In The Essential Drucker, Peter Drucker insisted that management increasingly needs to lead knowledge workers as if they were volunteers because their skills make them mobile. They can always go somewhere else to work. So, what motivates volunteers?
I’ve had the advantage of witnessing how my wife has effectively motivated volunteers in a ministry. Some of the factors that motivate volunteers are:
Cast a compelling, inspiring vision you want to be a part of
Get to know each volunteer
Provide training and educational opportunities
Publicly show appreciation
Correct behavior privately
Always consider The Golden Rule
Perks such as doughnuts don’t hurt either. The bottom line is ordering knowledge workers around doesn’t work. An effective boss of knowledge workers leads instead of dictates. Knowledge workers are paid to think. Indeed, What motivates volunteers also motivates them.
Is anybody totally in charge? Bosses have bosses. Even those at the top answer to a board of directors or a balance sheet. Many of us ask, “What if I’m not in Charge?”
A few years ago, I attended a conference where a speaker coached us on how to lead when we aren’t the boss. Clay Scroggins advised that we have more control than we realize, even when we aren’t the leader.
Even if we don’t have the official title, each of us has control over ourselves and how we react to different situations. I have found that when I have relinquished that control, I have made it difficult for me to lead myself and have made it harder on my leaders.
We have more control than we realize, but that also means we must take responsibility for our own actions. What if I’m not in charge? I can start leading myself, for starters. And isn’t that the most important person to lead, after all?
We consider leaders to be people with huge egos. And it does take self-confidence and bravado to rise up through the ranks of any organization or field. However, Ken Blanchard reminds me the biggest obstacle to a leader’s growth is their ego.
“The biggest obstacle that stalls leaders’ growth is the human ego. When leaders start to think they know it all, they stop growing.”
We stop growing when we begin to think we know it all. After all, why stop growing if you’ve reached the pinnacle of knowledge and accomplishment? The ego is very good at stunting our growth.
And in an ever-changing world, it is foolish to believe we know it all in any and every situation. If the situation changes, how can past knowledge possibly account for that?
We experience this roadblock whenever we present a new idea and someone says, “We tried that before and it didn’t work.” Or, “The old way got us here. If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it.” Not only does ego keep us from growing, but it also stops us from moving forward.
Pride and haughtiness blind us. The moment we think we know it all is the moment we have chosen to close our eyes to possibilities. We stop thinking and start making excuses.
When a Leader Stops Growing
When a leader decides they know it all, they stall their growth. As a result, the organization they lead stalls. It may be subtle at first. It can take years to see the results. But slowly and surely, the organization begins to die.
A leader who lets ego define them soon finds their influence dying. Without growth, there is death. And without the humility to change, people and organizations tend to fade away.
The biggest obstacle to a leader’s growth is their ego. Let’s remember to have the humility and courage to acknowledge we don’t know everything.
We all have at least some autonomy to do whatever we want. We can…
Spend work goofing off because the boss is out today
Eat that full bag of chips… along with an entire pizza
Cheat on those financials because only you know the data
Lie about what happen since you were the only witness
Yes, we have the freedom to do what we want. And in an anything-goes-world, there is much more beyond my imagination that any of us could do.
But sooner or later, we will suffer the consequences of bad decisions.
The latest employee evaluation criticizes your lack of productivity
You suffer a health crisis because on your eating habits
The auditors are demanding the data because something is definately off
There is evidence that proves you lied
Anything goes is a poor strategy for going forward. We all need boundaries. We are accountable for our actions. John Maxwell had this quote concerning planning our daily-to-do list. It’s a reminder to me that even the decisions that may not appear to have large consequences can come back to affect us.
This article from Inc. Magazine had me thinking about compliments.
We all like to think we’re doing a good job, so why do we downplay them? Like this previous post I wrote suggests, we like to think giving compliments is a sign of generosity and can even boost our likeability and popularity a bit… that is if they’re seen as genuine. Besides, who wouldn’t want a can of tuna?
Compliments can make us uncomfortable for the following reasons:
It makes us feel we didn’t earn something when someone claims you have.
They may not sound genuine. As the Inc. Magazine article states, sincere compliments are key.
We may have been taught to be humble.
A complement may challenge us to an even greater standard.
If a compliment sounds genuine, and it resonates with me, I say accept it. Don’t try to belittle it by playing it down. Let’s all be generous with giving sincere compliments and receiving them.
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