THE UN-COMFORT ZONE with Robert Wilson

Pack Mentality

When my son was two years old, we got a Samoyed puppy, and for the next 18 months they were the best of friends. Then the dog changed. Suddenly she started growling at my son and biting him. At first I thought that maybe he was pulling her tail or something else that was irritating her, but that wasn’t it.

My dog had become an adult and instinct kicked in. She became concerned with her place in the pack hierarchy. I learned that our family was her pack, that I was alpha-dog, and that she had no intention of being at the bottom of the pecking order. That meant someone had to be beneath her and the easiest choice was my toddler.

Through training and discipline we got the biting to stop, but to this day she still considers my son subordinate to her.

It’s all about status and exclusivity. And human beings are just as motivated by it as a pack animal. When Abraham Maslow created his Theory of Human Motivation in 1943, he identified five levels of motivation or five needs that humans strive to satisfy. Those needs are, in order: Survival, Safety, Social, Esteem, and Fulfilment.

Status is an esteem need and regardless of where we fall on the economic ladder, we all strive to achieve status before we can move on to the highest need. Whether we admit it or not, we all want to feel as if we are a little bit better than the people around us. We begin to establish that - at least in our own minds - with the accouterments of wealth such as branded clothing, jewelry, luxury automobiles, and exclusive neighborhoods. Even the poorest of people find symbols with which to establish their status. The visibility of these status symbols can create the powerfully motivating emotion of envy.

Most happiness that is acquired by achieving status symbols is short lived. Overtime such trappings become meaningless to us, at which point, we seek genuine achievements to prove our worth. Studies have shown that after reaching a certain income level (usually around $250,000 a year) an individual’s happiness does not increase until they reach the status of super rich (approximately $10,000,000 a year).

But, status can continue to motivate us long after money ceases to do so. Bestowing a new title with added responsibilities yet without any added pay is a common method for rewarding employees.

Volunteers can be motivated in a similar fashion. I have been a Boy Scout leader for the past five years. The Boy Scouts of America rewards its leaders with patches embroidered with colorful square knots that are worn on the adult uniform. Different colored square knots represent the variety of services a volunteer has provided or achievements that he or she has earned. Some square knots represent achievements earned years earlier when the volunteer was a Boy Scout. When I attend formal full uniform functions, I find myself scanning fellow leaders’ square knots to note their status. There is one we all look for; it is the red, white and blue knot that indicates the wearer earned the highest status in scouting as a youth: the Eagle Scout award.

When the United States was founded, one of its distinguishing characteristics from the rest of the world was the lack of a feudal or caste system. That doesn’t mean status doesn’t exist in America. Indeed it does, but here we must earn it. Best of all, people have a choice and can rise above the station they were born into

Lacking status puts us in the Un-Comfort Zone and drives us to achieve. When you help someone up the social ladder, you can motivate them in a powerful and positive way.

Robert Evans Wilson, Jr. is a motivational speaker and humorist. He works with companies that want to be more competitive and with people who want to think like innovators. Reach him at [email protected]. For more information on Robert's programs please visit www.jumpstartyourmeeting.com.