Most successful business leaders will tell you that their primary motivation is to "change the world" and to build something lasting, not to make a lot of money, while the conventional wisdom is that employees work for money, above all else. Yet, my own experience leads me to believe that non-cash motivators may be more effective in the long term than financial incentives.

I agree with Charles P. Garcia, who ties motivation most strongly to leadership, in his classic book Leadership Lessons of the White House Fellows, based on this group of more than 600 prominent leaders from every sector of American society. They assert that employees value having strong leaders, who incentivize them to do their best, just as much if not more than money does. 

For action, he provides a list of principles for business owners and managers alike, derived from his firsthand discussions with some of the nation's greatest leaders. We all need to learn from these as we rebuild employee morale following tough economic challenges, with limited budgets.

Please select this link to read the complete article from Inc.