How I answer THE big question (or what doesn’t motivate younger leaders)

If you were to sell everything to do something or be part of something, what would that something be? This is THE big question that we answer with every minute of every day. How we live our lives is the answer to this question. But the reality is that most of us are not giving much attention to this question, and because of that we don’t live our lives in a purposeful way.

If you are 40 and younger you probably won't do things because you have a deep sense of loyalty to an organization. Organizational politics and bureaucracy exasperate you. And because you watched your parents sell their souls to the company store, only to be downsized or restructured in the most Machiavellian way, you deeply mistrust institutions. You probably believe that “work is a thing you do to have a life” and that “work doesn't define your life” (my apologies if I have over stated my case).

Has a supervisor ever raised the “company flag” or played the “loyalty card” on you? It might have sounded like this... "Your behavior is affecting the company and if you don't change, we won't be in business in very long." This probably meant little to you, it didn't stir feelings (except maybe resentment) it didn't capture your interest, it certainly didn't make you inquisitive, and it probably did little to encourage a change of behavior or a new set of actions.

Those of us under 40 have little expectation of job security. So we often see jobs more as learning opportunities than as a retirement plan. When we stop learning or are unable to apply our knowledge and skills it is time to move on. As soon as we feel a job is a dead we stamp a "best before” date on it, and are on your way out. It’s not that we are not loyal, we are loyal to something other than the organization.

SOOOOOOOOO. Here is where the rubber hits the road – as a leader, making things happen is your responsibility. If you want to follow, find a great leader or apply at a temp agency.

1. What initiative are you taking to be a learner? If learning is important to you then the ball is in your court what steps are you taking? What opportunities are you looking for (or creating)? What personal sacrifices will you make to learn something of great value?
2. What do you believe in? How are you connecting your commitments to your work? How are you filling your work with meaning?
3. What goals are you setting, what challenges are you seeking? Do those you work with and work for know about your goals? Do they know about what you want to learn, what you believe in and what you are committed to? Your coworkers and supervisors can’t read you mind (but they can read your body language), you will have to become a communicator. Effective communicators often over communicate (because most of us are inattentive or distracted or uninterested) to be sure that message sent is message received.

As a leader the most important person you will lead is your self. Self leadership is hard work because we are often poor at following our own advice or following though on our own plan. The greatest gift you can give to those you lead is to intentionally engage in self leadership.

NOTE you may want to check out a related article called Motivated by Starbucks