How Leadership Styles Effect Employee Motivation & Satisfaction

This study attempts to shed light on the leader-follower relationship and pave the way for further research on this topic, which has been marked in the academic community by an important and yet poorly understood relationship in organizations. Building a theoretical model for leadership and employee motivation, the methodology of this study focused on understanding the current literature on the topics of leadership and follower motivation, namely Transformational and Transactional Leadership Theory as well as Self-Determination Theory. It then used empirical research methods to measure leaders’ styles and followers’ motivations and levels of satisfaction. Leaders and direct reports were analyzed at Procter & Gamble in Central Europe. The thesis concludes by suggesting how certain elements of the leader-follower relationship effects job satisfaction and offering a path forward for how to improve and expand upon research about the leader-follower relationship.