Leadership & Motivation - "Catch Yourself Winning"!

(Originally posted Summer 2011)

What really drives us?

One of the most important things to understand about leadership and motivation is… Emotions Drive Behaviour!

The simple truth is - they do! 

And if emotions are at the heart of behaviour then they are also at the heart of leadership and motivation.


But what is an emotion?

In it’s simplest form, an emotion is a biochemical shift in our bodies to help us survive and thrive! If we see a tiger, we’re filled with chemicals to help us fight or run away. If we see someone we find sexually attractive, our bodies fill with chemicals to help us ‘make love’ - increasing our offspring and chance of survival…

So what does this have to do with winning?

When we feel like we’re winning, our bodies fill with chemicals, especially testosterone, which make us want to keep going and try harder. Testosterone feels good… and whatever we were doing, we want to feel good and do it again.

So to motivate people, including ourselves, a simple guideline is to “catch ourselves winning.”

We want to create goals where we feel we can - and will - win.

If a task is too great - break it down into manageable stages.

If it looks unattainable - reconsider the plan!


If things aren’t going well, one of the most important tasks is to be upfront about the situation – and then create a realistic and workable plan where even the smallest success can be celebrated.

The more subtle art of motivation is knowing what other people want. What do they really consider to be ‘a win’ in the long-term? …How to find that out is another subject.

Photo by April Davidson via Flickr.