Gary Harpst is the author of “Built to Beat Chaos: Biblical Wisdom for Leading Yourself and Others.” He is the founder and CEO of LeadFirst. He is a keynote speaker, writer and teacher whose areas of focus include leadership, business and the integration of faith at work. He has been recognized as one of the Top 100 of the nation’s top thought-leaders in management and leadership by Leadership Excellence magazine. To learn more, visit leadfirst.ai.

Human desire is a double-edged sword. On one hand, our human desires — rooted in primal needs for power, reproduction and identity — fuel our efforts to transform chaos into order. But left unrealized, unchecked, or unchanneled, they can damage and undermine us. Great leaders must understand the dual nature of desire, because it can either motivate teams to pull together… or it can send our organizations spiraling off course.

You will be a better leader if you understand the power and presence of desire in everyone you interact with, including yourself. Engaging the hearts and minds of those around you depends on helping people fulfill these needs. It means becoming a student of desire and answering the important questions:

What do I want? What do my employees want?

Great leaders help employees find these important answers for themselves. Furthermore, they unite people with different desires and skills toward a common purpose and get people working together. By exploring what we and our employees truly want, you can unlock stores of untapped potential that not only bring business success but also curb the chaos and turmoil present in all organizations. My book “Built to Beat Chaos” lays out this and other biblically-based guidance for leaders, executives, and employees alike. Here ar some insights on desire that every leader should know.

All desires stem from needs related to power, reproduction and identity. We crave power, the ability to make the things we want to happen, happen. Skill, wealth, authority, strength, connections and influence are all examples of power. Then there’s reproduction, which is much broader than sex. It includes family, belonging and community. Finally, our desires can relate to identity — knowing who I am, why I am here and where I came from.

Desire is constructive (most of the time)… Our desires are useful because they enable us to do extraordinary things with our lives. This is why organizations truly thrive when people are aligned behind a purpose they believe in. By harnessing our desires and the desires of our teams, we can achieve remarkable results.

I was speaking with a group of CEOs from the service industry, and one CEO spoke up about his drivers. They often complained and were dissatisfied because they couldn’t sell like those in other divisions of the organization. The CEO set up a trial in which they too could be salespeople, and within six months they outsold the salesforce. As leaders, our job is to create an environment where every employee can win. When we figure out ways to unleash the capabilities of our employees, that’s where the big win-win occurs.

But it can also unleash chaos… Desire originates from deep within people’s hearts. However, our hearts can lead us into trouble by causing us to lose all reason or to act before thinking carefully about the consequences of our actions. People driven by desire may lash out in anger, or act out of fear, or become discouraged or heartsick. As I share in “Built to Beat Chaos,” my obsession with a misguided product line led to irrational decisions, almost bankrupted my company, and led to laying off a large number of employees.

Facing and working through that decision was the most difficult and valuable leadership lesson I ever had. These people were like family. Facing the truth about the impact it had on them and their loved ones was incredibly painful. So was acknowledging that it was my own strategy decisions that had led to this. I was not much fun to be around during this time.

…that creates disruption and discord in the organization. We’ve all seen the chaos that ensues at work when employees let their desires get the best of them. Angry employees are prone to bouts of uncooperativeness and outbursts that make them difficult to work with. Troublemakers stir up drama and breakdown the trust, communication and camaraderie of the team. Depressed or disengaged employees slow the workflow and drain resources. Talented employees don’t want to work in a chaotic environment and seek work elsewhere.

The good news is all of these issues can be repaired, often by focusing carefully on the desires of the very people creating discord and helping change their behavior.

Great leaders help employees align their desires with their actions. When trying to sort out the chaos of human interactions, leaders are more effective when they get to the root of what motivates people. They often benefit from bringing their underlying desires to the surface, because sometimes people are unaware of the effect desires have on their actions. Help your employees find the reasons behind the emotion.

Seeking clarity around our desires helps us identify our purpose. People have a deep desire to “win.” But if we can’t explain what we want, we can’t understand what “winning” means. It’s necessary for everyone in the organization to be able to clearly express what they want. If leaders aren’t clear about their desires, their team is unlikely to understand what “winning” looks like to the leader. The same is true for employees. This leads to more chaos. But when we are clear about our desires, and can take the correct actions to bring them to life, we are on our way to discovering and acting on our purpose.

Desire alone isn’t enough. We also need accountability. To see this truth in action, look no further than Weight Watchers. The program works wonders, but most (not all) people who want (desire) to lose weight do not do what they say they want to do: eat healthy and exercise. Our desire to continue in our current habits often overrides our desire to change.

In my early years in the Weight Watchers program, I was traveling and often missed the check-in meetings. After a while, I thought all they did was weigh me, record the result, tell me whether I was up or down, and charge me $15. It seemed logical to put a chart on my mirror, buy a scale for $25, and do it myself. It would save me a 20-minute trip and $15. You know the punch line already, because, chances are, you are just like me: It didn’t work. The program worked for me only if I submitted to their accountability. My self-discipline was not effective.

We can’t do it alone. Creating anything worthwhile takes teamwork. We are created to multiply, and that in itself has deep implications for leadership. It means we cannot fulfill our purpose by ourselves. We have to work with others to make the most impact.

Understanding the power of desire is just the beginning for leaders. Your other job is to help employees align their desires with the actions to achieve the organization’s goals and use their unique talents and skills to become the best they can be. This is great for them as individuals, and it also makes them truly valuable employees.

It is a great responsibility to help employees tap into the power of their deepest needs and desires. You take that on as a leader, knowing that the journey won’t be easy or smooth. But the rewards are well worth your effort: When desires drive the actions of an inspired team, everyone wins. C&IT