Excellent managers don’t motivate people. They hire motivated people—people who are goal-driven consistent with the goals of the organization. While leaders cannot motivate, they can extinguish motivation. The leader sells a vision of how individual goals are achieved through the organization’s goals. People want to belong—and belong to something that recognizes their own value. If you want the right people on the bus, you start with the right people. Steve Jobs but it this way: “A”-level people want to be part of an organization of “A”-level people.

The organization wants people who want to travel north on I65 North. Sunday drivers need not apply. People who want to travel south, east, or west should look elsewhere.

Motivation is not externally created. What excellent managers learn is that they can’t change the individual, but they can change people. Excellent managers do just that. They understand that keeping the wrong person extinguishes motivation in others. A’s demand A-level performance from their peers. When you allow less than A-level performance, you degrade everyone.

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For a beautiful evening join me on April 9^th 2013 at the Belmond Mansion in Nashville Tennessee for High Tea. Click here for more information.