The power of raising aspirations

Originally appeared in the monthly Shortlist Digest here: https://mailchi.mp/b420f1c081b0/shortlist-digest-december-1795425

There’s a well known human capital equation: Performance = Talent x Motivation. In other words, your actual performance or output is not simply a function of your ability or potential, but is unlocked in proportion to an individual’s motivation, ambition, and work. So much of talent management seems obsessed with the notion of latent talent or ability, primed by a robust standardized testing industry directed towards measuring just that. No doubt, many of the assessments we use at Shortlist are good at sussing out talent, but struggle to catch the all-important force multiplier of motivation.

We often think about motivation or ambition as an intrinsically generated quality. In reality, motivation is significantly determined — shaped by opportunities and context and feedback we’ve gotten at home, school, or work.

So I loved reading this take from “Talent” (by Tyler Cowen & Daniel Gross): “Raising the aspirations of other people is one of the most beneficial things you can do with your time. At critical moments, you can raise the aspirations of other people significantly, especially when they are relatively young, simply by suggesting they do something more important and ambitious than what they might have in mind… When you raise the aspirations of an individual, in essence you are bending upward the curve of that person’s achievement for the rest of his or her life.”

In my own life, so much of my growth has been propelled by well-timed feedback, or pushes or prompts from parents or mentors, or simply exposure to and immersion in communities of amazing individuals who make me want to meet the mark and be my best.

It’s often a delicate balance between meeting people where they’re at and pushing them to expect more from themselves. I’ve been thinking how best to weave the idea of “raising aspirations” into my own leadership journey — especially within a team of Millenials and Gen Zers who (according to some) crave positive feedback over constructive criticism. How to get it right? What does this mean at the level of daily practices and habits?

Perhaps ask yourself, as we propel ourselves into 2023: How might you best raise the aspirations and motivation levels of your teams this year?