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3. Know what motivates you

We all see our work in different ways. There is the well-known story about a visitor to a building site watching three people at work, carving stone. Outwardly they all appeared to be doing exactly the same thing. The visitor paused and asked what they were doing.

‘Me?’ said one, ‘I’m chipping away at these stones with a chisel.’

‘Me?’ said another, ‘I’m earning my living. I get fifteen pounds an hour.’

‘Me?’ said the third, ‘I’m building a cathedral.’

Most inspirational leaders are motivated by a great idea or ideal, which others instinctively recognize and want to be part of. Leaders need to ask themselves, ‘What really motivates me? What makes me jump out of bed in the morning and inspires me to face the day with energy and passion?’ For some people work will not feature high on their list. They might answer by saying that they want to earn enough money to go on holiday. Others might want to get a degree or run the marathon. These are all perfectly good ambitions but they are probably not the things that we would want to be remembered for in posterity.

Knowing our deepest motivations is important if we are going to lead with integrity and inspire others to follow. Many great leaders are individuals who have seen beyond the superficial and are motivated by ideals that others instinctively know are things that truly matter in life.

In his Spiritual Exercises, Ignatius Loyola helped people discern the deepest motivations in their lives. It might seem a morbid thing to do, but he asked them to imagine that they had died and to write their epitaph. If we had to compose a phrase, in no more than eight words, to sum up who we were and what we had done in our lives, what would it say? I imagine it would not be about where we went on holiday or our qualifications. It is more likely to be about the sort of person we were (‘honest and caring . . .’) or how others related to us (‘greatly loved . . .’) or the impact we had on others (‘admired for . . .’ or ‘inspired many people to . . .’). These are some of the core qualities that make us into the person we are or would like to be. They can also have a profound influence on how we work and how we treat others now.

A second example comes from St Benedict. He says that at each of the three stages when a monk is joining the community he is asked the question, ‘What is it you seek?’ It may seem a ridiculous thing to ask. Surely, the answer is obvious: he wants to join the community. But Benedict is asking about the seeker’s most fundamental motivations. He knows that ultimately the only thing that will sustain someone in a religious community is the longing for God. Does the person only want to belong to a community so that they would be clothed and fed? Benedict knew that he had to dig into the deepest levels of a person’s desire if they were going to thrive in the community.

So what really motivates me? It is possible for us to go through life without answering that most basic of questions or to do so superficially. Some individuals do not get beyond the surface level, so they think that the most important goal in life is getting richer, finding the perfect partner or being promoted. You might sum these up as the desire for money, sex or power respectively. In Christian teaching these are the three greatest temptations. There is nothing wrong with these things in themselves as long as we use them for the good of others and we do not kid ourselves that they can give us the deepest experience of satisfaction and ultimate meaning that all human beings seek.

One of the most formative experiences of Michael’s ministry was being called to a house in Reading where a woman had just died. He met her husband, a well-known local businessman, who ushered him into a huge drawing room, complete with a concert grand piano. As they talked he could see the gardener mowing the extensive lawns which stretched into the distance. The bereaved man spoke of his life and how he had built up a business from scratch, working seven days a week to provide for his family. He had always thought that when he retired he would be able to enjoy their company. His daughters had grown up and married and now, having retired four months previously, his wife had unexpectedly died. ‘You see,’ he said, ‘I have everything that I could possibly need but now my wife has died, I no longer have any of the things that I really want.’

During the horrific events that took place in America on 9/11, many of the recorded messages that people left for their loved ones, as the plane on which they were flying was about to crash, have survived. What is significant is that no one spoke about finance or promotion. They spoke about love and relationships. They focused on the things that mattered most deeply to them.

So as leaders we need to dig into our psyches and unearth the things that truly make life worth living for us. If we undertake our work in the light of these motivations, we are much more likely to be transparent and authentic. There is a greater likelihood that we will find fulfilment in the things that really matter, rather than in the attractive yet transitory things that can so easily distract us.

This may take time and a great deal of reflection. Few individuals will be motivated for a lifetime by an aim such as ‘We want to make a bigger profit than last year’ or ‘We want to outperform our main competitor’. Conversely people are more likely to be inspired by aims such as ‘We want to build a car which pollutes less’ or ‘We want to make a tangible improvement to the lives of those who suffer from Parkinson’s disease’ or ‘We want to offer the very best service possible so that . . .’ Finding and articulating inspiring aims is a vital part of leadership.

For reflection

 Make a list of what inspires and motivates you. Focus on the ones that relate to what you really want in life. Does your use of time and your priorities reflect these?

 Do the aims and objectives of your organization resonate with what inspires and motivates you?

 How might your use of time and your priorities better reflect what matters most to you?