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Question Of The Month
How do we make time for, and prioritise, people’s growth when the work/status/priority of the project makes it practically very difficult?
Leadership Is Not A Duty, It’s A Responsibility
Isn’t it remarkable how often people find themselves in leadership roles, where their main responsibility is to lead and nurture others, yet they are woefully unprepared or, at times, simply uninterested, in carrying such a critical responsibility?
At Legitimate Leadership we talk about three unconditional motives: Purpose, Passion and Person. In his talk Dan Ariely makes three observations that have significant implications for Legitimate Leadership practitioners…
For more information regarding the above, please e-mail events@legitimateleadership.com
Question Of The Month
By Josh Hayman, Director, Legitimate Leadership.
Question: How do we make time for, and prioritise, people’s growth when the work/status/priority of the project makes it practically very difficult?
Answer
- Make your one-on-ones about wellbeing, and what growth exists for each person in the work they are doing.
- Take as many opportunities as are available to stimulate reflection and learning through the work being done.
- Give lots of in-the-moment feedback.
- Have just one growth goal for each person that is pursued through the work, not in addition to the work.
- In short, use the small amount of time available to focus on growth wisely. Make it count!
Article: Leadership Is Not A Duty, It’s A Responsibility
By Paulette Daniels, Associate, Legitimate Leadership.
Isn’t it remarkable how often people find themselves in leadership roles, where their main responsibility is to lead and nurture others, yet they are woefully unprepared or, at times, simply uninterested, in carrying such a critical responsibility?
In my experience, it’s not uncommon for highly skilled technical experts to be promoted through the ranks, not due to their ability to work with or lead people, but because of their exceptional performance, technical expertise, commercial and business acumen and prowess. Unfortunately, the development of these individuals as leaders is often overlooked from the onset. Too often, there’s little focus on coaching or grooming them to become not just competent, but exceptional, leaders. As a result, these newly-promoted leaders are thrust into the daunting task of leading, inspiring, motivating, and developing the very people now under their charge. They then climb the ranks but lack the leadership muscle to positively impact people along the way.
The issue is that many of these new leaders are utterly clueless when it comes to the “people” aspect of leadership. In fact, some might even argue they don’t like people much. This leads them to “shoot from the hip”, rely on trial and error approaches, and often mimic the behaviour of managers they once reported to.
READ THE FULL ARTICLE BY CLICKING HERE
Video: The Real Reasons We Work
By Dan Ariely, professor of psychology and behavioural economics at Duke University, USA.
COMMENT ON THIS VIDEO BY IAN MUNRO, LEGITIMATE LEADERSHIP: At Legitimate Leadership we talk about three unconditional motives: Purpose, Passion and Person. In his talk Dan Ariely makes three observations that have significant implications for Legitimate Leadership practitioners:
- “Small” meaning matters. It is tempting to believe that purpose has to be grand to be motivating – travelling to the moon, saving the environment, fighting disease. What Ariely’s research shows, however, is that “small” meaning – completing a whole task, or even just being noticed – can make a significant difference. The implication for leaders: having grand plans and big visions is important, but don’t forget to pay attention to what people are doing day-to-day: are they challenged, are they completing whole tasks, are they being noticed?
- Which leads to the second observation: paying attention matters. In the Legitimate Leadership Model, attention debuts as a CARE issue. “True care requires that we give people two things: time and attention.” But attention is also a GROWTH issue. We call it Watching The Game. We know Watching The Game is a pre-requisite for giving appropriately. Ariely’s insight is that Watching The Game is not only a pre-requisite for giving appropriately; it is also a key motivator in its own right. Perhaps that explains why some of the most legitimate leaders I know prioritise Watching The Game as their most important leadership contribution.
- Lastly, Ariely talks briefly, but meaningfully, about passion – specifically, that when we remove purpose, we also crush joy. This is important for leaders because it tells us that when we eliminate (or fail to engage) purpose, we might not be removing only one of the three unconditional motivators, we might in fact be destroying two of them.
OUR SUMMARY OF THIS VIDEO: Dan Ariely explores why people work and what truly motivates them beyond money. Contrary to the common belief that people are like rats in a maze, working only for rewards, Ariely argues that meaning, purpose, recognition, and effort play a crucial role in how people value their labor.
Beyond Money: The Power of Meaning
We often assume people work only for monetary incentives. Bonuses, salaries, and commissions are treated as the main levers of motivation. But real-life examples — like mountain climbers willingly enduring hardship — suggest otherwise. People endure challenges not for comfort or happiness but for purpose, progress, and the satisfaction of achieving goals.
READ THE FULL SUMMARY OF THIS VIDEO BY CLICKING HERE
WATCH THE VIDEO HERE