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Leadership:
At a recent sales conference, achievement awards were
being given to the people who had sold the most. I'll
never forget the woman who received the highest award.
She had performed superbly, made a great deal of money,
but gave all the credit to her sales manager.
As she stood before the crowd of 3000 people, clutching
her award as the top producer of the year, she talked
about the slump she was in two years before. She said
her future had looked so bleak that she had decided to
quit on several occasions. But each time her manager
persuaded her to stay. He kept telling her that she
had great potential; indeed, he wouldn't have hired
her if he hadn't believed in her.
The award winner continued her acceptance speech along
those lines, but her concluding comment was most
insightful. She said, "Through all those months when
I wanted to quit, when I didn't think I had any future,
my manager BELIEVED in me more than I believed in
myself. He wanted me to succeed even more than I did. "
Just like that top performer, everyone has a deep
reservoir of ability, a reservoir that goes untapped
until someone believes in him. Quite simply, A PERSON
DOES HIS BEST WHEN HE KNOWS SOMEONE BELIEVES IN HIM,
AND HE DOES HIS WORST WHEN HE THINKS NO ONE BELIEVES
IN HIM.
This is a basic truth in motivation. The problem is,
most managers and leaders have not consciously,
systematically used this truth to bring out the best
in others. They haven't applied a step-by-step
methodology of belief that will produce the results
they want. I wonder why.
I think one of the reasons lies in the fact that many
people do not understand how motivation works. They
mistakenly think "no news is good news. "In other
words, if the manager doesn't say anything to the
employee, the employee can assume that everything
is okay. The employee can assume that the manager
believes in the employee.
Well managers can think that all they want, but that's
not how employees think. Managerial silence or a
lack of feedback does not get interpreted by the
employees as a sign of positive belief. Employees
interpret silence as a negative.
The no-news-is-good-news philosophy simply doesn't
work. Even though the employee may know he has
talent or has done a good job, he needs to know
that the manager also believes that.
The second reason people don't use the power of belief
has to do with a misunderstanding of management. Some
managers think it's their duty to point out employee
mistakes and suggest solutions. They adopt a problem-
solving mindset and spend most of their time fighting
fires, resolving difficulties, and fixing crises.
As a result, these managers are so busy with the
problems that they forget to exhibit their belief in
their employees. They spend all their time seeing
their employees "as they are" instead of envisioning
them "as they could be. "
This approach to management or leadership is
half-baked at best. Certainly employees need
guidelines. They need help with problems and limits
on their empowerment. But the transformational
leadership that brings out the best in others comes
from a strong belief in the employee.
IF YOU'RE A LEADER OR MANAGER WHO DOESN'T "EXHIBIT"
A STRONG BELIEF IN YOUR EMPLOYEES, YOU'RE PAYING
A MIGHTY BIG PRICE FOR YOUR MISTAKE. At the very
least, you're creating non-communicative employees.
When employees think you don't believe in them, they
get fearful. And fearful people don't speak up or
offer an opinion. They're too afraid to disagree,
and they're unwilling to participate in team meetings.
Their thoughts and feelings, if they ever do come out,
come out behind your back where they do you no good
whatsoever.
That's an obvious waste of employee insight and talent.
You're losing their contributions to any improvements
you might want to make.
You also create demoralized employees when you fail
to "exhibit" your belief in them. The Russian
military learned that after the Russian Revolution of
1917.
Their official communist policy became that of showing
no overt signs of believing in the officers. All
status signs were taken away. The officers swabbed
their own quarters, ate with the rank and file, stood
in line with the orderlies, received no privileges,
salutes, or titles.
Overnight the military sank to its lowest level in
military history. The officers were completely
demoralized. They were worthless as soldiers to say
nothing of their leadership. It soon became obvious
what had happened, and Russia began to show overt belief
in its officers. Medals, trophies, and titles were
used generously to give distinction to all segments
of the army.
Russia had overlooked one glaring, compelling fact in
human behavior. To get the best from people, you must
show that you believe in them. People will work harder
for someone who believes in them than they will for
almost anything else.
Belief costs nothing to apply and works wonders. So
start BELIEVING.
Action on Leadership:
Select three people you want to "motivate" to higher
levels of achievement. They may be your employees,
your coworkers, or even your kids. Think of three ways
you can communicate or "exhibit" your belief in each of
them. Then do it. They'll get turned on, and they'll
turn out better results.
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