In Leadership, The Critical Convergence Drives Great Results

The Leader's Fallacy lives! We subscribe to the Fallacy when we believe our enthusiasm over a particular leadership challenge is automatically reciprocated by the people we lead.

If ignorance is bliss then leaders going around blithely adhering to the Leader's Fallacy have cornered the market on happiness.

The truth is, it's more realistic to believe in INVERSE RECIPROCITY: i.e., whatever motivates you, "DE-motivates" the people.

That's especially so for leaders who are trying to motivate people to meet extraordinary challenges.

You'll never know how good you are as a leader unless you are motivating others to be better than they think they are. In that endeavor, you'll inevitably get at least some of the people angry.

Most people are settled into a comfortable status quo and resist and resent being challenged to break out.

But if you aim to get great results, people not only have to be pushed but more importantly, they must be challenged to push themselves.

So, if you're not getting some people angry with you over the pushing, you're doing something wrong as a leader, you're not challenging people enough.

This doesn't mean you can't or shouldn't have the people share in your enthusiasms. You must. That sharing is called CRITICAL CONFLUENCE, the joining of your enthusiasms and theirs so they are as enthusiastic as you about meeting the challenges you face. Until a critical confluence happens, you can't get great results consistently.

The Leader's Fallacy is an obstacle to the critical confluence. Don't think the Critical Confluence will happen automatically. Know instead that you must work hard to achieve it.

After all, you yourself must be motivated about those challenges. If you're not motivated, you shouldn't be leading. But your motivation is irrelevant simply because it's a given.

Here's what's relevant: Can you transfer your motivation to the people so they are as motivated as you are? And can you translate their motivation into action that achieves results?

Everyone has major needs that shape their thinking and their actions day in and day out. If you want those people to take ardent action for you, you must provide solutions to the problems of those needs so the action you have them take brings them closer to realizing those solutions.

By the way, the critical confluence is not "win/win". It's much deeper and richer. Unlike "win/win", the critical confluence is an on-going relationship process from which flow mutually beneficial expectations and solutions.

Here are three steps you can take to help make a critical confluence happen.

(1) Understand their needs.

(2) Turn their needs into problems.

(3) Have their commitment to your cause be a solution to their problems.

To get the best out of people, we must embrace the best in them. Whenever you need to lead people to tackle important challenges, recall the Leader's Fallacy. Know that their commitment to your cause doesn't come automatically. You have to earn it by embracing the best of who they are. When you take the trouble to build a critical convergence, you'll see a significant jump in the results you have others achieve.

2005 © The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

PERMISSION TO REPUBLISH: This article may be republished in newsletters and on web sites provided attribution is provided to the author, and it appears with the included copyright, resource box and live web site link. Email notice of intent to publish is appreciated but not required: mail to: brent@actionleadership.com

The author of 23 books, Brent Filson's recent books are, THE LEADERSHIP TALK: THE GREATEST LEADERSHIP TOOL and 101 WAYS TO GIVE GREAT LEADERSHIP TALKS. He is founder and president of The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. ? and for more than 20 years has been helping leaders of top companies worldwide get audacious results. Sign up for his free leadership e-zine and get a free white paper: "49 Ways To Turn Action Into Results," at http://www.actionleadership.com

---

The Seven Cs: Partnership Danger Signs - Conflict Becoming the Norm ? Part 2

A series of articles exploring the seven critical areas that... Read More

Issue Management Methodology for Tracking Project Issues

1. What is an Issue?An issue is an incident, circumstance,... Read More

Organizational Structure, Creativity, Innovation

Organizational structure can inhibit or foster creativity and innovation. The... Read More

Two Critical Success Factors in an ITIL Implementation

Any IT manager who wants to pursue the IT Service... Read More

People Are Our Most Important Asset!

How many times have you heard or uttered this phrase... Read More

What Every Manager Should Know About How to Enhance the Motivational Climate of the Workplace

It has been well documented that employees' productivity and job... Read More

Treat Employees Fairly, Car Wash Entrepreneur sets Industry Standards

I believe that whether corporations expense their stock options is... Read More

Human Resource Communication Pays Off

Human Resource Communications and Corporate Communications ? are they one... Read More

Looking through the Glass Ceiling - Women in Management

Women have made tremendous contributions to society at every level;... Read More

3 Tests To Hire The Best

Question: What's the easiest, cheapest and quickest way to have... Read More

Focus Leads To Nonprofit Success: Is Your Organization Rowing or Drifting

Picture yourself standing on the bank of a river watching... Read More

Supervisor-Employee Relations: Tips For Managers

Supervisor-employee relations are a critical part of a work place... Read More

Never Wrestle with a PIG

The business books at the library and book stores fill... Read More

This Old Business

Not long ago I was asked to come out and... Read More

Tales from the Corporate Frontlines: Human Resources at Work

This article relates to the Human Resource Functions competency, commonly... Read More

Learn to Assert Yourself

Pinpoint your own blocks to assertiveness: fear of disapproval, need... Read More

Where Businesses Fall Short

1. No vision. Successful businesses have a clear vision or... Read More

When Code Freeze Turns To Code Slush

Time To Market (TTM) is a vital concept that every... Read More

Results of Poor Cross Cultural Awareness

Results of Poor Cross Cultural Awareness. Having a poor understanding... Read More

Have You Always Thought That The Best Ideas Come From Research Or Management? Think Again

Many entrepreneurs and chief executive officers are unaware that there... Read More

Critical Success Factors - Next

The Critical Success Factors Focusing on the... Read More

Big Company Intelligence on a Small Company Budget

Information is the lifeblood of the economy. That's especially true... Read More

Employee Orientation: Get New Hires Off To a Great Start

The good news is that a new hire orientation program... Read More

New Job, New Culture: Do You Fit In?

It seemed like a good decision at the time. A... Read More

Time Management Tips for Managers

Late last year I was presenting a workshop for the... Read More

Poly Bags and Pallet Shrouds - Just Get it Right

For many companies, procuring the right packaging, such as Poly... Read More

Influencing the Organisation

There is a saying about management that suggests some managers... Read More

Lets Flourish and Prosper!

Some say that in business as in sex: if it... Read More

The Seven Cs: Partnership Danger Signs - Communication Breakdown

An ongoing series of articles exploring the seven critical areas... Read More

Top Ten Things About Creating a Business Vision

To visualise where you are going, is deeper and more... Read More

A Renewed View of the Modern Business Culture

Life can sometimes be unexciting if not refreshed by the... Read More

Managing People - No More Mr Tough Guy

I believe the media and our culture sends the wrong... Read More

Success: A Wholistic Perspective

The world has always been mixed with the... Read More