Learn Hardcore French: Sa motivation est un bon exemple pour notre groupe. - Her motivation is a good example for our group.

motivation is feminine singular → you use sa.
- sa motivation = her motivation / his motivation / their motivation (for one person, context decides)
If the noun were masculine singular, you’d use son.
- son livre (his/her book)
If it were plural, you’d use ses.
- ses motivations (his/her motivations)

The owner’s gender does not change sa/son/ses—only the noun that follows does.

Is motivation feminine in French? How can I tell?

Yes, motivation is feminine: la motivation, sa motivation, une motivation.

A useful pattern: nouns ending in -tion are almost always feminine in French:

la nation, la situation, la décision, la conversation, la motivation

You still need to learn gender with each noun, but -tion is a very reliable clue for feminine.

If motivation is feminine, why do we say un bon exemple and not une bonne exemple?

Because un bon exemple agrees with exemple, not with motivation.

The structure is:

Sa motivation (subject, feminine)
est
un bon exemple (subject complement, masculine because exemple is masculine)

In French, when you have noun + être + noun, each noun keeps its own gender:

Cette voiture est un problème.
- voiture (fem.) → cette,
- problème (masc.) → un problème, not une problème
Sa motivation est un bon exemple.
- motivation (fem.) → sa,
- exemple (masc.) → un bon exemple, not une bonne exemple

What is the gender of exemple, and how do I use it with articles and adjectives?

Exemple is masculine:

un exemple (a(n) example)
l’exemple (the example)
des exemples (examples)
un bon exemple (a good example)
un mauvais exemple (a bad example)

So in the sentence, un bon exemple is fully masculine:
un (masc. sing.) + bon (masc. sing.) + exemple (masc. sing.).

Why is it pour notre groupe and not à notre groupe?

With the idea of something being an example for someone, French normally uses pour:

un bon exemple pour quelqu’un
- un bon exemple pour notre groupe
- un bon exemple pour les enfants

À is used in other patterns, such as:

donner un exemple à quelqu’un (to give an example to someone)
expliquer quelque chose à quelqu’un (to explain something to someone)

But after être un exemple, the natural preposition is pour, not à.

Why is it notre groupe and not nos groupe or notre groupes?

French possessives agree with the number of the noun they modify:

notre = our (before one thing, singular)
nos = our (before several things, plural)

Here:

groupe is singular → notre groupe
If there were several groups: nos groupes (our groups)

You never combine singular possessive with plural noun or vice versa, so:

✗ nos groupe
✗ notre groupes
are both incorrect.

Why does bon come before exemple? Could I say un exemple bon?

Adjectives in French usually go after the noun, but some very common, short adjectives often go before. Bon is one of them:

un bon exemple
un bon livre
un bon repas

Putting bon after exemple (→ un exemple bon) sounds very unusual and marked; you’d only do it in special, strongly contrastive contexts, and even then it’s rare. For normal speech, always say un bon exemple.

Could I say C’est un bon exemple pour notre groupe instead?

You can say C’est un bon exemple pour notre groupe, but it has a slightly different structure.

Sa motivation est un bon exemple pour notre groupe.
- Directly identifies her/his motivation as the example.
C’est un bon exemple pour notre groupe.
- Uses ce (it/that) to refer back to something already mentioned:
  - Sa motivation est remarquable. C’est un bon exemple pour notre groupe.
    (Her motivation is remarkable. That is a good example for our group.)

Both are correct, but the original sentence makes the link explicit in one single clause.

What exactly does motivation mean in French? Is it like English motivation or motive?

French motivation is mostly like English motivation in the sense of:

drive
enthusiasm
willingness to make an effort

For example:

Il a beaucoup de motivation. – He’s very motivated / has a lot of drive.
Manquer de motivation. – To lack motivation.

For the reason behind an action (especially for a crime), French more often uses:

un mobile (criminal motive)
un motif (reason, grounds)

So sa motivation in your sentence is about their drive/enthusiasm, not about a criminal motive.

How is the whole sentence pronounced?

Approximate IPA and some tips:

Sa → /sa/
- Like sa in salad but with a pure a sound.
motivation → /mɔ.ti.va.sjɔ̃/
- mo-: /mɔ/ (like mow in mop, but shorter)
- -ti-: /ti/ (like tee)
- -va-: /va/ (like va in vat)
- -tion: /sjɔ̃/ (sounds like syohn, with nasal on)
est → /ɛ/ (like e in bed but a bit tenser)
un → /œ̃/ (nasal vowel, like uh said through the nose)
bon → /bɔ̃/ (nasal on; final n not pronounced)
exemple → /ɛɡ.zɑ̃pl/
- liaison: bon exemple is /bɔ̃.n‿ɛɡ.zɑ̃pl/ (you hear a linking n sound)
- final e is silent.
pour → /puʀ/ (like poor, but with French u /u/ and French r)
notre → /nɔtʀ/ (final e very light or almost not heard)
groupe → /ɡʀup/ (final e silent)

Full sentence:
/sa mɔ.ti.va.sjɔ̃ ɛ œ̃ bɔ̃.n‿ɛɡ.zɑ̃pl puʀ nɔtʀ ɡʀup/

Could I add à suivre and say Sa motivation est un bon exemple à suivre pour notre groupe?

Yes. à suivre means to follow, so:

Sa motivation est un bon exemple pour notre groupe.
- Neutral: it’s a good example for us.
Sa motivation est un bon exemple à suivre pour notre groupe.
- Stronger: it’s a good example to follow; we should imitate it.

Both are correct; the version with à suivre emphasizes that others ought to copy this motivation.

Is the sentence formal, informal, or neutral in tone?

The sentence is neutral and works in almost any context:

in a meeting: Sa motivation est un bon exemple pour notre groupe.
in a classroom or training session
in written feedback or an email

It’s polite and standard, neither slangy nor overly formal.