‘Identicity’: when collaborator and organization have the same identity.
It’s all about feeling. What if the organization were a person, what would that person look like? What would be his/her personality? And would it accord with yours?
This question can with good reason be put to every collaborator. And if you are a leader, to you too of course. Even more, because of the immediate practical implications this has, you could put to yourself the following more concrete questions:
- Do you know the ‘deep’ personal identity of your organization? This is one step further than a superficial mission, but a deeply resonating brand… Do you define that deep identity at regular times? Does the deep (ideal) identity conform to the perceived (real, current) identity? They might not be the same…
- Do you communicate that ‘deep identity’ to your collaborators? Effectively? How?
- How can you help your collaborators to track their own ‘deep’ identity?
Since motivation only comes from inside, the only way to really motivate a collaborator to work for a cause is through his identification with that cause.
An organization can be the materialization of that cause. If the identity of the organization accords with that of the collaborator, motivation flows naturally. If not, you have a problem. People will disconnect: they work only for the money, or they search another occupation.
If there is a sufficient basic connection, this should be nurtured. Nothing naturally grows without continuous nurturing. Of course, the best nurturing of a human being comes from inside. Still, the power of ‘identicity’ – or a lack of it – is so huge that it deserves your ongoing attention… Note that I said ‘grows’. There is a flow. Identity is not a fixed thing. You cannot put it in a box. An identity evolves. We like to think that there is a kind of ‘basic me’ that is the same over the years. This is only partly true. We all evolve more or less, even in the core. That’s OK. It only gives a slightly different feel to it. A consequence is that identicity also evolves: the way one can identify with an organization is really a way, a path. The organization grows and so do the collaborators, individually. The ‘Pygmalion effect’ (see Internet) is also at play in this. People like being in the presence of what or who makes them grow. Or invites them to grow, supports their growth…
If organization growth and collaborator growth are perceived as coinciding, then human energy – deep motivation – is boundless.
Related Posts
An open leader gives people an environment in which to meaningful.
People want to ‘perform.’ What this really means is: they want to make a difference. They want to mean something. They want their life to have deep meaning, some deeper sense. Also in little things, people are looking for meaning. They want to be valuable. They want to exist. People are in a continuous search Read the full article…
Two Pats on the Back, Better than One?
Study in US: encouragement helps 98% of the people surveyed to get to better results at work. ‘To encourage’ = ‘to put heart into.’ Literally. You recognize herein the French word ‘coeur’. It has to do with ‘the heart’. It is not just a sentence stumbled out quickly, not your shoulder pat itself that is Read the full article…
Difference between Motivation and Manipulation
Motivation originates in the heart of the motivated. All the rest is manipulation. The human psyche is not a box of building blocks. On the contrary. It is a hugely complex ‘organ’ that is, in addition, constantly moving. We are only partly aware of this. That explains why it sometimes resembles a box of building Read the full article…