What valuable leadership insights have you gained outside of traditional management books, and how have they shaped your approach to effective leadership?
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Not everyone has the same values, thus, they are not motivated by the same things. This varies based on their specific personal situations, career aspirations, stage in life, and the nature of who they are. It is imperative as a leader to learn what drives people and lean into them. Look beyond just salary: everyone is motivated by money to some extent and should be compensated accordingly. Try to find those other incentives. Working on higher profile projects, getting a diverse set of challenges, given educational opportunities, better work-life balance, and gratitude are all great examples of what people might look to get out of a job outside of just money.
When I was in the army, on active duty, my first year was spent being a pretty mediocre soldier in an intelligence unit. Imagine my surprise when my next assigned unit was a special operations unit and I was entirely unfit -- both in attitude and physically -- for the environment. I was very fortunate to have a very thoughtful section sergeant, who I now consider a pioneer in the field of gamification. He wanted a more positive attitude from me, he wanted me to pass my physical fitness test, and our platoon sergeant wanted me to stop saying "fuck" every third word. His solution? He made a game out of it that I couldn't ignore -- every f-bomb got me dropped for 10 push-ups, and he enabled everyone in our section to drop me, regardless of their rank. I began to enjoy it as I realized how ridiculous it was, I got to be really fucking good at push-ups, and I used the f-bomb a lot less.
The lesson was that a good leader will not just capitalize on the strengths of their team, but they'll find creative ways to engage low-performers and turn their weaknesses into strengths.
That was in 1993 and it truly changed my views on leadership and how I approached it. I can't make subordinates in the office do push-ups, but I can find new ways to motivate them and help them reach their potential. And yeah, my section sergeant and I are still friends to this day.