“Let him who would move the world, first move himself.”
~ Socrates ~
Motivation Monday - Richard's Insight
It can be easy to have a principled approach and then to tell others that they 'should' follow these principles too. However, the very people that are shouting these principles often make two key mistakes:
- The shouting bit
- The contradiction flaw
The shouting bit - I mean, seriously...who do you know that will respond favourably to be shouted at and told what to do? Perhaps only in a command-control environment, such as the Army, parent-child and some autocratic work environments. In the latter two at least, there will likely be consequences for the shouting, perhaps with teenage rebellion or even psychological issues in the child forming or poor morale and high staff turnover in the latter autocratic workplace. Shouting is not an effective strategy to bring about change in others...persuasive, fact-based argument, an emotional turnaround story and role modelling is better.
The contradiction flaw - 'you should buy a Prius and save the planet' might sound like an extremely good idea, but not when the claimant also own a V8 gas-guzzling Corvette, or burns unnecessary electricity by having their house lit up all night in soft green and blue hues. People are unlikely to take you seriously when they can see obvious contraction in how you live that goes against the message you are trying to convey.
So, before we tell others how they can improve and change, we need to first work on our inner selves and be that change. Authentic people that tell stories of their how they overcame their personal struggle to develop are more likely to be effective in inspiring others to change than a moralistic 'do as I say, not as I do' faker. Leadership is often about showing people the way, despite our mistakes or imperfections and then guiding them, rather than barking orders to direct them.
Be a bright, shining star that attracts others towards you, rather than a forceful hurricane that drives people away, or leaves devastation in it's path.
Let's work on ourselves to be the best version of us that we can, before we try to convince the world of all it's failings...it is more likely to listen then.
#MotivationMonday