There is a big difference between being told what to do and being invited on a journey.
For one thing, having things imposed is rarely met with enthusiasm and whatever motivation is aroused tends to be the result of fear, which is only productive in short spurts and not sustainable for longer periods. And, when people are forced to do things they tend not to take responsibility when things don’t turn out.
Being invited on a journey, however, generates significant and sustainable motivation, because:
- It conveys courtesy and respect, which creates positive feelings and emotional connections—a form of glue for teams.
- It offers choice—participating in the journey is not mandatory so joining the journey is accompanied with psychological buy-in.
- Psychological buy-in translates into greater ownership of results.
- Choosing to participate in the journey indicates greater desire and alignment, resulting in the selection of better, more aligned, and more capable individuals.
Great leaders commit to the journey [mission] and selflessly invite great people to join in. By giving others a choice, and being clear about what the journey entails, great leaders ensure the assembly of a better team knowing that even if they invite some wrong people those individuals can opt out if they do not wish to participate, don’t align with the objective, or are not willing to expend the effort.
Practically, nobody intentionally chooses wrong people. Yet, too often even good leaders choose others based on past experience and hope [that they will buy-in to the vision] only to learn, after considerable investment of time and money, that the individual did not understand what the journey actually entailed, or joined simply for a paycheck, and were not truly committed. Either way bringing the wrong people onto the team can be expensive and result in lost time.
Great leaders understand that leadership is about getting a team from one place to another. Great leaders focus on the journey and work hard to keep attention on the team and not themselves—another factor that spurs on a team.
Herb Mast is a Leadership Coach and Employee Engagement Specialist. Learn how he can assist you in implementing the principles and concepts presented here.