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The 12 building blocks of motivating leadership

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What does the science say?

During your search for advice on leadership, you may have come across our impetus360 Leadership Compass.
This model and the underlying measurement tool help identify which of the eight leadership styles (or their combinations) you apply within your organization or team.

It provides clear insights into your strengths and possible pitfalls.
It also highlights which actions you can take to apply motivating leadership even more effectively.
In other words: which building blocks you can use to get—and keep—your employees motivated.
Below, we briefly explain how it works.

Benefits of the impetus360 Leadership Compass as a Leadership Analysis

  • ✔ Scientifically grounded

    In collaboration with the Department of Developmental, Personality, and Social Psychology at Ghent University, we developed a questionnaire to measure leadership.
    The Leadership Compass therefore provides a model that is firmly rooted in scientific research

  • ✔ Practical tool

    Thanks to our leadership scan, you receive concrete guidelines to put motivating leadership into practice.
    We offer 12 building blocks whose motivating impact has been scientifically proven.

  • ✔ No rigid analysis

    The model’s dynamic nature gives insight into your leadership without pinning you to a single style.
    Most leaders combine several styles, and your approach can change depending on the situation or evolve over time.
    The focus is on situation-specific behavior (what you do) rather than fixed traits (who you are).

Nathalie

Which building blocks help you foster motivating leadership?

Our leadership model offers 12 building blocks that enable you, as a leader, to set clear and concrete goals. They translate the science behind the compass into everyday practice, giving you immediate insight into where you stand and where there is room to grow.

By applying these 12 building blocks of motivating leadership in an authentic way, you can ensure that the basic psychological needs of your employees are met. When you use these building blocks with a mindset of curiosity, care and process-oriented focus, you address the well-known ABC model: Autonomy, Belongingness and Competence.

A motivated employee needs to feel a certain freedom to think and act at work (Autonomy). They also want to feel connected with the organization and their team members (Belongingness). And finally, they want to feel capable in their role and have the sense that they can use and develop their skills (Competence).

Within the compass, we distinguish four motivating leadership styles, each with three building blocks:

  • Participative
    • Input: involve employees in decisions, plans, and agreements.
    • Choice: offer options in daily work, such as tasks or projects.
    • Dialogue: engage in regular, meaningful conversations.
  • Attuning
    • Inviting language: replace commanding words like “must” with “could” or “can.”
    • Perspective taking: actively seek to understand employee needs and expectations.
    • Meaningful rationale: clearly explain the reasons behind decisions and requests.
  • Guiding
    • Appropriate help: provide the right level of support based on employees’ skills and knowledge.
    • Motivating feedback: acknowledge progress and highlight opportunities for growth.
    • Self-reflection: encourage pausing to reflect on successes and challenges.
  • Clarifying
    • Clarification: communicate transparently and create predictability.
    • Overview: explain the bigger picture and next steps.
    • Monitoring: follow up consistently to ensure alignment.
Nathalie

Which building blocks should you use to motivate your employees?

Simply applying a building block from the leadership compass is, of course, not enough.
The key is to carefully assess the situation and identify what your employees need in order to feel autonomous, experience belongingness, and develop competence.

If you use the building blocks without embedding them in a broader motivating mindset, they may fail to have any motivating effect.

That’s why we always recommend that leaders approach each situation with an ABC mindset—evaluating or explicitly matching which building block best meets the needs of the moment.

Nathalie

An Example

Imagine you want to increase your team’s autonomy (and therefore their motivation) by asking for their input on a particular issue.
But in reality, you already have a clear idea of the decision you will make.
After consulting your employees, the final message is:
“Thanks for your input, but we’ll proceed this way anyway.”

The risk here is that your good intentions backfire.
By first asking for their opinion and then ultimately doing nothing with it, you create autonomy frustration.
You give your team the impression that their input is not taken seriously—and that is demotivating.

If you already have a clear plan for what you want or how to proceed, participation may not be the most suitable building block.
In such a situation, it’s better to rely on other elements of motivating leadership, such as clarification and added value.
Explain the decision: Why did we make this choice?
How was it reached?
What will be the (positive) impact and added value for daily operations?