Precise Elaboration of McClelland's Achievement Motivation Theory

Overview of the theory

This theory was developed by David McClelland in 1961 and was presented in his book, "The
Achieving Society." This theory was influenced by Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory
where Maslow stated 5 categories of needs. However, in McClelland’s Achievement Theory,
the theorist stated that every individual irrespective of their gender, age, and culture, is driven
by only 3 types of needs. In addition, he stated one of the three needs dominates the other two
and the dominating needs will be influenced by one’s culture and lifestyle. Moreover,
McClelland states that people are not inherent but are infused or learned with time and that is
the reason this theory is called the Learned Needs Theory.

Table of Contents
 Introduction to McClelland’s Theory
 Implementation of McClelland’s Theory
 Importance of McClelland’s Theory
 Limitations of McClelland’s Theory
 Exemplification of McClelland’s Theory
Probing further, below mentioned are the three primary hypotheses that were proposed by
McCelland in the theory.
1. The need for achievement (n Ach)
The people included under this category are often motivated by the need to achieve their goals
in life. A few of the key features of people included in this category are given below
 Driven by the urge to excel - These people always look for challenges and have the
urge to excel in the given challenges or the task.
 Mediocre risk tasks - They will always look for the challenges that have a mediocre
risk rate of achievement because high-risk tasks will give them a fear of not achieving
and low-risk tasks challenges do not give them pleasure of achieving or accomplishing
tasks.
  Requires regular feedback - People under this category always seek continuous
feedback on their progress to get positive affirmations or in order to look for the scope
of improvement.
2. The need for power (n Pow)
People who like to have power in a hand or like to be in charge in order to dominate or
influence others are included under this category. The identifying marks of this category are
 Want to indulge in competition and win - People of this category like to indulge in
competition in order to assert power over others and they seek pleasure in winning.
 Enjoy status and power - People who have the need for power always like to be in
power over others and enjoy the recognition and status in an organization.
 Like to dominate or win the conversations - They will always try to have an upper
hand in the conversation, so that they can dominate or win the conversations.
3. The need for affiliation (nAff)
People under this category love to affiliate and always want to stay in groups and value
society and relationships over everything else. They can be identified by the following
features
 Like teamwork over the competition - People under this category usually have the trait
of people-pleasing and they prefer collaboration instead of competition in order to
avoid conflict.
 Want to be a part of a group - These people always want to stay in a group and always
take challenges that give them the opportunity to socialize and to be a part of a group.
 Enjoy praises and seek positive affirmations from others - People who are in need of
affiliations always perform their tasks with all their energy in order to get praises and
affirmations from others.
Moving ahead, after understanding the theory, the next section sheds light on the implication
of the theory in a workplace
Implementation of the theory in a workplace
1. Understanding and identifying the dominators
The first step for the manager will be to understand and analyze the employees' behavior and
identify the major need that dominates their behavior. This will assist in effectively creating
further strategies to keep the employees motivated and satisfied.
2.Assigning the task according to the needs
 For achievers
Always make sure that the people who fit under the category of need for achievement,
should be given moderate challenging tasks. This will assist the employers in getting
the best out of the achievers in exchange for fulfilling their needs.
 For power-seekers
For the people who like to be in charge of everything, managers should give them
managerial roles in order to satisfy their need of asserting power over others and
motivating them to give their all in the escalation of the company.
 For affiliators
Managers can always involve the affiliators in the collaborative tasks and let them
socialize enough to keep them engaged and motivated. This will assist the managers in
managing this category more efficiently.
To continue, this theory holds great importance when it comes to its implementation of this
theory in an organization. Below mentioned are some of the key points highlighting the
importance of McClelland's achievement theory.
Importance of implementing this theory in a workplace
 1. This theory will assist managers or employers to identify the key motivators of their
employees in order to make them the best version of themselves. This will assist
employees in keeping employees motivated to work for the betterment of the
company.
  2. When the identified needs of the employees are satisfied, it can lead to motivation
and motivation can increase the productivity of the employee. Increased productivity
can increase the probability of expansion of the business.
 3. This theory can assist in recruiting the best talent by attracting employees by
fulfilling their needs based on their behavior.
Probing further, although this theory is much more relatable in the real world, this theory has
certain limitations when implied in a workplace.
Limitations of the theory
 1. Neglect of basic needs - The main focus of the theory was on power, achievement,
and affiliation, however, the theory failed to discuss the basic needs of humans like
food, shelter, sleep, etc.
 2. A limited number of motivators - The theory focused on only three motivators:
Power, Achievement, and Affiliations. However, the theory failed to mention the other
motivators such as good wages, job security, and growth opportunities that can affect
the motivation of employees.
To substantiate the effect of the theory, a hypothetical example is given below to illustrate the
implication in the workplace.
Example of implementing the theory in a workplace
As of March 2022, Tesla has a Market capitalization of $1.032 Trillion and this amount made
Tesla the World’s 6th most valuable company. The success of Tesla and the leadership style
of CEO, Elon Musk, are not hidden from anyone.
Elon Musk believes that the employees do not serve the company, instead, the company helps
them to perform their best possible job which contributes to the growth of the company.
Hence, the company makes all the possible efforts to keep the employees happy and
motivated.
Implementing McClelland’s Achievement Motivation Theory, we observed that Tesla fulfills
the need for power, the need for affiliation, and the need for achievement in the best possible
manner to motivate the employees. To elaborate,
1. Need for power
The CEO believes that communication in Tesla should not travel through the chain of
command. Instead, they give every individual to make decisions based on their ability and
convey it to the management via the shortest route possible. Instead of following a hierarchy,
the CEO directs his employees to directly communicate with the concerned person. This
satisfies the need for the power of the employees by giving them enough power to make
decisions or get involved in the crucial decision-making process.
2. The need for affiliation
Everybody is aware of the fact that Tesla never believed in binding their employees to certain
groups or management. Instead, they believe in having fun and bringing revolution at the
same time. This assists in satisfying the need for affiliation of the employees because this
gives them the liberty to socialize and bring new and innovative ideas that can assist in the
growth of the company.
3. Need for achievement
Last but not the least, being an employee-centric company, Tesla believes in celebrating the
achievement of every milestone together and believes in appreciating the employees for
investing their hard work and dedication towards the growth of the company. These
celebrations assist in the attainment of the need for achievements of the employees.
Key Takeaway - Fulfilling all the needs of the theory helped the company in creating a
productive and positive environment which further contributes to the success of the company.