Um, yes.
Lighting the path works because it changes how impact happens.
And you’ll never want to go back once you tasted it.
Most leaders try to drive progress by pushing their teams through persuasion, pressure, or performance metrics.
But that kind of force creates compliance, not commitment. It moves bodies, but not minds.
Lighting the path is the opposite.
Instead of pushing harder, you trust that when people see where they are headed and feel why it matters, they will start moving on their own.
Not because they have to, but because they want to.
There’s just no need anymore to motivate and incentivize, let alone enforce accountability.
The energy comes from within the team.
Three requirements for this to work:
- Say what’s true, in the most plain and simple words.
- Favor alignment over agreement.
- Stop trying to be right and start getting it right.
Your team is smart and will figure out better answers than you could ever find alone. If they believe in the path, they will push you for better rather than you having to push them.
And that’s what I call leadership: Creating the conditions for teams to rise above their wildest dreams.
Isn’t that the kind of leadership people are longing for?
Keep lighting the path,
Michael
