Executive Summary: Understanding what really motivates the other person will afford you a strategic insight as to what a person will and will not commit themselves to!

As a leader your every action is telegraphed outward to the world and once your true “Identity-Purpose Statement™” is defined and learned by others they can forecast your future decisions, actions, and that which you will commit vigorously to and that which you will commit loosely to.

In the research done and presented in COACHING FOR IMPACT (Brown Book Publishers, ©2000 by Dr. Jeffrey Magee and Dr. Jay Kent-Ferraro, www.JeffreyMagee.com/library.asp) from a business context, every individual has internal to them a motivating blue-print that drives their beliefs, which drive their behaviors. Getting to understand what has shaped your Identity-Purpose Statement and then determining what to expose yourself to into the future to either reinforce that or make changes within it, is critical to establishing a Quiet Leadership™ reputation.

One’s “Identity-Purpose Statement” defined, would be the idea that:

1. Identity – Is represented by WHAT one holds important and thus serves to influence decisions, actions, and commitments. It is the WHAT factors in one’s life deemed foundational to influence WHAT one stands for and WHAT one may let go of in a difficult period. It is also shaped by the impression of WHO one wants to be seen as by others or in others minds. Thus it is the WHAT and WHO factors that shape one’s “Identity Statement”.

2. Purpose – Is the compelling aspects of the “Statement” that serve as the motivators behind one’s beliefs, decisions, actions and thus over-all commitments. It is seen as the WHY behind the WHAT and WHO elements of the “Identity Statement” piece to the over-all “Identity-Purpose Statement”.

So if I learn that a business colleague was raised by parents whom were exceedingly unscrupulous people, than it should not come as a surprise when our Company physician shares with the HR Administrator that an employee is asking the doctor to declare them medically disabled (when their only medical issues are self inflicted) so they can get a free ride off the Federal Government (fellow tax payers) for life. Or, to learn that corporate executives prepare their Golden parachute, while expecting all the employees to take salary cutbacks, when you find that in their Ivy League Graduate classes there was a significant degree of work on the price, penalty, and the gains of unethical business behavior.

When focusing on what matters in making decisions, or benchmarking success behaviors off of other factors, always consider what your “Identity-Purpose Statement” is and what others around hold true, as this will give you a glimpse into what outcomes will be most often the reality!

So if you want to forecast how you will go about making decision, look inside to your “Identity-Purpose Statement” and in gauging how others will conduct themselves observe and chronicle what their “Identity-Purpose Statement” may be.