Have you ever wondered how to motivate a leader?
If you have leaders on your team, no doubt you want the maximum potential out of them. You want their best contributions to your team. How do you motivate them to achieve their best – personally and for the team?
It may not be as difficult as we one may think. Most leader-types share some common traits. They may lead entirely different – they may have different causes and interests, but most leaders are motivated by similar influences.
Here are 7 suggestions to motivate a leader:
Give them a challenge to meet
If there’s a task that would be a huge accomplishment, you’ll likely grab a leader’s interest. Be careful telling a leader it “can’t be done”, unless you want to see some motivation accelerate. Leaders love to strive for the impossible. Give them something which seems out of their reach and you are likely to get them on board.
Celebrate results
When a leaders celebrate a win, it fuels their desire for another. Leaders thrive on accomplishment. There may be lots of reasons behind this – and, frankly, some of them could even be pride, which is wrong. But, the point here is that something in the DNA of a leader which loves to win.
Share enthusiasm
Leaders are motivated by those who have a passion and drive to achieve. Make the vision exciting and compelling and you’ve likely got a leaders attention. This is another reason to repeat the vision often. A strong, compelling vision is fuel for a leader’s passion.
Involve some risk
Tell a leader something is “dangerous” – or others may not approve – and he or she may be motivated to attempt it. Leaders love a challenge. In fact, one way to tell the difference in a potential good leader and a good manager is the amount of risk he or she is willing to assume.
Embrace change
Leaders, by definition, are creators of movement. When things get stale, throw a little change in the mix, and a leader has a new incentive to lead. When a leader gets too comfortable they get bored. They’d often rather live with drama than staleness or routine.
Invite chaos
It sounds strange, but even a little controversy or conflict can fuel a leader. When the situation is overwhelming a leader goes to work. One difference in managers and leaders is that managers like (and need) to bring structure. They systematize things. Leaders love to fix things – improve them – make things better. It may even be messy along the way. (Which is also why every good leader needs a good manager.)
Have big dreams
Leaders are visionary. They want to accomplish something bigger than today. The bigger the dream, the bigger the motivation for the leader.
In my opinion, it is useless to have leaders on your team if you don’t lead them lead or use them to their full potential. And, if you want to get the most out of a leader – keep them motivated!
Are you a leader? Which of these motivate you most?
