Leaders Must Say No to the Status Quo

Leaders today need to be highly dissatisfied with the status quo. They must be unwilling to allow preventable pain and suffering to continue needlessly. They must be unwilling to waste precious resources and to settle for second-rate productivity and financial performance. The emphasis on reducing unnecessary and avoidable readmissions to hospitals is an example of the unwillingness to continue to waste resources and allow preventable harm to continue for patients. Volition enables dissatisfied leaders to make a choice to bring back emotional meaning and purpose to their work. In addition, volition increases the desirability factor in the change equation. In most instances, people will voluntarily change their behaviour if they are told the “why” (the conviction) before they are taught the “what” (convincing) and the “how”(compelling). And learning the skill of Positive Presence will create the mindset that will easily allow you to change behaviour.

All great innovation, really big changes, are inspired by the concept of “why” – the purpose, cause, and belief in what many peak performers refer to as the urgency imperative. If you inspire me by raising my level of dissatisfaction with the status quo, raising my level of desire by demonstrating the benefits, and showing me that what you are asking me to do is practical, doable and achievable, then you increase the likelihood of me embracing the change. To change behaviour you must first use experience to change beliefs; you have to act, not think. Experience generates feelings that inform future experiences. The more positive the feelings and the more direct the link to experience, the more likely beliefs are to change. When beliefs change (dissatisfaction, desirability, practicality) so do behaviours.

One of the key characteristics of influential leaders is their ability to stimulate volition in themselves and among their followers. They do this by creating a sense of urgency, living a life with purpose, and pursuing excellence. When we choose to make this step in our leadership behaviour we will see profound impacts on our resulting outcomes, goals, and objectives. As research indicates, actively motivated staff work harder, have less instances of loss, and have fewer errors and mistakes. This occurs because the connection forged through behaviour change impacts those who work with us to pursue excellence and focus less on the conviction of just doing their jobs. As Simon Sinek, author of the book, Start with Why suggests, “If you hire people just because they can do a job, they’ll work for your money. But if you hire people who believe what you believe, they’ll work for you with blood and sweat and tears.”