Thursday, March 04, 2004

Where there is a human will... - The Economic Times

Where there is a human will... - The Economic Times: sumantra ghoshal makes a "distinction between motivation and volition; between action driven by calculative self- self-interest and action driven by the power of the human will. "
Create a Desire for the Sea Leaders can strengthen peoples’ volition by helping them create a vivid picture of what they wish to achieve. It is this picture, more than anything else, that allows people to activate their emotions, commit, and protect their intention through the action-taking phase.
Does it Feel Right?
Volitional commitment requires that the cognitive and intellectual dimension must come together with the intuitive and emotional dimension so as to make the resulting intention something that exists beyond the reach of calculative rationality and constant cost-benefit analysis. For engaging their will, people have to confront their feelings, not just their thinking, and reflect on whether they can personally stand with their head and heart behind an intention. Leaders who unleash the force of the human will encourage their people to ask “Does it feel right?” and “Do I really want it?”
Create Rites of Passage
Leaders who foster volition formation do exactly the opposite. They prevent people from making hasty commitments. They don’t make things look easy. They build in concrete steps that people have to consciously take in order to test their own readiness to commit.
Build in Stopping Rules
Finally, perhaps the most important senior management task in engaging people’s willpower is to ensure that for each volitional initiative, there is a clear stopping rule that is specified in advance.

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