| Although world business is undergoing historic changes, | | | | motivate themselves. Only they can motivate |
| the prevailing view of what constitutes business | | | | themselves. The motivators and the "motivatees" are |
| leadership is stuck in the past. Generally, business | | | | the same people. We engage in the new leadership |
| leaders view leadership as an order-giving process. | | | | when we recognize that we are motivating people to |
| The word "leadership" itself comes from old Norse | | | | get results only when we set up an environment in |
| root meaning "to make go." Many leaders believe that | | | | which they are actively motivating themselves. |
| they must "make" people go by ordering them to do | | | | Action-based: A key aspect of the new leadership lies |
| things. | | | | in the first two letters of the word motivation. Those |
| But today's new business realities are requiring new | | | | letters -- "mo" -- are also found in the words "motion," |
| kinds of leadership, leadership that has very little to do | | | | "momentum," "motor," "mobile," etc. The words denote |
| with order giving. Organizations are more competitive | | | | action -- physical action. Motivation isn't what people |
| when leaders don't make others go but instead have | | | | think or feel but physically do. To engage in the new |
| those others make themselves go -- when employees | | | | leadership, leaders must constantly be challenging |
| are not ordered to do tasks but instead are in the | | | | others to take physical action that leads to results. |
| frame of mind and heart that they want to do those | | | | Results-oriented: Motivated people are useless to a |
| tasks. That "want to" is the cutting edge of | | | | business. People taking action are useless to a |
| competitiveness. | | | | business. Only those people who get results are useful. |
| Order-leadership in business has its roots in the | | | | The thing is that people who are motivated and taking |
| beginnings of the Industrial Revolution. "Order" comes | | | | action are more likely to get results. Leaders must |
| from a Latin root meaning to arrange threads in a | | | | have a passion to achieve results. Not just results -- |
| weaving woof. The captains of the Revolution dealt | | | | but more results, faster results. They must permeate |
| with the relatively uneducated country people who | | | | the culture of their organization with a more results |
| flocked to their factories by ordering them where, how, | | | | faster esprit. |
| and when to work. The most efficient and effective | | | | Clearly, many order leaders have a passion for results. |
| production methods resulted from workers being | | | | But as to the new leadership, how people get results is |
| "ordered" or ranked like threads in the woof of | | | | as important as their getting those results. To get |
| production lines. Refined and empowered by the | | | | more-results-faster, the order leader demands that |
| Victorian commercial culture, with its patriarchal power | | | | people run faster in the organizational gerbil wheel. But |
| structure and strong links to Prussian military | | | | there is a limit to how fast and hard people can work |
| organization, the culture of the order-giver leader | | | | before they burn out. The new leader, however, |
| reached its zenith in the United States after World | | | | recognizes that to achieve more results faster on a |
| War II. | | | | continuous basis that people can't simply speed up, |
| During the post-war years, many U.S. businesses were | | | | work harder, and be straight-jacketed by tight controls. |
| like ocean liners plowing through relatively calm seas, | | | | They must replenish their spirit and energies. They |
| their leaders, like liner captains and mates, running things | | | | must slow down to develop and employ powerful |
| by getting orders from superiors, giving orders to | | | | processes, and they must challenge others to lead for |
| subordinates and making sure that those orders were | | | | results. The new leader's effectiveness is not |
| carried out. | | | | measured so much by his/her actions but by the |
| But today, with competition increasing dramatically, with | | | | effectiveness of the leadership activities he/she |
| the volume and velocity of information multiplying, with | | | | challenges others to engage in. |
| the pyramidal structures of order-giving businesses | | | | The recent emergence of interlocking global markets |
| flattening, leaders need skills not akin to ocean liner | | | | has stimulated a new vision of world commerce, a |
| piloting but white-water canoeing. Order leadership | | | | vision of a single global playing field. Leaders must |
| founders where lines of authority are blurred, | | | | match their business activities to the demands of that |
| information proliferates, markets rapidly changing, and | | | | vision. But a corresponding new vision of leadership |
| employees are highly skilled and educated. | | | | has not emerged. |
| A new kind of leadership, a new vision of leadership is | | | | Stuck with an outmoded vision of order leadership, |
| needed -- leadership based on the principle that the | | | | today's leaders are not seizing the full array of |
| leader doesn't make others go by ordering them about | | | | opportunities before them. When they begin to |
| but instead has them go by creating an organizational | | | | establish leadership that is not order-driven but is |
| environment in which they prompt themselves to go. | | | | instead motivational, action-based and results-oriented, |
| This new leadership is: | | | | the world might not beat a path to their door but more |
| 1. Motivational. | | | | importantly, they will beat paths to the doorsteps of |
| 2. Action-based. | | | | the world. |
| 3. Results-driven. | | | | =========================================== |
| Motivational: Leaders do nothing more important than | | | | PERMISSION TO REPUBLISH: This article may be |
| get results. But leaders can't get results themselves. | | | | republished in newsletters and on web sites provided |
| They need the people they lead to get results. And the | | | | attribution is provided to the author, and it appears with |
| best way for them to get results is not to order them | | | | the included copyright, resource box and live web site |
| but to motivate them to take action that produces | | | | link. Email notice of intent to publish is appreciated but |
| results. However, the English language misconstrues | | | | not required: mail to: |
| motivation. English describes the act of motivation as | | | | =========================================== |
| something one person does to another person. | | | | 2005 © The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. All rights |
| Leaders can't motivate anybody to do anything. We | | | | reserved. |
| communicate -- the people themselves motivate. They | | | | |