Change your wants

“How do you lead high performers?”

I was asked this question by a CSO. He had a star player on his team that was considering leaving his company for another. He was wondering how to motivate.

I thought for a second and gave all the textbook answers, the things I was taught. Things like, empower them greatly, the “don’t manage them, aim them” concept. Challenge them. Be transparent. Let them build, do their thing that they are naturally gifted to do. Unleash them.

I told him that heard a great business leader, author, and speaker in an interview recently. When asked his secret to success, his answer was (and I paraphrase), “My super power is that I am able to identify great people and let them do the things they are great at. I give them the tools they need, and they take my business to the next level.”

All that textbook stuff is true, I suppose. But, on the drive home, I felt like my answers were empty. They didn’t feel adequate. Those textbook answers will drive high performers, of course, but does it really matter? If you do inspire them, will the money, the position, the title, the future, actually fulfill them?

We hear it all the time from those that have achieved greatness. The individual accolades or the typical measures of success do not fulfill.

So what is the key to managing high performers?

I call it the fulfillment key for leaders.

Teach them to impact others. Show them how their role, their super power, can change the lives of others, change the company.

Every position has a circle around it. People are in that circle, impacted by the work. The team in that circle is impacted. And, ultimately, the company is impacted by the work.

An analyst lives at the center of a circle of influence. A vice president lives at the center of the circle. A customer service person lives at the center of the circle. Teach others to see the circle, to recognize the impact that their work has on others. People’s lives are impacted by the work they bring each day.

The problem with the question I was asked is that it was solely focused on a person and their individual success. The problem with my answer was this it never mentioned the impact on other people. It felt empty and it was empty.

When one focuses on number one, the end result is always emptiness. The world fools us into thinking that material possessions, money, titles, retirement accounts, all lead to fulfillment. It just isn’t true. It never sustains.

In a separate conversation a couple of weeks ago, I was talking to a successful business leader, both in a large company and, then, starting his own small business. He should have been fulfilled. But, something was amiss, and he couldn’t put his finger on it.

The question that changed the conversation, “how are you impacting others?”

I use this quote so much that I should start paying the Ziglar family royalties.

“You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.” Zig Ziglar

A focus on other people changes your wants.

Impact others. Live generously.

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