Leadership is About Understanding Why

Leadership is about understanding Why.

We tend to think that leaders can tell us Where we are going or How to get there. Some of them are very good at appreciating Who can help us move toward our goals, or When is the right time to make changes.

We tend not to recognize the essential motivating power of Why.

Why takes time, and we often get caught up in the urgency of When or How.

When you help me understand Why I am doing something, I participate at a much deeper level. Being part of your team is not about doing something well or getting a particular result. it is about putting my own core values into action. My commitment to Why is much more significant that it is to Who or Where.

Understanding Why means that you are able to tell me the reasons this is what I really want. it means that you see the way we work together fitting with your own core values and vision for yourself, as well as fitting with my core values and my vision for myself. Your true self relates to my true self, and we are moving toward what we both want.

When leaders tell us, or remind us, Why they create opportunities for us. If you understand Why, and help me understand, we can have tremendous flexibility and creativity in working together. Methods and specific steps become less crucial as we develop a clearer recognition of Why we are doing what we are doing. Focusing on Why  may help us find new ways to do what we do, may help us avoid obstacles and challenges that we would face by focusing on How or When.

Will you understand and communicate Why today?

Why are you doing what you are doing?

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