Hello Lewis.  I enjoyed reading your post.  I believe that leading by example is another great motivating factor.  In times of high demand, the hours can be long and the tasks at hand might be grueling, but if you have a leader who is willing to roll up his/her sleeves and do whatever it takes to get the job done, it inspires me to push forward.  That old saying "actions speak louder than words" is true.  Often the greatest distance that leaders have to travel is the distance from their mouths to their feet.

To your point about working smarter not harder, I believe that good leaders make things happen.  A leader must be willing to take charge of change and move quickly to mobilize personal and group resources to deal with any problems.  Problems could be inefficient processes or unnecessary red tape hurdles.   Working with the team or employee to brainstorm on how to work smarter not harder will go a long way to improve productivity.

My final thought is this "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another" (Proverbs 27:17 NIV).  This is true with a good leader.  The more the leader is willing to share with his/her employees the more he employees will learn and feel empowered all of which leads to increased motivation and productivity.

Rhiannon