Bully is defined as, “the use of superior strength or influence to intimidate.”
Stay with me here and I promise to wrinkle your brain.
Motivation. Catchphrase of the last half century. We all know the history. Let me tell you the tale: Once upon a time…
In the early to mid 1900s the carrot and the stick motivated our grandfathers and great grandfathers. Rewards and punishments were standard operating procedure in the work place.
From the mid to late 1900s psychologists cried wolf. “The world has changed,” they said. “People do more than just work,” they said. “Death to the carrots and the sticks!” they cried. And so was born Motivation 2.0.
Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose. People need to have a say in what they do, they need to be given the opportunity to become experts in their field, and they must be contributing to something greater than themselves.
However, very few business leaders have listened to the psychologists. The carrots and sticks still reign supreme in the business arena. And so you and your children still live in a business world operated by the carrots and the sticks. So much so, that they are today’s dominating bully.
Remember, a bully uses superior strength or influence to intimidate. Motivation is a bully. Motivation pushes us in what we do. Motivation pushes me to get my bonus to have my nice things. Motivation pushes me work hard to avoid a cut in pay, or termination, or an angry employer. Motivation pushes. Therefore it is a bully. Motivation uses its superior strength and influence to intimidate me in my job.
Along came Millennials who bucked the system. Thank God for Millennials (I hope at the end of this story, you can honestly say that too). Millennials are our heroes of the story. They stood up to Bully Motivation and said no. “Do not push us!” they said firmly. “We will not be intimidated by you,” they said. “Life is about so much more than being pushed around!” they cried.
Millennials wanted more. Instead of being pushed around by Bully Motivation, they wanted to be pulled up by Friend Inspiration.
Friend is defined as, “a person whom one knows and with whom one has a bond of mutual affection.”
Being pulled up is much less exhausting than being pushed around, isn’t it? And a friend is so much safer than a bully.
So who are you to the people in your life? Are you Bully Motivation, pushing and prodding and demanding and threatening to get the result you want? Or are you Friend Inspiration, pulling and encouraging and helping and asking to enable your friend to achieve what they want?
What kind of people get more out of you – those who inspire you or those who bully you? Be Friend Inspiration to your team. And thank God for Millennials and the lesson they are teaching us all.
If you’d like practical help on providing effective and transformative daily inspiration to your team, we invite you to call us today 615-948-3065.