If you’re like most people, there’s a good chance that sometime in the past you’ve committed a de-motivating, yet all too common, mistake: telling people what to do without explaining why it needs to be done.
Perhaps the mistake was unintentional on your part – you just didn’t think before issuing your directive. Or maybe it was intentional – and justified in your mind with a rationalization such as: They don’t need to know why … I don’t have to explain my decisions … I don’t have time to list all the reasons. Either way, it was still a mistake … and a clear demonstration that you had forgotten how lousy it felt when others had done the very same thing to you.
So why was it a mistake? Because it borders on childlike treatment (“Do it because I said so!”) which tends to produce anger, resentment, and half-hearted effort. More importantly, it’s a squandered opportunity to get people on-board with, and committed to, what needs to be accomplished.
Here’s a good rule of thumb to guide your future actions: Unless it will violate a legitimate need for confidentiality, always tell people the good reasons for doing what you want done. That’s your WHAT. Your WHY? Because it’s the appropriate way to deal with adults, it produces positive results, and it’s a courtesy that’s simply the right thing to do.
And one more thing …
If you ever find that you can’t come up with good reasons for acting, stop worrying about others’ commitment and start questioning the action, itself!
Human Nature 101
Adults are more likely to be committed to actions
and behaviors when they understand the
good reasons behind them.
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