Motivation (3rd Pillar of EI!)

If there is one trait that virtually all effective leaders have, it is motivation. Plenty of people are motivated by external factors, such as a big salary or the status that comes from being part of a prestigious company.

By contrast, those with leadership potential are motivated by a deeply embedded desire to achieve for the sake of achievement, which is the definition of motivation in EI.

Hallmarks of Motivation at work:

A passion for the work itself and for new challenges

Optimism in the face of failure

Unflagging energy to improve

Organizational commitment

A story

A cosmetics company manager was frustrated that he had to wait two weeks to get sales results from people in the field. He finally tracked down an automated phone system that would beep each of his salespeople at 5pm every day. An automated message then prompted them to punch in their numbers for e.g how many calls and sales they had made that day. The system shortened the feedback time on sales results from weeks to hours.

Interestingly, people with high motivation remain optimistic even when the score is against them. Another case is of a portfolio manager at a large investment company. After several successful years, her fund tumbled for three consecutive quarters, leading large institutional clients to shift their business elsewhere. Some executives would have blamed the nosedive on circumstances outside their control while others might have seen the setback as evidence of personal failure. That portfolio manager, however, saw an opportunity to prove she could lead a turnaround. Two years later, when she was promoted to a very senior level in the company, she described the experience as "the best thing that ever happened to me and I learned so much from it."

It's not difficult to understand how and why a motivation to achieve translates into strong leadership. If you set the bar high for yourself, you will do the same for the organisation when you are in a position to do so!

Credits: Daniel Goleman, "What makes a leader?" HBR's Top 10 Reads on Leadership

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