In management consulting, we repeatedly use this question to describe the President of a company. There's an unconscious employee expectation that they should be motivated by their leader. Of course, many proud and rebellious individuals would vehemently deny it! Still, it's true. Most of us look outside of ourselves for motivation. By motivation I mean the courage and energy to actively pursue our goals. The two basic external motivation factors are reward and punishment.
If you stretch the concept of President and consider that each of us is the leader of her life, the question applies to us all. If I am the top dog in my business of Me, Inc., then who motivates me? Who sets the direction of my life? Who keeps me on course and holds me accountable? Me, that's who! It seems logical that the Me Generation would embrace the notion of Me, Inc. We spent our lives changing the world with this theme for the good and the bad.
We all know the "bad" results. I won't address the negative consequences of focusing on ourselves. It's time to fully own our Presidential status. We need to learn to take responsibility and how to hold ourselves accountable for our actions. We need to improve our succession planning = the way we are passing it on to the next generation. It's going to take a lot of personal development to tap our internal method of motivation as we wean ourselves off the external ones.
It's never too late to learn something new, develop a new skill, polish up and old one, change your thoughts, or change your behavior. So, CEO of Me, Inc. where are you leading yourself today?
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