Thursday, February 3, 2011

Four Things Employees Need From Leaders

Within this new paradigm, there are four non-negotiable human needs that the transformational leader recognizes must be satisfied if he and his people are to succeed:

First, and arguably most important, is the need to love and be loved, it sounds touchy-feely, but people who are not both receiving and giving love — and by love I mean focused concern and action directed at another exclusively for that person's good — cannot be fully healthy, biologically and psychologically.

Second is the need to grow, the only alternative to growth is death and decay and the transformational leader recognizes that stasis, or maintenance, is a myth that only exists in the human imagination.

Third is the need to contribute, like a battery, this need is best understood when we think of it as having two distinct poles, that the negative pole reminds us that that which does not contribute is eliminated.

The fourth and final need to be met for full leadership, effectiveness and happiness, is the need for meaning, we are meaning-seeking creatures and if our lives lack a clear sense of meaning, if we are not engaged in some larger purpose, we will not be fully satisfied, regardless of whatever else we may have.

The transformational leader understands that satisfying all four of these needs may not be easy, but when they are being met in the day-to-day affairs of his or her people, something magnificent begins to emerge: people instinctively play a bigger game, and show up in a more passionate, creative, engaged and effective way.

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