The biggest challenge we face in any organization is hiring great people. You have to find the right person, with the right attitude, with the right skills, all at the right time! The even greater challenge lies in helping people see the meaning in their work, so they feel internally motivated to do a great job. You can't motivate anyone to do anything they don't care about, unless you make them live in fear--and that's never sustainable. All motivation is internally driven, and it all comes down to how much things matter to people.

"I spoke to a woman who was filling out forms at a credit office," recalls Christian Clausen, CEO of Nordea Bank. "She asked me to explain why she was doing this meaningless, menial work. I told her she wasn't just filling out forms. She was helping a family to buy a house, and if she did her job well, they would be able to buy that house. If she didn't, they would be heartbroken. She was actually facilitating something extremely important. She was making someone's dreams come true."

Everyone needs a purpose, yet most companies fail to show people the meaning in their work. The most important job of a leader is to help your team celebrate the impact they have on the lives of people!

Watch the video version of my interview with Christian Clausen below:

Jim Collins pioneered a ranking system from one to five for different categories of leadership, but many folks think it's a personality contest: “Leadership is not about personality. Some of the greatest leaders we studied had a charisma bypass!” says Collins.

What is the one trait which stands out among the world's best leaders over the rest? Ambition, talent, innovation, persistence, inspiration, perspiration? Humility. But not the kind that's shy or shrinks from command. Collins insists it’s a paradoxical mix of personal humility and professional will: “It’s what I would describe as an absolute burning, compulsive, ambition for a cause, for a company, for the work, for a set of values. Not for oneself.”

In this sense, Collins describes President Lincoln as the perfect embodiment of a Level 5 leader: his primary ambition was that the nation endure its most divisive moment, and he then had the will to withstand the most brutal war in American history. “All of it during his tenure!” Collins remarks with amazement. “And then, he loses his life. That’s the 5.”

Watch the video version of Jim Collins defining Level V Leadership:

This year's Training Top 125 winners share three priorities that are too often dismissed from other learning programs as a cliché. But they are among the essential success factors that emerged in a Stanford/Wharton study I conducted with 365 of the world's most innovative leaders globally--from Virgin's Richard Branson and Apple's Steve Jobs to Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao and the Dalai Lama.

I heard the survey results on a bitter cold, clear day in Connecticut, where we huddled near a small fireplace in a converted barn near a frozen pond. This was the home office of one of the toughest turnaround leaders in history, Larry Bossidy, former CEO of Allied Signal and Honeywell. I was about to start an interview with him when I got a call from our research director, Bonita Buell-Thompson, from whom I was hoping to hear some highlights from the worldwide survey that I could use for this interview.

"We have results from 110 countries, and it's clear that three traits make the difference between groups that have success that lasts and those that lose their edge," she said. "The tricky part is--for this to work--all three factors must be in place on your team":

1. MEANING IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN PERFECTION. Success comes from focusing only on a few things that matter. Unsuccessful people think they have to be perfect at everything. Successful teams have "integrity to meaning"--they set priorities so they don't get distracted from what matters most to their long-term effectiveness.

2. THE ENVIRONMENT ALWAYS WINS. One powerful way to turn meaning into tangible results is to create an "environment that wins"--a workplace or office that removes obstacles and catches people in the act of doing things right, recognizing people instantly for doing what matters. A bad work environment will undermine any great training program.

3. LOVERS FINISH FIRST. Successful people believe it's essential to follow their passions. Doing what you love is what actually makes you great at it--and it's what makes you able to leap back into action when things inevitably get difficult.

I confronted hard-boiled Bossidy with this soft-sounding conclusion, but he didn't flinch. Bossidy is a serious-looking, get-it-done-now sort of fellow who has never been accused of being politically correct or touchy-feely.

"It may sound naïve," he warned, "but it's dangerous if your team doesn't love their work. It's a competitive imperative," he insisted. "Only by loving it will you actually do it better than competitors. Passion matters so much that if you don't have it, well then, we'll find someone else for the job who does!"

The world's second richest man, Warren Buffet, claims this is why his managers are so successful. "I always worry about people who say, 'You know, I'm doing this for 10 years. I really don't like it very well, but I'll do 10 more years of this,'" the billionaire told me. "Working without passion is a little like saving up sex for your old age," he laughed. "Not a good idea."

Passion is what makes us alive and productive. It's what makes us creative. Tapping into the passions of our people is something that can be taught, but is too easily dismissed from corporate learning programs--when, in fact, it is the only thing that turns ordinary teams into extraordinary ones.

*This is from an article I wrote for Training Magazine.

When he first started out, my investment mentor, Charles "Chuck" Schwab, would talk about how he would hire people who were his favorite customers.
He'd see people who were so enthusiastic about the products and services in the markets, that he'd ask them to come around the counter and become part of his team! Hiring with the mindset of an entrepreneur isn't a bad idea.

Mats Torstendahl, currently of SEB Stockholm and the former CEO of Danske Bank , agrees. When he recruits new people, he looks for those with an inherent entrepreneurial spirit: "You need people who want to meet and do business with your customers, but also those who want to drive their own local business, their own franchise." Basically, you want people to feel like owners and have a natural love for what they do! "You should really like to go to work," insists Torstendahl. "It should be fun. Otherwise, you should do something different--for your own sake."

The takeaway here is that the best service comes from folks who share your passion.

Check out the video version of my interview with Mats Torstendahl on YouTube.

When negotiations seem to be breaking down and there's no more energy on either side, it's easy to abandon hope for mediation. Instead, a key tactic exists in taking a deeper look into the personal needs of the people on both sides of the table.

When former president of the U.N. General Assembly, and current Darfur Special Envoy, Jan Eliasson, had been stuck in Iran for three days over a matter he thought would have been quickly resolved, he felt his impatience building. But instead of giving up, or directing his frustration towards the situation, he took an entirely different approach:

"I said, 'I've been in Tehran 20 times and you've forced me to work every time. I've never had a chance to go to your carpet museum.'" Initially, the interpreter told Eliasson that the Iranians thought he was crazy. But then the energy of the room shifted and they all decided to take a trip to the carpet museum!

Once there, Eliasson asked about the knots, and the colors and the patterns. It was a fascinating, three-hour intensive course on Persian carpets! Upon their return to the ministry, the atmosphere had gone from tired and negative to wonderfully relaxed. Furthermore, Eliasson says that they referred to him as their friend and told him they didn't think that a Westerner coming to Tehran would find the carpet museum such a great thing to do.

Always Take a Walk in the Other Person's Shoes

The primary takeaway from Jan Eliasson's story is a fundamental lesson: appreciate the history and mindset of whoever you're working with. If you can show that you genuinely care about how they live, work and develop their community or organization, you will build a deep bond at a level second to none. And, not only will this approach lead to greater success in mediations and negotiations, but as Jan Eliasson says: "you will also have a more fun and interesting life yourself."

You can watch the video version on my interview with Jan Eliasson on YouTube.