A Study on Leader’s Traits That Influence Motivation Among Employees in Klang Valley, Malaysia

Employee motivation plays a significant role in propelling them to perform their job with enthusiasm and efficiency. Motivation increases task engagement, performance, and commitment, which leads to positive impact to the profitability of the company. Additionally, motivated employees have a high tendency to stay for a longer period, which lowers turnover and hiring expenses. Conversely, lack of motivation in the workforce can result in poor morale, deficient performance, and decrease in productivity, which leads to negative impact to the bottom line. Leaders must acknowledge the need to have a motivated workforce to prevent negative repercussions to the organization. Therefore, it is crucial to understand how a leader could contribute to inculcate employee motivation. The evolving nature of leadership and the diverse cultural nuances in the workplace have created diverse traits among leaders. This research is focusing on specific leadership traits: leader's behaviour, leader's trust and leader's communication skill and to explore the impact of these leader-specific factors on employee motivation within the dynamic organizational landscape of Klang Valley. This study was conducted using survey responses from employees working mainly in private sectors in Klang Valley. 200 questionnaires were distributed using convenience sampling method and only 104 responses were usable. Data collected was analysed using SPSS software. The outcome revealed that there is a significant positive relationship between a leader's behaviour, leader's trust and leader's communication towards employee motivation. Therefore, organization leaders can improve their employees' motivation by practicing the positive influential behaviour, trust and communication strategies revealed in this study.