Perhaps the most obvious place for principals to begin addressing the problem of inadequate student motivation is to examine the role of motivation in their own lives. All of these are possible explanations for wanting to see improved educational performance, and all of them are acceptable, legitimate reasons for desiring greater motivation and better academic achievement at one's school. However, the most important lesson to be learned from a self-analysis of the role of motivation in one's life is in the discovery that the reasons for the presence or absence of motivation among students may be as infinitely varied and complex as the reasons for its presence or absence among school leaders. One other point should be kept in mind when considering student motivation. It may be just as difficult for students to sustain motivation in their educational lives as it is for principals to sustain motivation in their professional careers.
Students face many of the same difficulties, real or perceived, that principals face.
If school leaders are equipped with the wisdom that comes from humility, sensitivity, and a constant reflection on the way that motivation functions in their own lives, it will probably be much easier for them to find ways to motivate their students.