The Identity Design Model:
The universal principle, also known as The Law of Attraction, says that people are drawn to leaders who best meet their needs. This means that you are fully in control of who decides to come work for you. The only catch is that it is 100% on your shoulders to become the person they wish to work for.
Decades ago, Zig Ziglar introduced the Be-Do-Have model. Then Steven Covey elaborated on it in his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. This idea is straightforward:
After establishing a desired outcome, we successfully achieve it by asking three questions:
· Who do I need to be in order to accomplish this goal?
· What do I need to do in order to accomplish this goal?
· What do I need to have in order to accomplish this goal?
Other leaders have used variations of the “BE-DO-HAVE” model over the years and added their twists. While it illustrates the importance of “Being” in order to “Do” so we can “Have”, it emphasizes how important it is to do and have what we need,
There is still an unanswered question that is waiting to be discussed. I know I need to “Be” or the person who can “Do” and “Have”, but how do I BECOME that person?
The Identity Design model takes the basis of this idea and views it from a reverse position. It looks at it from the sowing and reaping perspective. Rather than the starting point being what we will need to BE, to where we currently are (ME). Then we explore a path (SEE) to becoming the new person (BE) capable of doing (DO) the thing that has the result (HAVE).
ME x SEE = BE x DO = HAVE
· If you want to have something you have never had, you must DO something you have never done.
· If you want to DO something you have never done, you must BE someone you have never been.
· If you want to BE someone you have never been, you must SEE things you have never seen.
· If you want to SEE things you have never seen, you must look beyond the ME you have always been.
If you wish to HAVE the best staff, you must be able to DO what attracts the best people. These are the skills and behaviors that need to be developed and modified to DO better things. To DO what attracts the best people, you need to BE someone, or become someone who automatically does those things because it is who you have become. It’s not about quoting the right message or mission statement to paint the desired impression on others. There needs to be a transformation of who you are at your core. It's about your identity. Becoming someone, you have never been, cannot happen until you are able to SEE and embrace an entirely different perspective.
Real change of this magnitude doesn’t just come from creating new habits. It requires a paradigm shift in your thinking and understanding of who you are and your purpose for being here. It also requires you to have a vision of a greater YOU. You must look beyond who you currently are and embrace the challenge of becoming an empowered, new YOU. This is the YOU that a desperate generation is looking to follow out of their culture of chaos.
Until you become more, you will never attract more. Become the big magnet that attracts little magnets! Or sit back and watch the real magnets eat your lunch and take all the good people away from you. How’s that working’ for you?
Joel Smith
Business Coach, Author and Entrepreneur
This article is a section out of the book Team Design: Building Great Teams By Attracting the Right People. Download the Free PDF version.
