In the article clarified the contradictions between the requirements to manager’s election and the content of his powers at the legislative level in Ukrainian modern higher education system. For an effective implementation of his mission, the manager needs a number of management competences, which, in accordance with all the requirements at the legislative level (Article 42 of the Law of Ukraine “On Higher Education”), the candidate may not possess. The search for solutions to the contradiction between the requirements for the election of a leader and the need to have a certain level of competence for the effective implementation of authority may be through the organization of formal, non-formal and informal education. In a situation where the election of a leader has taken place and it is necessary to incorporate into the existing management system in the shortest time, or to create one, the most productive will be non-formal and informal education. To determine training directions in the process of self-improvement, may be proposed methodology of motivation generating of the leader, which includes the procedure for determining the main components of management activities in higher education institution, criteria for evaluating its productivity, the procedure for expert assessment of the head of the HEI and the calculation of the final result. Participation at all stages: selection, formulation of criteria, ranking, comparison of results, of expert evaluation and self-evaluation makes this technique and its procedure that creates for the leader the internal motivation, which serves as the basis for productive activities for the improvement of the higher education institution’s manager.