I can't deny it any longer. I've been struggling to motivate myself to write . . . something you may have deduced from my lack of recent posts! It's not because I've fallen out of love with writing, it's because it's bloody difficult and time consuming, which - for a hedonistic, forever active, family man who's working a pressure cooker day job and still trying to be a good husband and father - are not easy things to overcome.
I posted this quote from Canadian author Farley Mowat on my Linkedin page not long ago and I think it's somewhat appropriate to re-post here:
"Writing. It’s tedious, tiresome and often frustrating as hell. I don’t write for pleasure. I write because I’m an impulsive masochist.”
Thankfully, my lack of motivation got me thinking about lack of motivation - not in writing, but in leadership. If a regular schmuck like me can lose motivation then the guys and gals at the top must be just as fallible. God, I hope they are.
So . . . how can you spot when the Captain loses motivation? In the beginning it's not so obvious, but I think the single biggest sign is retreat. Retreat into comfort; into ease; into pleasure; into routine; into grey; into blah; into Mad About You re-runs. If leadership "retreat" is the big bucket, here are some of the behaviours that fall into it:
- Never being around
- Never being available
- Delegating a little too much
- Only engaging with people when something is needed
- Shut door policy
- Moodiness
- Complacency
- Selfishness
The list goes on.
When leaders lose motivation it can have a devastating affect if left unchecked. Lack of motivation in a leader perpetuates a lack of motivation in the people around them, and that sets the ship on a treacherous course for the Gulf of Aden. Not a journey you want to be on if you value your career or your life.
Leaders are as vulnerable and fallible as anyone, because ultimately they are nothing more than a someone. They aren't superhuman. It's okay and even understandable for a leader to lose motivation at times. It's just not okay for a leader to make a career out of it.
If you see your Captain continually swigging the Cutty Sark when he should be checking the sextant, then it's time for you as the First Mate to step up (with your one good leg). You need to find your inner impulsive masochist, hop over to the helm, take the wheel and change course for the Maldives. The survival of any crew lies in the strength of individuals, their ability to recognize problems and to do what needs to be done to correct them.
Hi Mark, nice post, succinct and pertinent. I've never thought of you as hedonist though! While reading the list of behaviours I realised that I had sailed under a captain who exhibited six or seven of the list of eight. The curious thing is that he was definitely not unmotivated. Probably just the opposite, he had too big a workload and was trying to do too much with too few resources. So the context is important and I agree with you that "retreat" is the key word here. I can relate to that myself - boredom is a powerful negative force for most of us.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, my watch is almost over so it's Yo ho ho and off for a bike ride.
Cheers,
First Mate Steve Talbot