So You Want to Be a Leader. Why?
Leadership: Confidence, Courage, Commitment. That was the theme for the 2015 SASE National Conference. Those three “C’s” are critical attributes of a good leader. You could probably come up with many, many more. In fact hundreds, if not thousands, of books have been written on that subject! But successful leadership is more than just a collection of attributes and skills. While those are important indicators of how you’ll lead, great leaders also need to know why they want to lead.
Baby, We Were Born to Lead
The debate over whether leaders are born or made is probably as old as the human race. While there are some that still cling to the belief that you need to have a certain genetic disposition to lead, science says otherwise. Research has shown that successful leadership is roughly 1/3rd “born” and 2/3rds “made.” That means that we can learn to be effective leaders. That’s certainly great news for the multi-billion dollar leadership training industry!
So if we’re all, in effect, born to lead, how do we best tap into that potential? In a 2015 study at the University of Illinois, researchers found that becoming a good leader is a three step process. They called it being ready, willing, and able: You need to first come to leadership motivated (ready) to learn to be a leader. That motivation makes you more willing to learn leadership skills. Finally, with those newly acquired skills you’re able to lead successfully. Those lacking the motivation to lead may be able to learn the skills needed, but they can’t effectively lead.
What’s In it For Me?
If motivation is the first component in successful leadership, are all motivations to lead created equal? The short answer is, no. Motivations can broadly be classified as either internal (intrinsic) or external (extrinsic). Extrinsic motivations are those that primarily rely on an outside source. Examples are money, status, or a larger office. Intrinsic motivations are those that come primarily from within. Job satisfaction, the joy of learning new things, and the desire to improve yourself or others are all intrinsic motivations. The graphic below highlights a few more examples of motivators. While both intrinsic and extrinsic motivations can spur us forward in our leadership careers, how they each influence long term success is quite different.
Because extrinsic motivation relies most on outside sources, leaders motivated in that way may be less resilient to changes in their environment. Imagine, for example, that a leader is primarily motivated by the nice bonus that he receives each year. A downturn in company fortunes that causes that bonus to be reduced or eliminated could completely undermine his motivation to lead. If a leader in that same situation is motivated intrinsically, say by a desire to help her employees succeed, her level of motivation might be unchanged or even increased at times when the organization is under that kind of pressure.
More is NOT Better
It may seem pretty obvious that intrinsic motivations are critical for successful leaders. What’s less obvious is that it’s possible to decrease motivation when extrinsic motivators are added on top of intrinsic ones. A 2014 study of 10,000 cadets from West Point looked at their success as leaders in the Army based on whether they were intrinsically or extrinsically motivated. That study’s results supported previous research showing that intrinsically motivated leaders are generally more successful. More surprisingly, the research indicated that when extrinsic motivations are added on top of intrinsic ones, success decreased. This has been called the Overjustification Effect. When our internal motivations are overshadowed by extrinsic motivations for the same activity, it can cause us to shift our focus away from the internal motivations that keep us going. A few strongly held intrinsic motivators are worth more than a combination of intrinsic and extrinsic.
This effect was was nicely illustrated in a 1973 University of Michigan study that looked at preschoolers’ motivation to draw. Researchers took a group of 3–4 year olds who enjoyed drawing (intrinsic motivation!) and separated them into three groups. The first group was told they would get rewards if they drew, the second group was given no expectation of rewards for drawing, and the third group was given surprise rewards for drawing.
As shown in the chart above, expecting a reward decreased the motivation of already motivated children to draw.
Recognition, Not Reward
The last bar on that chart points out that there’s an important place for rewards in motivating us, but that it’s our expectations of receiving a reward that can be detrimental. Recognition is still an important factor in our motivation to lead, but what that recognition looks like could determine if it enhances or decreases our intrinsic motivation. Well timed and appropriate forms of recognition validate our leadership skills and can reinforce our motivation.
What constitutes an appropriate form of recognition varies from person to person. It’s important for leaders to understand how they prefer to be recognized for accomplishments and to communicate that with their immediate supervisors. That communication can go a long way to making sure that those who lead us don’t accidentally undermine our motivation to lead with poorly chosen or ill-timed rewards.
Why do YOU Want to Lead?
Still not sure how you’re motivated to lead? A fun tool for examining your intrinsic motivations to be a leader can be found on the MindTools website. While no tool is perfect, this survey does a good job of getting us to start thinking about the aspects of leadership that we find most energizing and fulfilling.
Ultimately, though, discerning our motivation to lead is a very personal process. We can easily let the expectation of others cloud our own self-assessment of our desire to lead. It’s also important to recognize that we may be motivated to lead in one situation, but not so much in another. We may have an overall desire to be a leader, but each new leadership opportunity will have it’s own unique motivations that need to be assessed.
So why do YOU want to lead? How you answer that question may determine how successful you can be as a leader. When our motivation to lead comes from within, we’re better able to employ our innate and learned leadership skills. That’s when our confidence, courage, and commitment to lead can truly shine through for all the world to see!
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