When someone joins a group, a team, or takes a new job, they are seeking some experience or benefit that the group offers. In other words, they see the group as a resource to a particular experience or set of experiences. The choices they made to get into that position and the choice to join the group all have a basis in that which the person is seeking. The person has a vivid, passionate idea in their head which they believe they can turn into reality. They view the group as a resource for their efforts to make it all happen.

Too often, however, once a person joins a group they become submissive to the group's hierarchy. In order to maintain a position in the group, they must listen to and follow the authority. In the process, they get caught up in rules, regulations, and standards. Their mission changes. Rather than seeking experience, they start seeking membership. Consequently, the vision they once worked for is deferred, sometimes forgotten. They are trapped in doing whatever it takes to remain as a part of the group. Unfortunately, the person's actions in the present become more about pleasing and worrying about authority, and less about pursuing a dream.

The authoritarian mentality can be devastating to an individual with a dream or with untapped potential. As missions begin to change, group members become separated from the idea(s) that gave them energy in the first place. This results in advisors, managers, or coaches having to watch over people more, and to provide motivation for doing things that often seem to have no purpose to students, employees, or players. Leaders complain about group members not taking responsibility. Group members complain about entitlements.

Solution: Unlocking Peak Performance

Preventing or removing the authoritarian mentality requires a return to individual dreams. Remember that someone's purpose for joining a group revolves around the experience and benefits associated with that group and how the group fits into the person's vision of turning some idea into reality. It is imperative to understand this motivation. An athlete, student, or employee must be assisted in re-framing their mission