The Motive

Why do so many leaders—people who seem ambitious, intelligent, and driven—ultimately harm their teams or organizations? Patrick Lencioni asks this provocative question in The Motive: Why So Many Leaders Abdicate Their Most Important Responsibilities. He contends that the difference between great leaders and failed ones comes down to a single factor: motive. Are you leading because you see it as a responsibility, or because you see it as a reward?

Lencioni proposes that there are only two genuine motives behind leadership: responsibility-centered and reward-centered. Responsibility-centered leaders see leadership as a duty—a chance to serve others, endure discomfort, and guide an organization toward growth and health. Reward-centered leaders, on the other hand, see leadership as a prize: a privilege earned after years of accomplishment, a role filled with prestige, comfort, and recognition. The dangerous truth, Lencioni argues, is that most leaders fall into the second category.

Leadership as Reward vs. Leadership as Responsibility

Lencioni’s central idea is deceptively simple. Many leaders, once promoted to power, begin cherry-picking their responsibilities based on what feels pleasant or profitable to them. They neglect the difficult tasks—having uncomfortable conversations, running focused meetings, managing their people closely, and providing constant clarity. These omissions don’t just harm performance; they erode culture, trust, and direction. The very duties leaders avoid are the ones that only they can perform.

To make this concept vivid, Lencioni uses a fable—the story of Shay Davis and Liam Alcott, two CEOs in the home security business. Shay embodies the reward-centered approach. Newly promoted, he sees his CEO role as the culmination of two decades of hard work. He focuses on marketing strategy and client deals—the things that felt familiar and flattering—but avoids managing people closely or engaging in team dynamics. When his company falters, he blames markets and competition, not his own motives. Liam, his rival, offers him an unexpected lesson: that true leadership is painful and inconvenient—and that it's supposed to be.

The Painful Privilege of Leadership

Throughout the book, Lencioni insists that leadership should feel uncomfortable. He even calls it the most painful job in the company. A leader’s responsibility is to do what no one else wants to do: to confront issues head-on, to manage performance and relationships actively, and to repeat key messages until they stick. Like parenting, leadership is not meant to be convenient or self-serving—it’s a cycle of sacrifice and service. Leaders who expect their role to be fun or glamorous inevitably abdicate their most essential duties.

In one relatable analogy, Lencioni compares leadership motives to those of professional athletes. Some newly drafted players see selection as the finish line—a reward for their hard work. Others see it as the beginning of their duty to prove their worth to the team. The second group, he notes, consistently exceeds expectations. Just as athletes who focus on responsibility outwork and outgrow their peers, leaders who embrace sacrifice outperform those seeking status and comfort.

The Five Omissions of Reward-Centered Leadership

Lencioni outlines five key areas where reward-centered leaders typically fail:

• Developing the leadership team—they delegate it to HR or ignore it, avoiding emotional difficulty.
• Managing subordinates—they claim not to “micromanage,” but this is often an excuse to disengage.
• Having difficult conversations—they dodge conflict to protect their comfort rather than their people.
• Running great meetings—they treat meetings as tedious chores instead of vital decisions points.
• Communicating constantly—they stop repeating key messages once they’re bored, leaving employees confused.

Each omission stems from the same root issue: the leader’s motive. When the goal of leadership is personal enjoyment, it's natural to avoid hard work and uncomfortable duties. But when leadership is embraced as a responsibility, these tasks become essential acts of stewardship. They aren’t fun—but they are the job.

Why It Matters—For You and Your Organization

The book’s message matters deeply in a world that celebrates the perks of leadership. Lencioni warns that when leaders focus on status and pleasure, organizations decline, teams lose trust, and employees disengage. Conversely, responsibility-centered leaders cultivate healthy organizations defined by clarity, trust, and accountability. Their people feel cared for—not managed by distant power brokers, but led by someone who carries the burden of leadership willingly.

By the end, Shay’s transformation shows this truth in action. He realizes that he’s enjoyed the idea of being a CEO more than the work of being one. When he finally steps down and begins working under Liam, he finds fulfillment—not because he regained status, but because he started doing what real leadership requires. His story illustrates that sometimes growth comes through humility rather than ambition.

Lencioni’s Challenge

Ultimately, Lencioni challenges every aspiring leader to ask a deceptively simple question: Why do I want to lead? If your reasons are reward-centered—power, pleasure, prestige—there’s no technique or framework that will make you effective. But if your answer is responsibility—because you want to serve, protect, and guide others—then you can embrace the discomfort of leadership and find real impact. Leadership, he concludes, should never be easy, fun, or self-congratulatory. It should be joyfully difficult, a calling born from humility and service.

Lencioni divides all leaders into two categories based on their underlying motive: reward-centered and responsibility-centered. This distinction determines how leaders act day-to-day—not just what they do, but how they respond to the inevitable difficulties of leading humans.

Reward-Centered Leadership

Reward-centered leaders view leadership as a prize. They believe their years of grind have finally earned them the right to enjoy their position—to set their own agenda, choose what’s interesting, and avoid tedious or messy responsibilities. You’ll recognize these leaders because they often gravitate toward what’s visible and glamorous: crafting strategies, talking with investors, speaking at conferences. They delegate—or worse, ignore—tasks like coaching employees, confronting behavior, or hosting meetings. They operate from comfort and ego rather than duty.

Shay Davis is the personification of this motive. When he becomes CEO, he prioritizes client-facing tasks that reinforce his authority and keep him safe from discomfort. His days are full of financial reviews and marketing analyses—but devoid of the raw human leadership his organization desperately needs.

Responsibility-Centered Leadership

Responsibility-centered leaders, by contrast, see leadership as a burden and a calling. They don’t shy away from discomfort—they embrace it as part of their duty. Their motivation comes from the desire to serve, protect, and guide others. Effective leadership, Lencioni insists, is built on humility and sacrifice. These leaders have the most painful job in the company—and that’s precisely how it should be.

Liam Alcott demonstrates this mindset. After experiencing failure in England, he learns that leading is not about expertise or charisma but about stewardship. He stops chasing excitement and begins managing the hard, boring, emotional work of leadership. His team thrives because they feel seen, guided, and held accountable.

The Ripple Effect of Motives

Your motive influences everything downstream—from how meetings run to how teams behave. Reward-centered leaders create disengaged organizations filled with political dysfunction because they avoid conflict and discomfort. Responsibility-centered leaders, even if imperfect, model accountability, honesty, and clarity that filters throughout the company.

Key Lesson:

Leadership is not a reward—it is a responsibility to face discomfort for the good of others. The question every leader must ask is simple but costly: Am I willing to suffer for my people’s success?

(Compare this to Simon Sinek’s idea in Leaders Eat Last: his framework builds on the same concept—leaders exist to serve the group, not themselves. Lencioni gives it sharper language and directly ties motive to omission.)

Lencioni organizes the failings of reward-centered leaders into five omissions—five uncomfortable tasks that bad leaders avoid. Each omission represents a neglected area where true leadership must show up, even when it’s difficult.

1. Developing the Leadership Team

Building a cohesive team is a leader’s primary duty, yet many CEOs delegate this to HR or external consultants. Lencioni emphasizes that teamwork is not soft or optional—it’s the foundation of every technical success. Effective team-building demands emotional candor and confrontation, which many executives avoid because it’s uncomfortable. As Liam shows Shay, if the leader doesn’t personally shape the team’s dynamics, dysfunction fills the vacuum.

2. Managing Subordinates

Reward-centered leaders often say, “I hire adults; they don’t need babysitting.” Lencioni counters that management isn’t punishment—it’s stewardship. Even senior executives need coaching, guidance, and feedback. Shay’s hands-off style leads to surprises and setbacks because he fails to monitor progress or coach performance. True management means clarity, direction, and support—not micromanagement.

3. Having Difficult Conversations

The avoidance of discomfort kills organizations. Leaders must confront behaviors, address issues, and speak directly—even when it’s awkward. Lencioni calls this “entering the danger.” Shay’s reluctance to address his CFO’s abrasive style or uncooperative peers shows how avoidance compounds dysfunction. Liam models the opposite: he has “joyful accountability,” confronting with both clarity and goodwill.

4. Running Great Meetings

Meetings are the leadership arena. But many CEOs treat them like chores. Shay, for example, endures two-hour marathons that leave his team disengaged. Liam teaches him that meetings are where decisions live. A meeting’s quality equals a team’s effectiveness. Engaging meetings—focused, honest, and energetic—are a hallmark of responsibility-centered leadership.

5. Communicating Constantly

Lencioni insists on overcommunication. Employees need to hear messages repeatedly to believe they’re real. Leaders often stop when bored, assuming they’ve been clear enough. This creates confusion and misalignment. Responsibility-centered leaders act as CROs—Chief Reminding Officers—who reinforce vision and values constantly. Liam exemplifies this by repeating his company’s purpose until every employee internalizes it.

Collective Lesson:

Leadership’s omissions reveal motive. Avoiding hard tasks is not a time-management problem—it’s a heart problem. Each omission signals a leader who sees the job as a privilege rather than a painful calling.

One of Lencioni’s most profound insights is that pain isn’t a side effect of leadership—it’s essential to it. He argues that leaders must embrace inconvenience and discomfort if they want to serve well. Leadership is meant to hurt in the right ways.

Embracing the Pain

Lencioni draws from a conversation with Alan Mulally, former CEO of Ford. Mulally once told him, “Leadership is a privilege, not suffering.” Lencioni admires the sentiment but clarifies that too few leaders genuinely treat it that way. Most leaders, unlike Mulally, dodge pain. They want the privilege without the burden. But real leadership demands stepping into confrontation, repetition, and emotional labor. Without that, leaders become passive figureheads.

“Dirty Jobs” and the Beauty of Unpleasant Work

Using the metaphor of the TV show Dirty Jobs, Lencioni compares great leaders to people who take pride in doing the work no one else wants. Like those who handle messy, difficult tasks with dignity, true leaders shovel the figurative muck of organizational conflict and confusion. Liam embodies this ethic—he learns to love meetings, coach behavior, and repeat vision tirelessly. Shay, by contrast, sees those duties as beneath him until experience humbles him.

Finding Joy in Sacrifice

Paradoxically, when leaders accept pain as their purpose, they discover joy—not the shallow happiness of comfort, but the deep satisfaction of service. Lencioni calls this “joyful difficulty.” It’s the same joy a parent feels in caring for their child or a teacher feels guiding a struggling student. Pain doesn’t destroy purpose; it authenticates it.

Core Insight:

If your leadership never hurts, it’s not real leadership. Growth—yours and your team’s—demands discomfort handled with love and integrity.

(Note: This idea resonates with Brené Brown’s work in Dare to Lead, where vulnerability is essential to courageous leadership. Both authors see emotional risk as the price of authenticity.)

The heart of The Motive lies in the fictional story of Shay Davis, a reward-centered leader who learns responsibility from his rival Liam Alcott. Their dynamic makes abstract principles concrete—it’s a parable about ego, humility, and rediscovering purpose.

Act I: The Reward-Centered CEO

Shay begins as the archetypal executive. After twenty years climbing the corporate ladder, he becomes CEO of Golden Gate Security. But instead of seeing the role as a duty, he treats it as a prize. His calendar is filled with financial reviews and marketing campaigns—the things he enjoys. His meetings are tedious, his team disengaged, and he avoids tough conversations. When profits stall, he blames the market.

Act II: The Mentor Appears

Desperate for help, Shay reaches out to Lighthouse Consulting—the same firm that serves his competitor, Liam Alcott. He expects to be refused, but Liam surprisingly calls him back and offers free advice. Their meeting begins awkwardly but soon becomes transformative. Liam redefines the CEO’s job as chief executing officer, not executive. The distinction—a verb instead of a noun—captures his philosophy: leadership is about doing, not having.

Act III: The Conflict

Through their conversations, Liam exposes Shay’s weaknesses—his avoidance of meetings, management, and courage. Shay reacts defensively, even tricking Liam by inviting investors to ambush him with an acquisition proposal. Instead of retaliating, Liam confronts Shay with truth: “You’re abdicating, not delegating.” That moment marks the story’s turning point.

Act IV: Redemption Through Reflection

The breakthrough comes from a deceptively simple question posed by Amy, a consultant on a Skype call: “Why do you want to be a CEO?” Shay pauses. His answer—“I don’t know”—becomes his moment of clarity. He realizes he’s been driven by ambition, not purpose. That night, his wife Dani helps him see that he prefers the idea of leadership over the work of leadership. Her story of declining a promotion to principal echoes his own lesson: status without service is empty.

Act V: The Transformation

Shay decides to relinquish his title. When Golden Gate acquires Liam’s company, he insists that Liam become CEO and that he himself take a subordinate role in marketing and strategy. The decision shocks his board but liberates him. For the first time, Shay begins learning what leadership truly requires. His joy returns—not because he regained control, but because he redefined success as service.

Moral of the Story:

Leadership demands humility and pain. Shay’s fall from ego to service shows that freedom comes when you stop chasing the title and start embracing the task.

Lencioni closes with a reminder that even responsibility-centered leaders can slip. Imperfection is inevitable; vigilance is essential. Success, he warns, may tempt leaders into complacency, vanity, or comfort—a subtle drift back into reward-centered behavior.

Staying Vigilant Against Ego

When leaders are praised for humility and sacrifice, they can subconsciously begin expecting comfort again. Compliments become seductions. A sense of service quietly mutates into entitlement. Lencioni advises leaders to surround themselves with truth-tellers—people unafraid to challenge their behavior and hold them accountable to their duty.

The Hidden Trap of Fun

Interestingly, not all reward-centered motives are ego-driven. Some are disguised by innocence—the pursuit of fun. “Fun-centered leaders,” as Lencioni calls them, choose tasks they enjoy and avoid those that feel dull or unpleasant. They justify this harmlessly, claiming to follow their passion. But avoiding tedious tasks in the name of enjoyment is still selfish. Liam’s joy comes not from comfort but from integrity—the satisfaction of doing what must be done.

The End of Servant Leadership

The final chapters deliver Lencioni’s rallying cry: the term “servant leadership” should vanish, because there is no other kind. Leadership, by definition, is service. When society tolerates reward-centered leaders—whether in business, politics, or community—it perpetuates dysfunction, cynicism, and disengagement. Responsibility-centered leadership, he argues, must become the norm again, restoring trust and meaning at every level of society.

Final Insight:

Leadership is not meant to be fun—it’s meant to be formative. The right motive transforms pain into purpose, difficulty into joy, and organizations into communities of service.

(In contrast to modern “hustle culture,” Lencioni offers a countercultural vision of work and leadership grounded in humility, duty, and love—a quiet revolution in how leadership should be understood.)