Читать книгу The Power of Being - Андреас Грубер - Страница 20

If this book was about leadership styles it would only bore you with things you have already heard a thousand times? Where it becomes interesting is to look at questions such as:

1 What is the subtlest way to dominate or control others?

2 Why does this happen subconsciously?

3 What are the consequences of subtle domination or control?

4 Why would it be better not to control in this way?

These are my views relevant to motivation.

1) Let's start with the subtlest way to control others. Without going into quantum physics, that I don't understand, I'd like to opt for being. The mere fact that you exist is mostly enough to control others, especially if you are a leader, because you embody something like determination, will, ideas, and power. That entire package is like a strong magnetic pull that affects everything around it. Would your employees be made of metal they would hardly ever be free, even if this magnet would be able to say, "Do it your way" or "please tell me what you think." Not what the magnet says but what he IS counts.

This may seem ridiculous at first, but please consider the possibility, that even you cannot be considered to be free from conditioning, habits, triggers, opinions, etc. Anger is a lovely example. You don't have to be a scientist to tell that if you sit in the same room as a person who is angry, you'll be affected after a while. As a matter of fact, if he doesn't come out with it, you may even think it's your anger. Furthermore, you may feel different in the presence of different people. The extremes may be a highly distinguished martial arts fighter and a newborn baby. Have you ever noticed?

"If you don't feel it, you'll never get it."

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

In a meeting, it may be clear to everybody, except to the "Dominator" that his mere presence inhibits the rest to speak freely. He may even invite people to give their opinion, but people are not likely to say anything other than what he wants to hear. It even works on subtler levels than being in the room.

If you have ever been in the presence of a benevolent, open, and welcoming person, a person with high integrity, you know what I mean. You feel free to talk, be who and what you are and think freely. These people exist in the corporate world too. I have met some of them, and their departments or companies seem to flourish. They do not have problems motivating, on the contrary, they can hardly avoid it. They radiate motivation and inspiration.

2) Although it mostly happens subconsciously, we may enjoy this process because it seems to strengthen our position. It is possible that we never thought about it, further down the road. For most of us, the problem seems that we grew up believing that we are all independent entities, and subsequently it doesn't matter what kind of pull or push we carry within, nobody will ever notice. Secondly, we are usually not even aware of how we limit ourselves. Thirdly, this is not part of our rational worldview, because neither right brain thinking nor subtle perceptions are part of our present model. But it doesn't take too much intelligence to figure out that none of them are particularly strange as such. Modern science has preached about them for quite a while now.

3) The consequences of subtle control and domination are devastating. We are limiting the capacity of our corporations and units. We inhibit true freedom of act and thought, although we may verbally encourage people to speak up. If you have ever conducted a meeting with a strong hidden agenda, you probably know what I'm talking about. The meeting is just a formality and you know exactly where you want to be by the end of the meeting. O boy, I did that all the time as a young manager. And rarely was the meeting satisfactory, and rarely did I motivate or inspire anybody. I made all the mistakes in the book, and what I'm talking about here is the same principle but somewhat subtler. My message to you is that it works the same, and you are often not even aware that you are doing it.

What we represent without words, and silently stand for, is integrity, but also domination, if wisdom is missing.

4) I can only make a brotherly appeal to you, to reflect on your being, what you radiate unknowingly, what you represent silently, and stand for without words. Would you dare to try this path, as outlined in this book, you would never ask how to motivate, nor would you ponder on how to inspire. Every change takes courage and some initial effort, but once you experience the natural results, you'll never want to go back. You'll enjoy the ride. Don't worry if it's still somewhat abstract to you. Let yourself be moved and inspired as you keep on reading.