goals and objectives. To be a dynamic and positive leader, one must not only appeal to those needs of the high performers, but also set a course of action which will stimulate those needs in others as well. When we do, we will achieve the maximum utilization of personnel and effort per task.
These eight needs are the foundation of motivation for us and those being led. And they are also the foundation for motivating cooks, custodians, parents, secretaries, aides, and everyone else. Unless we lead to meet these needs, we'll find ourselves having to give those we lead bribes, incentives, rewards—and threats, commands, and ultimatums to get them to work.
We make a mistake if we try to fight these needs or try to deny those being led fulfillment of these needs. If we want those we lead to follow us, we must work hard to find their needs and fill them. One thing is certain: When we fill needs, we will find leading and being led a very rewarding experience. And remember, within these needs lie our own. And knowing our own drives is important. It allows us to be able to adjust our methods and techniques when leading others.