The Difference Between a Goal and a Rule

I was having a meeting with one of my newer employees and going over some training exercises I had planned for them that week. As I explained the scope of information they would need to absorb by the end of the week before testing, I saw their shoulders slump and eyes glaze over. The natural fear and self-doubt that plagues all of us, when faced with an overwhelming challenge, was threatening to consume their thoughts. I touched their shoulder and simply said, "This is the goal, not the rule" Relief washed over their face, and they sat up tall again. The fear was replaced by hope and a slowly growing courage.

We as human beings have many motivators. Today I would like to highlight two of them which are most commonly used by leaders.

Fear and Hope

When an individual is presented with fear, be it fear of failure, fear of punishment, or fear of retribution, the most intelligent places in their brains actually begin to deplete in their function. I'm sure we've all had the experience of performing a task hundreds of times perfectly in our lives, but when an intimidating person is looking over our shoulder, we suddenly fumble. There is actual science to back up this phenomenon.

As a leader we have the responsibility of creating the culture of our environment. When we lean heavily on rules as the structure of our team, there is a constant undercurrent of fear built into every task and project. A rule by nature, threatens a negative consequence if it is not followed perfectly. This fear will inevitably create stressed out team members who actually perform below their potential on a regular basis.

Hope, on the other hand, affects a persons emotions and brain completely differently. As a person experiences hope, endorphins are released which actually strengthen the brain's ability to overcome hurdles, whether in physical healing or cognitive function. So a team that is given a steady infusion of hope will not only perform better, but smarter as well. I believe Dr Jerry Groopman's definition of hope has been the most impactful to my passion for being a leader who habitually sets goals.

"Hope is the elevating feeling we experience when we see – in the mind’s eye – a path to a better future."

A goal is simply that, a purposeful seeing in the minds eye, an activating of the imagination to see the good possibilities up ahead and to chart the course to get there. As leaders we get to cast vision on a regular basis. We get to paint the picture of goals through our words, our attitudes and our interactions with the team. If we can see the goals and choose to live infused with hope, we will naturally be infectious and elevate the team as a whole.

Take some time today and evaluate how your team has been built on either rules or goals.

Find some ways to add to the hope level on your team, you will be grateful for the results.