Motivation and Leadership

Do you ever feel motivated, charged up, and full of energy?

Frequently we attend a presentation or watch a TV show or read of the accomplishments of someone else and say something like, "That person is so motivating!" But where did the motivation come from - the person we saw or listened to?

It is my belief that motivation comes not from someone else but from within. In other words, if we all relied on hearing or seeing just the right message at just the right time in order to "get motivated" to move forward or make a change then we would be in an awful mess. Really, how many times in your life have you been party to an absolutely incredible presentation that inspired you? Now compare that to the number of times in your life in which you were full of energy, ready to take on the world - in other words, 'motivated.' Probably a much more frequent occurence. Did you rely on someone else to get you motivated in those times?

Motivation is a result of our own Passion and the internal compass that tells us that we need to pursue a particular course of action. We are inspired by others when what they say or do is in line with our passions and desires - but they are not able to motivate us directly.

So why did I include Leadership in the title of this post?

Because too many 'leaders' believe it is their job to 'motivate' their team - and nothing could be further from the truth. A leader's job is to inspire, to provide an avenue for team members' passions. The leader's role includes coaching the team to find out what their internal motivators are and align them with the needs of the organization so that there is a Win/Win/Win - the leader wins by building a successful team, the team members win by fulfilling their purpose, and the organization wins by delivering its product or service.

If you are in a leadership role are you attempting to motivate - or inspire? Are you frustrated because team members don't respond to the same things that motivate you? It's not their fault; they are different people than you with different passions. Find out what their internal motivators are. Then - as leader - inspire them to be the best they can be by reminding them of their internal motivators.

For more insight on Inspirational Leadership that results in a motivated team, read John Maxwell's "21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership."

Make it an inspiring day!

The Price of Leadership

Speaking with a business owner the other day reminded me of an article I saw a while back about the challenges of leadership...


So often leaders are envied for the fact that they are leaders and the perceived perks that come with the role - and yet leadership comes with a price. It isn't all accolades and "atta boys;" being a leader - or a business owner - can be downright difficult. And yet I believe there is real truth in the saying "To whom much is given much is expected." As a leader you may be given many rewards yet you must be prepared for significant effort and challenges. Read the information below and let me know if it doesn't strike a chord with you. (By the way, check out the date this was first published at the bottom...)

In every field of endeavor, he that is first must perpetually live in the white light of publicity. Whether the leadership be visited in a man or in a manufactured product, emulation and envy are ever at war – in art, in literature, in music, in industry - the reward and punishment are always the same. The reward is widespread recognition; the punishment, fierce denial and detraction.

When a man’s work becomes a standard for the whole world, it also becomes a target for the shafts of the envious few. If the work is merely mediocre, he will be left entirely alone. If he achieves a masterpiece, it will set a million tongues a-wagging. Jealousy does not protrude its forked tongue at the artist who produces a commonplace painting. Whatsoever you write or paint or play or sing or build, no one will strive to surpass or slander you unless your work be stamped with the seal of genius.

Long, long after a great work or good work has been done, those who are disappointed or envious continue to cry out that it cannot be done. Spiteful voices in the domain of art were raised against our own Whistler as a Mountebank - long after the big world had acclaimed him a genius.

Multitudes flocked to Bayreuth to worship at the musical shrine of Wagner while the little group of those whom he had dethroned and displaced argued angrily that he was no musician at all. The little world continued to protest that Fulton could never build a steamboat while the big world flocked to the riverbanks to see his boat steam by.

The leader is assailed because he is a leader, and the effort to equal him is merely added proof of that leadership. Failing to equal to excel, the follower seeks to depreciate and to destroy, but only confirms once more the superiority of that which he strives to supplant.

There is nothing new in this. It is as old as the world and as old as the human passions - envy, fear, greed, ambition, and the desire to surpass. And, it all avails to nothing. If the leader truly leads, he remains the leader.

Master poet, master painter, master worker - each in his turn is assailed, and each holds his laurels through the ages. That which is good or great makes itself known, no matter how loud the clamor of denial.

That which deserves to live - lives.

- Cadillac Motor Car Division, advertising in The Saturday Evening Post, January 1926.

By the way, join us at Firestone Country Club on November 15 and 16 for BusinessRICH, a two-day workshop for business owners and executives. More details here: