What Motivates “Opportunity” Thinkers?
What Motivates “Have To” Thinkers?
What is the secret to communicating with both?
by John Ruh
Some of your most highly motivated leaders (I call them “OPPORTUNITY” thinkers) need only to hear about a possibility and they take off running. Give them an opportunity, some support and a lot of freedom and they will return with a myriad of great ideas. They commit easily and quickly.
On the other hand, most of the people you manage are likely to be what I define as “Have to” thinkers. They are at their most proficient working within an area that has strongly defined boundaries and where they can make logical decisions based on past experiences. Getting them to commit to anything other than status quo may be a challenge for you.
As a manager it is important to realize what type of person you are dealing with, and communicate with them accordingly. You need to understand that the language that empowers these two types of people is very different. A skilled manager learns how to enroll commitment from all their players.
Do you want to learn how to communicate effectively and develop the strategies you need to get all the players on your team to commit to your goals, vision and mission? Then start by taking us up on our offer to do 1 free DiSC behavioral (http://www.johnruh.com/DiSC1.htm) profile on yourself. Taking this profile will help you see how your leadership style motivates or de-motivates others. It will also help you to better understand the different domains people come from (http://www.johnruh.com/Free_Info/Vision_Morale_Productivity.htm)
Best of success.