Let hunger motivate people
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The Bible teaches the most basic motivational force is something we all possess: hunger.
The laborer's appetite works for him; his hunger drives him on (Prov. 17:26).
Motivation is intrinsic; whatever we hunger for works for us. It compels us to work to satisfy it.
Certainly this fits the literal meaning for food. Second Thessalonians 3:10 says, "The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat."
But we also hunger for other things. Recognition. Money. Relationships. Accomplishment. We want to prove ourselves. We want to leave a legacy.
And then there are negative motivators, like fear, embarrassment, financial emergencies or one-upping the neighbors.
Any of these things motivate us at different times in our lives, even at different times of the day.
Motivation is not something a leader can lasso. It's a personal force akin to the hunger of a laborer.
The leader can simply let whatever hunger a worker is feeling do its work. And give him or her solid leadership as they drive themselves forward.
Excerpted from Servant Leader Strong: Uniting Biblical Wisdom and High-Performance Leadership, by Tom Harper (DeepWater Books, 2019). Also available in Spanish and Amharic.
 | Tom Harper is publisher of BiblicalLeadership.com and executive chairman of Networld Media Group, a business-to-business publisher and event producer. He has written five books, including Servant Leader Strong: Uniting Biblical Wisdom and High-Performance Leadership (DeepWater Books, 2019) as well as the Christian business fable Through Colored Glasses and its sequel Inner Threat (DeepWater, 2022). Learn More » |
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