Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a theory in psychology that human motivation is based on a five-tier model of physiological needs, safety needs, love and belonging needs, esteem needs, and self-actualization needs. The lowest level needs must be met before progressing to meet higher level needs. Self-actualization is achieving one's full potential and is considered the highest level of human motivation and development. Effective leaders address the needs of their followers and are able to adapt to changing needs over time by progressing up the hierarchy themselves.
7. Hierarchy of Needs
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is often displayed as
a pyramid. The lowest levels of the pyramid are made
up of the most basic needs, while the more complex
needs are located at the top of the pyramid. Needs
at the bottom of the pyramid are basic physical
needs. Once these lower-level needs have been met,
people can move on to the next level of needs, which
are for safety and security.
As people progress up the pyramid, needs become
increasingly psychological and social. Soon, the
need for love, friendship and intimacy become
important. Further up the pyramid, the need for
personal esteem and feelings of accomplishment take
priority. Maslow emphasized the importance of self-
actualization, which is a process of growing and
developing as a person to achieve individual
potential.
11. Security Needs.
These include needs for safety and
security. When survival needs are
met, we worry next about security,
in other words survival over time.
Examples of these needs include a
desire for steady employment,
health insurance, safe
neighborhoods, and shelter from
the environment
12. Belonging Needs.
These needs are sometimes called
social needs, or relationship
needs. If our survival and
security needs are met, our
attention turns automatically to
our need for relationships.
13. Esteem Needs.
After individuals fulfill the need to
fit in and belong in a social group,
They normally feel a need to stand out
from the group and achieve a sense of
individual integrity, autonomy, and
excellence. The internal component to
this need is self-esteem; the external
component is reputation. For healthy
development, the internal self-image and
the external reputation should be
reasonably similar. People who achieve
this level of need are often motivated
to seek leadership roles within their
group..
14. Self-actualizing Needs
This is the highest level of
Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs. Self-
actualizing people are self-aware,
concerned with personal growth,
less concerned with the opinions
of others and interested in
fulfilling their potential.
15. •Characteristics of self-actualizing
people:
Have better perceptions of reality and are comfortable
with it.
Accept themselves and their own individuality.
Honest and sincere
They focus on problems outside themselves and are
concerned with basic issues and eternal questions.
They like privacy and tend to be detached.
Rely on their own development and continued growth.
Appreciate the basic pleasures of life (e.g. do not take
blessings for granted).
Have a deep feeling of kinship with others.
Are deeply democratic and are not really aware of
differences.
Have strong ethical and moral standards.
Are original and inventive.
16. Leadership
Leaders are inclined to be higher
on the hierarchy of need than
followers. This is because people
who have satisfied a need can help
others satisfy it as well. The
natural tendency to move up the
hierarchy means that we will seek to
avoid moving downward; thus we are
not likely to follow leaders at
lower levels than we are.
17. Effective Leaders
Effective leaders must be flexible and
responsive to new realities. Leaders must
recognize that their success in helping group
members solve any given problem or fulfill any
given need will result in a new set of
circumstances and a new set of needs. Leaders who
can’t move up the levels will be left behind as
followers cease to be motivated by the needs they
have already fulfilled. Effective leaders are
flexible, not stubborn or unwilling to address
new realities. Sometimes leaders are really good
at addressing needs at lower levels because of
their own passion about those needs, but that
very passion might interfere with their ability
to grow and adapt to changing circumstances.
18. Self-Actualization Needs.
This level of need is the only one which does not arise out of a deficit
or an absence of anything.. The need for self-actualization is not about
missing anything or needing anything tangible, but is related to a need for
growth, understanding, and fulfillment. It arises when one wishes to become
“all I can become.” The need for meaning and purpose at this level also
means that one becomes more sensitive to large social issues and the
welfare of the community, including the whole human community. This is the
motivation of saints and the great figures of history. In an advanced
developed society like ours, however, it is possible for many people to be
moved by self-actualization needs. One example of self-actualizing behavior
that is becoming more and more common is the widespread tendency of people
who have spent years accumulating wealth to turn around and give it away.
The Rockefeller, Ford, and Gates Foundations are just the most obvious
cases of lower-level need fulfillment giving way to philanthropic self-
actualization. Another manifestation of this need that is very encouraging
for the human community over the long term is the growth of nonprofit,
philanthropic, community-service, and service-learning activities,
especially among young people. The fastest-growing enterprise on the planet
now is, in fact, nonprofit activity, not for-profit business activity or
government-sponsored activity.