Lance Secretan is teaching executives that there is a major benefit to all when we lead through inspiration instead of motivation.  We all want to be inspired in our work.  On the other hand we don’t want to be the donkey with the carrot in front of us and a stick behind.  Lance says motivation is using fear to get done what we want for us alone.  Motivation can and has worked to some degree, but can we achieve more through inspiration?

I love that someone at Lance’s level of achievement can say such things like motivation is based in fear, but inspiration is based in love.  I want to be passionate about what I spend my days doing.  I don’t think I am the only one.  I get depressed when I am working because I’m afraid of loosing everything. We think that if we help or love someone else that we somehow will loose.  We can care about someone else and inspire in them what is our common mission.  Better to have the right people on the bus and inspired than to try to motivate someone to be someone they are not.

I think this means having clear values and finding people who can buy into those values.  When we have this in common we can help each other to the best of our ability and still meet the mission of our organization.  In this way we can be consistent.

So as a leader how can we inspire?  As an entrepreneur can we value the customer our employees and at the same time be successful at our mission?  I would say yes.  It is nice to have just a little more proof thanks to the successful track record of Lance Secretan.  I look forward to learning more about how Lance accomplishes this.

While there are many situations in life that can cause you to burn out (caring for elderly parents while holding down a full-time job might do it). Burnout is commonly associated with unrelenting stress caused by the type of work you do or by the type of environment you work in.

Burnout sneaks up on you. It’s like the story of the frog in the jar…if the frog is in the jar before the water is introduced s/he might not notice as the water heats up slowly…until it is too late and s/he finds him/herself in a jar of boiling water.

Of course if you put the frog into the boiling water s/he would jump out immediately…we hope.

It is the same at work. We often keep working under pressure long after it is healthy for us to do so.

Burnout can happen to anyone. It was originally thought to occur in people such as fire fighters and social workers but now…it is understood that burnout can occur to anyone…given the right (wrong?) conditions.

Burnout is characterized by:

• fatique
• frustration
• feelings of inadequacy
• anger
• despair
• etc. etc.

Of course not everyone in a high stress job will experience burnout.

What causes it?

• too mand demands and not enough time
• not being qualified (lacking the requisite knowledge, skills and experience to do the job)
• not being recognized for your efforts
• negative boss, co-workers, clients

The signs of burnout include…irritability, problems sleeping, increased alcohol and/or drug use, tearfulness, snappiness and feeling helpless.

There are a few things you can do if you are noticing any of these signs.  The first thing you could do is take a quiz and if it looks as if you are burned out or on your way you might want to seek the help of a counsellor or a coach.

Good luck!

Lesley

PS Lance Secretan has a lot of cool resources on his site…check them out!