Conversation Agent: No Limit for Better

I agree with Dan Pink, there is no limit for better. How do you get there? In his latest book, Drive, Pink suggests you do that by taking an approach that has three elements to it:

1.) Autonomy - or the desire to direct our own lives
2.) Mastery - the urge to get better and better at something that matters
3.) Purpose - the yearning to do what we do in the service larger than ourselves

For starters, gaining an appreciation and understanding that people's default settings are self-directed - they actually don't need to be baby-sat - will help you see that people need autonomy over task (what they do), time (when they do it), team (who they do it with), and technique (how they do it).

Then, know that engagement is the key ingredient to achieve mastery. Remember when we talked about finite and infinite games? Mastery passes through infinite possibilities and demands grit, effort, and deliberate practice.

We all have either felt or known the yearning for a higher calling or purpose. Some express it as leaving a legacy. This is something that will allow us to jump to a higher ground. We find that we're using words that emphasize more than self-interest. Businesses can put in place policies that allow people to pursue purpose on their own terms.

At the moment, I'm seeing the immediate steps the community took online to raise funds for the victims of the Haiti earthquake and their families. And we've seen many other examples of public generosity and outreach through social media. That's because alongside the profit motive, we hold dear the need to use profit to reach purpose.

Science has known that things work this way for a while, why isn't business catching up?

***

I've been very lucky, I'm told. In my long career, I've had the opportunity to work directly with a CEO who was also a mentor and now friend. He got the ideas Pink shares with us in Drive, and gave his teams the room to be autonomous, pursue mastery, and collectively go for a higher purpose.

Our agreement was quite simple. Right off the bat, he said he would demonstrate two thing to me:

that he cared
that I could trust him

And that was the extent of our implicit contract. How many of you have had this experience? If you have, you're probably nodding with me - you worked independently, grew professionally and personally, and derived immense satisfaction in delivering value to customers - internal and external. Why? Because the message you got was: you are valued and respected.

This is what it's like to work with a mentor and leader.

***

More often than not, however, you may find you work for another kind of person.

Someone who's not as well rounded. Someone who probably is not equipped with expansive thinking and a global mindset. In that case, if you are, you might need to protect your spirit from what I call "terrorism of the soul". The daily and constant chipping away at your confidence by manipulation, energy sapping, and disrespect.

Bob Sutton wrote a very helpful guide for that circumstance. From the Booklist on Amazon:

We all know them or know of them--the jerks and bullies at work who demean, criticize, and sap the energy of others, usually their underlings.

It could be the notorious bad boss or the jealous coworker, but everyone agrees that they make life miserable for their victims and create a hostile and emotionally stifling environment.

Fed up with how these creeps treat others and poison the workplace, Sutton declares war and comes out calling them exactly what they are--"certified assholes."

Caricatured in sitcoms such as The Office, these brutes are too often tolerated until irreparable damage is done to individuals and the organization as a whole. Sutton's "no asshole rule" puts a stop to the abuse in no uncertain terms.

Take a look at the symptoms in the reviews. It's all there, including how to face your own demons - or "dark side", as my mentor calls it. We all have one. Also, a little detachment and indifference to those behaviors will go a long way to preserving your own spirit.

***

We need to be reminded of both behaviors, because they are choices. The fact that the second exists and that it can be prevalent in organized time, means you will need to be even more mindful of the fact that your motivation should be intrinsic.

Whatever everyone else around you chooses, remember that there is no limit for better.

And you'll be all the better for thinking that way.

[Disclosure: I received a copy of Drive from Dan Pink. This review and recommendation is based upon the quality of the material - and not on how I obtained it.]

Comments

One of Daniel Pink's other books literally saved my life so I am always eager to get into his head. He is the reason that I stopped practicing law and became a full time business coach.

He put me in touch with the hungering of my right brain.

The piece that got my attention in this post is the fact that you say that "That's because alongside the profit motive, we hold dear the need to use profit to reach purpose."

My focus as a business coach is to help business people entrain the rhythm of their business with the needs of their audience. And to pay it forward.

I believe in the spiritual consequence of these things and I have found it to be extremely powerful in my life and the life of my clients.

I will be back and will visit often.

Thanks for doing a great job!

Iyabo Asani

Posted by: Iyabo Asani, The Inner Genius Coach | January 16, 2010 at 12:03 PM

Did you read "Free Agent Nation"? That book was brilliant and it's what got Dan on my radar and in my head. It also helps that he's a super nice and decent person with sharp intelligence, a great sense of humor and a curious mind. He's a friend ;)

Thank you for letting us into your own story, Iyabo. I'm big on karma, although sometimes I get impatient.

Posted by: Valeria Maltoni | January 16, 2010 at 06:10 PM