leadingtoday.org

Leadership Tip of the Month

June 2003

Copyright 2003 ã weLEAD, Inc.

What is Your Real Motive to Lead?

The personal desire to lead others is often a powerful and compelling urge. However, whether you will be an effective leader and produce positive long-term results depends on your real motive to lead others! The ability to get things accomplished and influence people is often defined as power. Many individuals have a strong internal need for power and research shows that these individuals typically seek positions of authority in organizations. People with a low need for power characteristically lack the assertiveness and desire to advocate change or manage others well. The aspiration to lead others and seek power can be a positive or negative event depending on your motivation. Researchers also have established two different types of motives found in individuals to indicate their intention to seek power. One type is called personalized power orientation and the other is referred to as socialized power orientation. Certainly most leaders will fall somewhere in between these two power orientations rather than be exclusively one or the other.

Those with a personalized power orientation seek to gain power to inflate themselves and satisfy their strong need for esteem and status from others. They tend to exercise power impulsively and have little inhibition and self-control. They seek to dominate others by keeping them weak and dependent. They desire to collect symbols of prestige such as “big offices” and impressively priced automobiles. All authority to make important decisions is centered around them and they use rewards or punishments to control and manipulate others. Individuals with a personalized power orientation are often rude to others and demanding.

The culture of an organization with a leader who is personalized power oriented has a restricted communication flow. Followers are slow to show initiative or to solve problems. Instead they wait for direct instructions from the leader. Little talent is developed within the followers since the fear of infringing on the leader’s authority is always present. Any loyalty exhibited from the followers is likely to be toward the leader only and not to the organization or its goals and vision. When the leader departs, there will likely be disorder and a breakdown in functions.

Leaders with a socialized power orientation desire power for the benefit of others. Being human, they are by no means perfect, but they are far less egotistical, defensive and materialistic. They are more emotionally mature and respectful of others. Their strong desire for power is to build up an organization or others to be successful. They oppose the manipulation of others and only use their formal authority as a “last resort” if other positive ways to influence followers are not effective. They tend to use more of a participative “coaching style” of behavior and freely listen to advice from others. Those at the top of this level we call servant-leaders.

The culture of an organization with a leader who is socialized power oriented has a better communication flow. Followers show initiative to solve problems more quickly since the leader has encouraged them to take action. Talent is more fully developed since learning is encouraged and valued at all levels. The loyalty exhibited from followers is likely to be for both the leader they respect, and the goals and vision of the organization. When the leader departs, the organization remains cohesive and continues to function well.

Now analyze yourself and your own leadership skills! What is your real motive to lead?

For weLEAD, this is Greg Thomas reminding you that it was Henry Ward Beecher who wrote the following quote regarding leadership, “Greatness lies not only in being strong, but in the right use of strength.”

On the weLEAD Website you will find over 70 other free helpful leadership tips. They are all available in a text version or as an MP3 audio!