There seems to be a trend developing among a growing number of leaders that Leadership is about demanding performance and beating people until you get it.  It is the belief that if they yell loud enough and stamp their feet, fire a few people and are publicly mean and nasty, people will perform – behaviors based on the premise of fear being the best motivator. 

Historically, of course, that IS where we came from.  In eras gone by leaders were often in an unchallenged position.  They were the central figure in their kingdom and could do as they pleased, from killing unruly serfs to banishing them from the kingdom.  Ruling was all about demonstrations of power.  Individuals had no power against these rulers.  They had few choices of places to live.  They had little education and skills to take elsewhere.  It has only been in the last one hundred years or so that concepts and theories of leadership have evolved to focus on the means of utilizing interpersonal and technical business skills to influence and motivate people to achieve goals.

The promise of that future, in which you as the leader are consistently understanding and meeting the needs of your employees, forms the foundation of commitment to you as a leader and to the goals and objectives of the business. 

Unfortunately, in recent years there has been a resurgence of the motivation by fear mentality among the less enlightened in leadership positions.  The flaw in this thinking is the belief that the populace will tolerate this type of behavior.  Not true.  Education, communication, transportation, and competition have enabled great mobility in the workforce.  Individuals have many options.  Movement between markets is easy.  Technologies are often transferable.  Competition has made skills salable and valuable.  So, individuals do not have to tolerate mistreatment and incompetence in their leaders.

As a result of this behavior, organizations are having to come to terms with the financial and operational impact of high turnover among employees.  Not only does it mean rehiring and training which costs time and money, but also high turnover sends a warning signal of instability and uncertainty to customers and investors. 

The leadership challenge has become how to build commitment among employees to the goals and objectives of the business?  Building that commitment brings with it stability, continuity and performance.  Building commitment among your employees is earned by understanding and meeting their needs. 

- The extent to which you meet their needs, in any given situation, satisfies those needs FOR THE MOMENT. 

- The extent to which you consistently understand and meet their needs over time creates a history and a pattern of meeting those needs. 

- With that history comes an expectation that you will continue to meet those needs in the future. 

- The promise of that future, in which you as the leader are consistently understanding and meeting the needs of your employees, forms the foundation of commitment to you as a leader and to the goals and objectives of the business.  Therefore, it follows that the primary objective of a leader is to manage the level of commitment of his/her employees to the goals and objectives of the business. 

Just to elevate this concept a step or two, now consider this…employees are only one set of several sets of followers or constituents whose needs must be met to achieve sustainable performance.  That is a subject for another Post.