February 26, 2026

Leaders who want to bring their best selves to their leadership practice understand that leadership is a choice. Mark Miller, in Simple Choices, notes that choice is the number one superpower of any leader in any organization. A leader’s choice to be a leader is an inside-outside journey, starting with an intertwined set of elements of the leadership core: Values, Purpose/Why, Motive, and Mindset. The leader’s core values and why have been the topics of the last two Thursday’s Leadership Insights articles. The third element in the leadership core is motive. This Thursday’s leadership Insight will examine the motives in leadership and two broad categories of motive described in Patrick Lencioni’s bestseller The Motive. These types of leaders will be compared with the three types, drawing on the recent work of leadership expert John C. Maxwell in High Road Leadership. Seven behaviors will be shared to provide a contrast of Lencioni’s two types of leadership motives. These seven behaviors will provide a quick, seven-question self-assessment of one’s motive to lead, for reflection and redirection as needed.

Motive is what leads someone to choose an action, in this case, being a leader. Patrick Lencioni, in his thought-provoking book The Motive, argues that many leaders don’t pause to examine their true motivation. Lencioni, in his book, identifies two kinds of leaders—Reward leaders and Responsibility leaders—and each operates from very different motives.

The notion that degree achievement leads to misleading messages being delivered to youth. How many times have you sat in an audience and heard a leader proclaim, “We produce the leaders of the world? Patrick reports cringing at the proclamation at his son’s graduation. He reports wanting to jump up and yell “Don’t tell them that, Remind them being a leader isnt a reward it is hard work,sacrife and Resoinsability” Mesages like these sends a message that leadership is the attainment of a diploma, degree or certificate . This sends a subtle message that “you have arrived and are intitled to be a leader because you graduated. Doctoral degrees are often referred to as “Terminal Degrees.” This leads many to say, “I got the degree I deserve  to be a leader.” This feeling of entitlement can lead many older leaders to expect rewards. I also have seen this entitlement in those who believe, “I have been here for years, I deserve it.”

A Responsibility motive is characterized by a desire to serve others and make a positive impact. Leaders motivated by service prioritize the needs of their team and organization over personal gains. Lencioni argues that true leadership should be rooted in service rather than personal reward. The rewards-based leader understands leadership is a commitment to continual sacrifice, development, and growth to help others grow and develop. It is a journey of striving to serve and lead better, to build people up, and to get things done.

Reward vs. Responsibility Leadership

Reward leaders view leadership as a position of privilege—status, control, visibility, or comfort. Responsibility leaders, on the other hand, see leadership as a calling rooted in service, stewardship, and accountability for others.

Here are seven examplesof behaviors that contrast reward-based versus responsibility-based leadership behaviors:

1.   Team Performance

Reward Leader Behavior

Takes credit for success, blames others for setbacks, yet isn’t concerned about team building.

Responsibility leader behavior

Shares credit freely, owns shortfalls, and helps the team recover.

2. Difficult Conversations

Reward Leader Behavior

Avoid confrontation to stay liked or comfortable.

Responsibility leader behavior

Confronts issues with empathy and courage to help people grow.

3.   Decision-Making

Reward Leader Behavior

They choose what benefits their image or convenience.

Responsibility Leader Behavior

Makes decisions based on what best serves the organization’s mission.

4.   Delegation

Reward Leader Behavior

Keeps control to protect authority.

Responsibility Leader Behavior

Empowers others to lead and develop their potential.

5.   Feedback

Reward Leader Behavior

Avoids hearing or giving criticism.

Responsibility Leader Behavior

Sees feedback as a gift to themselves and those they lead, which strengthens relationships and outcomes.

6.   Meetings

Reward Leader Behavior

A boring task.

Responsibility Leader Behavior

An opportunity to focus on the team’s accomplishments and growth, and reinforce the values of the organization

7. Adversity

Reward Leader Behavior

Seeks escape or someone to blame.Likes the Status Quo.

Responsibility Leader Behavior

Stays steady, models resilience, and protects the culture.

John Maxwell’s concept of High Road Leadership complements Lencioni’s idea of motive and demonstrates how the leadership core intertwines in one’s leadership practice.

Maxwell describes three leadership paths:

• Low Road Leaders think only about themselves. They manipulate and use others to advance personal gain.
• Middle Road Leaders treat others fairly but avoid going beyond what’s expected. They’re competent but lack conviction and view actions as transactional.
• High Road Leaders take full responsibility for their influence. They act with humility, integrity, and a deep sense of service, setting the tone for trust and transformation.

When placed beside The Motive, it’s clear that:

• Reward leaders typically operate on the Low or Middle Road, driven by transactional or personal decisions that provide entitlement and comfort to themselves and possibly a favored few.
• Responsibility leaders walk the High Road, driven by stewardship, gratitude, and service.

Applying the Seven Tests to Develop a Responsibility Motive

Patrik Lencioni and John Maxwell also note that leaders can slip into a comfortable pattern of predictable outcomes for themselves. Leaders can, however, choose to change and grow their motives, maturity, and the path of leadership they choose to travel: High, Middle, or Low. Leaders can choose to routinely check themselves using the seven areas noted above, framed as questions to reflect on and evaluate their motives and the road they want to travel. One’s leadership reflection and action plan can be guided by the seven questions below.

Test your leadership motive with these questions:

1.  Am I choosing what’s comfortable or what’s right?

2.  Do I seek recognition or real results?

3.  Am I protecting power or empowering people?

4.  Do I avoid conflict or address what matters?

5.  Am I listening to feedback or defending my position?

6.  Do I actively plan meetings to help others grow and to repeat the organization’s values and mission?

7. In adversity, do I retreat and blame or lead forward to support the organization?

Leadership is a choice. A leader’s choice of motive will determine the leadership path they will travel. Any leader can choose to reflect on and change their actions to become a more responsibility-based, high-road leader. It can be done; it is a process, and outside coaching and mentoring can speed it up. To start, choose to evaluate your leadership using the seven questions above, then act. Over time, this reflection develops a high-road mindset—a habit of leading from service rather than status. In that space, you bring your best self to your leadership practice every day.

The leadership question for you then is

1.  Will you choose to routinely reflect on your leadership motive by reflecting on one or two of the seven behaviors, and ask What did my choices this week reveal about my motive? Where can I take more responsibility next time?