Are you a movement starter ?
Purposeful. This is the title of Jennifer Dulski’s new book that is launched today. The subtitle takes the form of a question: “Are you a Manager or a Movement Starter?”.
The manager’s role is quite challenged nowadays and it’s common to find some “manager versus leader” oppositions. So when I discovered the book’s title, I was quite curious about what could be at stake when comparing managers to movement starters. By the way, I was not sure about the definition of the second one.
Be Purposeful, Start A Movement.
This is good because the author starts with a definition of the movement starter as corresponding to the “most effective leaders”. Movement starters take leadership one step further as they don’t just persuade people to follow them. Indeed they persuade people to join a cause, a belief, a worldview, a purpose or a vision, call it as you want. And all these people fighting for a cause, a belief, a worldview, a purpose or a vision constitute a movement. To cut a long story short, a leader becomes a movement starter as soon as he is fighting for something much bigger than himself or herself.
Jennifer also provides her definition of a movement as follow:
Movement = a Vision (what the world should look like)+ a Purpose (why the vision matters) + Stories (to bring vision & purpose to life)
No need to specify that both the vision and the purpose should be crystal clear. Then the strategy to achieve them is the degree of freedom and a movement starter is able to change it along the journey.
Breathe Life Into Your Vision And Get Supporters.
One of the main difficulty once the vision has been set up is to define what this strategy should be (the steps that separate the current state from the vision)
A great tool in order to define these steps is the Theory of Change that requires that you start with the desired outcomes and then plan backwards from there.
Finding initial supporters is clearly an important step as there is no movement as long as you are alone.
Take a look at this great TED video by Derek Sivers about starting something that will become a movement and consider the crucial role of the second person to stand-up and dance. He is not the leader, he is the first supporter and without him there would be no movement.
Persuading The Decision-Makers.
Another step is for sure the way you can convince and rally the decision-makers. There are many ways to achieve this, and, at then end, the most powerful question to ask them is: “ Do you want to lead, or do you want to follow?” As the author mentioned at the very end of the chapter, helping decision-makers understand the benefit of being in the vanguard of change can be one of the most effective persuasion tools.
Lead Your Crew.
Once you defined the vision, got early supporters and found a way to work with decision-makers, it’s time to lead your crew.
Motivation is all about…motivation. There is no better way to keep people motivation at the highest level than to care for what is REALLY motivating them. The Motivational Pie Chart can be of great help here.
It allows to map what is important for people who belong to your movement (or team) by asking them (and not guessing) and be sure that you follow the right metrics in order to keep their motivation at the highest level. Each individual has his or her own chart, anyway, there are three key motivational factors that most people share:
- Purpose: a meaningful mission
- Growth: continuous learning
- Connection: belonging to a team
On top of that, an effective way of reinforcing purpose is making connections between people who use the products and the people who build and support them.
In term of progress tracking, there is also a real challenge in order to find the metrics that actually correspond to your vision and Theory of Change. However, measuring the impact is critical to inspiring your team.
Last but not least about leading your crew. Assume the best. The famous author Brené Brown refers to it as the “hypothesis of generosity”. It basically means that everybody is doing his or her best in any situations. They always try to be their best selves even if it does not immediately seems obvious to you. Empathy here is the right tool. If you would believe what they believe, know what they know and live what they live, you would probably do what they do.
At this stage, there is a chance that you are on good rails and can consider making your vision become reality. Yes, but…There are still two obstacles you will potentially have to deal with: Hate and Failure.
Don’t Drink The Haterade.
For the haters, there are not many solutions. The one that is both the most disruptive and the most effective can be summarized in one word: Inclusion. Any tactic that gives them the floor will allow you to leverage the naysayers.
Fight Your Lizard Brain.
Failure is not the real problem. Fear IS the real problem. You have to fight the fear of failure. The “Lizard Brain” as Steven Pressfield called the Resistance that prevent us shipping our work in “The War of Art”. “Fail, fail again, fail better” is a famous quote and the title of book written by Pema Chödrön, the American Tibetan Buddhist. Other authors like Jon Acuff, who wrote “Finish: Give Yourself the Gift of Done”, or Seth Godin with the “Ship-It Journal” or “It’s Your Turn” contributed to this fight you will for sure have to lead against fear and fear of failure.
Do not let “perfect” get in the way of progress.
It’s Your Turn…To Inspire.
And if you think about it, there is for sure a person that inspired you at the very beginning of this journey. Somebody who lit the flame. Someone you admire.
By making your vision become real, by making change happen, by caring and fighting for what you believe, there is a chance that you will become this inspiring person for somebody else who will start another movement. And so on.
Please, do not break the chain. Be rather a link of it.
