Tag: Motivation
This short clip is from the 2009 movie “Up in the Air” starring George Clooney. George’s character is delivering bad news about a layoff.
Dreams. We all have them. When we were children our heads were full of possibility, dreams, and fantasies. Most of us knew no limits, other than what we were told we could or could not do.
As we got older our conditioning from family, friends, society and school brought us down to reality, to what was practical and reasonable. Many of us embarked on careers, expecting them to last a lifetime only to discover that times had changed and we had to change too or become obsolete.
Leadership choices are made every day and yet very little thought is really put into considering the worthiness of the leader.
Too often a leader is chosen by default because no one else wants the responsibility.
The most suitable leader should have the right combination of a desire to make a difference, experience, skill, attitude and ability.
If someone is motivated by power, status, control or greed their decisions, actions and thought processes will be based on their own ego and what’s in it for them – and not necessarily what is right for their stakeholders.
Who wants to follow a leader who is motivated primarily by self-interest? Unless of course your interest is aligned with theirs. We call that mutual self-interest.
The best leaders know when to lead and when to follow. If a leader is motivated by not wanting to follow, then they will insist on leading – even when they are clearly not the best suited for the role. The end result is suboptimal compared to the right person leading.
Next time you are choosing a leader, consider these eight motivations and don’t listen to what they say. Consider their past actions and results as good indicators of future results.
MOTIVATION > There are seven primary motivations that correspond to seven paradigms. As your paradigm changes, so does your motivation, which in turn alters your focus. If a person is living day to day (survival) then their motivation will be survival based and their goals will be focused on getting out of survival.
The key to shifting from one paradigm to another is to set goals based on a higher paradigm…
In order to do that:
- Identify the paradigm you are currently operating within
- Recognize alternative paradigms (there are seven in total)
- Immerse yourself in the new, chosen paradigm and set goals based on the predominate motivations of that paradigm
- Have fun! Don’t take it all too seriously…
There are eight primary motivations for leading:
- By default (no one else wants to lead)
- The desire to make a difference
- A belief that they are the best suited for the role
- Other’s belief that they are the best suited for the role
- The desire to control and have power over others
- Ego, status, power and prestige
- Greed
- Not wanting to follow others
You can see from this list that the best leader is a person who desires to make a difference and is the best suited for the role. Best suited for the role means they have the right combination of experience, skills, attitudes, and abilities.
What happens when a person is motivated by the desire to control, enhance their ego, status, and power, etc.?
Their decisions, actions, and thought processes will be based on their own ego and what’s in it for them and not necessarily what is right for their stakeholders.
Who wants to follow a leader who is motivated primarily by self-interest?
The best leaders know when to lead and when to follow.
If the leader is motivated by not wanting to follow, then they will insist on leading – even when they are clearly not the best suited for the situation. The end result is an outcome that is less than what would be possible with the right person leading.
Next time you are choosing a leader, consider these eight motivations and don’t listen to what they say. Consider their past actions as good indicators of future actions.