Leaders Need to Understand Motivating Values
Great article about the loss of values education in colleges and universities in the Boston Globe Sunday by Yale Professor of Law, Anthony Kronman, Why are We Here? As a management development consultant, I see the problem of people's lack of reflection on their motivating values acted out in the work-place every day. A college degree doesn't guarantee a candidate will be aware of his or her values - let alone understand how their values relate to the behavioral requirements of the job.
As leaders, we must remember that values initiate behavior, and they are a unique motivating force for every person we hire. When formal education is over-weighted by managers in hiring criteria, individuals fail based on the behavioral requirements of the job, lack of maturity and/or mental agility, and motivating values that don't fit the requirements of the job.
It's not that formal education isn't important - it's that formal education fails to prepare an individual for a leadership role if it doesn't help them explore and develop their own values. Great leaders have insight into their own motivating values giving them an ability to lead from the soul not just the spreadsheet.
For Myself. . .
I remember the first time I was asked about my own motivating values as it related to hiring criteria. Twenty years ago, (jeez!) at the very beginning of my business career, I filled out The Cleaver Motivating Values Instrument, and with that feedback realized I had high Economic and high Social values. Yeah, I really really wanted to make a lot of money! But I also really really wanted to help people. As I charted my next career move, I connected my values with my work, understanding that if I made a lot of money but didn't help humanity in the process, I wasn't going to be happy. I'm happy today, and grateful to have followed a path that honored my deepest values.
Ask Yourself. . .
What are my motivating values? Social? Political? Regulatory? Aesthetic? Economic? Theoretical?
Try This. . .
While you're driving to or from work, or taking your morning run, turn off your I-pod for a little while, or if you can't get back to sleep tonight, instead of counting sheep, ask yourself, if Freud's right - that the meaning of life is to be found in Work and Love - is my work aligned with what I really care about in life?
Comments