Achieve goals, increase performance, and enjoy higher levels of wellbeing.
A leader’s key responsibilities are to facilitate performance, provide inspiration and a clear vision, and protect people’s most valuable resources – their health and wellbeing. And it doesn’t matter whether you are in a formal position of leadership or not – these tasks are relevant for self-leadership, as much as for leading others.
In other words, as a leader you are concerned with creating high levels of consistent motivation – for yourself and others – to develop professionally and personally, achieve goals, and realise potential. You probably don’t need me telling you that the old “carrot-and-stick” approach does not really work beyond short-term wins, and only for as long as you keep strict monitoring processes in place. Extrinsic motivation – using rewards and punishment to drive behaviour – is not only difficult to sustain in the real world, but often comes with negative long-term consequences (e.g., low engagement and satisfaction, high turnover, or drop-out rates, and decreasing levels of wellbeing).
The more sustainable and successful option involves tapping into universal psychological needs to create the intrinsic motivation required to get ourselves and others to do important things. The common problem, however, is knowing what these innate drivers are, and how to mobilise them. This is where Self-Determination Theory (SDT) comes into play! Psychologists Edward Deci and Richard Ryan introduced this major, influential motivational theory in 1985. Decades of further research and application have yielded rich data showing how intrinsic motivation leads to better outcomes in different settings, ranging from workplaces, schools and academic settings, to parenting styles and interventions designed to increase wellbeing and mental health.
SDT explains that people are motivated to grow and change by three innate and culturally independent psychological needs. These are essential for our wellbeing, personal growth, and achieving goals at work and in life. These universal needs are:
Autonomy. All human beings need to feel in control of their behaviour and goals. We want to experience choice and be the source of our actions.
Competence. We are born with a sense of curiosity and desire to explore our environment and develop new skills (think about a toddler’s persistence to learn how to walk!), and the need for ongoing growth and development continues to be a key driver throughout our lives. It ensures we remain able to navigate new challenges, achieve goals, and feel a sense of mastery.
Relatedness. Having positive, trusting relationships is the foundation for high levels of wellbeing, mental health, and resilience. We need to be connected to others in a meaningful way, feel a sense of belonging to social groups, and contribute to something greater than ourselves.
Our environment (e.g., workplace, family home, classroom) can either be supportive, helping us meet these innate needs; or it can make it difficult, reducing our ability to maintain emotional and mental wellbeing, energy levels and performance. But it’s not only the external conditions around us (e.g., expectations to conform to societal standards, micromanaging and pressure at work) that can reduce our ability to meet these deep-seated needs; our own goals and behaviours can also be out of alignment with core requirements for ongoing wellbeing and vitality. For example, a disproportionate focus on materialistic possessions, approval by others, and physical appearance will likely undermine our health and wellbeing in the long term. Meanwhile, life goals revolving around personal growth, self-acceptance, mutually beneficial relationships, or giving back to the community, tend to create positive psychological outcomes.
So, what can you do to ensure you shape environments and conditions, at work and in your personal life, that empower you and those in your care to flourish? Below are some tips and suggestions to promote and maintain good levels of wellbeing and mental health, unlock high performance, and achieve goals.
This should make it clear that self-compassion is performance-enhancing, not an excuse for bad behaviour or an invitation for self-pity. Another important aspect is the connection between the compassion we have for ourselves and the one we show to others: practicing one tends to also enhance the other, creating an upward spiral or ripple effect of non-judgmental, kind and encouraging behaviour.
INCREASE AUTONOMY
In self-leadership
Increase self-awareness. It’s difficult to feel in charge of your own life if you do not really know who you are. Develop a self-reflective practice and check-in with yourself regularly. Here are some prompts for self-inquiry that may help you get started.
How are you feeling right now? Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and gently direct your focus internally.
Take a mental review of the last 24 hours (or week). Have you been thinking more positive or negative thoughts? Has this period been representative of your usual emotional state? How do your thoughts shape your emotional experience?
What are your top three to five personal strengths (the things you are doing really well, and you are proud of)? How do these “superpowers” help you achieve goals, and overcome obstacles?
Do you tend to speak to yourself with self-compassion, or with anger and frustration? What is the impact of both approaches?
What types of tasks and activities give you joy and fulfilment?
How do the general mood and energy of the people you spend the most time with affect you? In what way do you think you are affecting them?
Connect with your values. What matters most to you? What are the personal policies and core principles that inform your decisions and judgements? What do you think is a “good” life? Knowing your values is a good starting point to set yourself meaningful, and intrinsically rewarding goals.
Get clear about your goals. Setting yourself small (e.g., daily, or weekly) and large (e.g., annual, or beyond, future-oriented) goals is an important step to develop a sense of ownership, accountability, and autonomy. What do you want to achieve? What are your top priorities? In what order are you going to tackle your goals? Which approach are you choosing for what task?
When leading others
Start with empathy. Get to know people – the person behind the role. What matters to them? What challenges or obstacles are they facing? What are their strengths, preferences, and career aspirations? Ask for your team members’ input and ideas on how to overcome barriers and achieve goals. Take time to build rapport and trusting relationships.
Give people choices. If people have options and freedom in their decision-making/task approach, they can develop a sense of ownership and accountability for what they are doing. This is an important driver for intrinsic motivation (micro-managing, on the other hand, undermines it). Of course, “free choice” at work only happens within the parameters of business requirements and agreed-upon targets, but the key to greater engagement is empowerment and flexibility. In situations where you must reduce choice and require people to follow more rigid instructions, explain the rationale behind this decision to ensure people do not feel micro-managed and become resistant.
Avoid controlling language. The way you frame information and requests either promotes your team member’s sense of autonomy or undermines it. For example, rather than making demands and applying pressure to perform, describe specific targets, required processes and timelines as essential information that will help someone be successful in their role.
The second part of this article will discuss techniques to increase Competence and Relatedness – both for yourself and the people in your team.