Any attempt to answer these questions is an effort to explain motivation. When studying motivation, attitudes and interests should be taken into consideration. One has only to listen to the language of employees to realize how often they express their desire to participate or not participate in professional development. An adult's attitude is shaped early in life. Usually an employee's attitude toward his or her job is a good indicator of how well that employee will perform.
Attitudes can change.
The influence of an administrator, co-worker, surroundings, and a professional development plan can be effective in the modification of attitudes. It is extremely important that leaders in the community college become more familiar with the term motivation and how to incorporate it into their work. Leaders have a two-fold function to perform in relation to employee motivation in professional development. They must know and understand the motives which activate and direct employee behavior so they can draw valid influences from what they observe. Next, leaders must strive to increase the impact of the learning experiences so as to stimulate and sustain a positive learning environment for employees.