WRITTEN BY: Tim Windsor
In today’s leadership landscape, the traditional approach of issuing mandates and expecting compliance is not just outdated—it’s detrimental. If you’re still leading by mandate, you’re missing the point. Mandates are transactional; movements are transformational. The real question is: are you inspiring passion or forcing compliance? The difference is massive, and it’s the difference between being a leader who sparks change or one who stifles it.
Let’s start by defining the key terms. In its simplest form, a mandate is an official order or commission to do something. It carries authority, but it lacks passion. It’s a top-down directive driven by necessity rather than desire. Mandates can get the job done but do so through compliance, not enthusiasm. They fail to tap into the deeper motivations that truly drive people. Movements, on the other hand, are born from shared beliefs, ideas, and aims. They are not imposed from the top but rise organically from within. Movements are fueled by passion and purpose. Where a mandate forces action, a movement inspires it.
Mandates are for dictators. They breed compliance, but they kill creativity, loyalty, and passion. Think about it—what gets people out of bed in the morning? Is it a checklist of orders, or is it being part of something bigger than themselves? Mandates suck the life out of people because they leave no room for personal investment. It’s like cracking the whip without inviting people to care about the work the whip demands. Sure, you might hit your targets, but at what cost? And how long will your people stick around before they’re mentally—and then physically—checked out?
Movements, on the other hand, are a rallying cry for action, purpose, and connection. They’re sticky. Movements keep people engaged long after the “new job” smell fades. They transform teams, companies, and even industries. But here’s the truth: you can’t fake a movement. It has to be real; it has to be bold, and it has to be something people want to be part of—not something you “manage” from a boardroom. Movements require guts, and frankly, most leaders don’t have them.
Movements are inherently active. Even in the dictionary, movement is defined as “the act of changing physical location or position.” They’re dynamic, about action, and have change baked into their DNA. A mandate, by contrast, is static—it’s about maintaining the status quo or enforcing a specific course of action without necessarily inspiring any real change.
This concept is more than just theoretical. It plays out in real-life scenarios daily, particularly in business settings. For example, a recent Gallup study found that only 36% of North American employees are engaged in their jobs. The majority of workers are either not engaged or are actively disengaged, meaning they are not emotionally or psychologically connected to their work. This disengagement often stems from a lack of purpose. When leadership is focused solely on mandates, employees may comply but need more to drive them to go above and beyond. Conversely, when leaders create movements, they foster an environment where employees are inspired to contribute their best efforts, not because they have to, but because they want to.
There are historical examples that demonstrate this difference. Think about the civil rights movement in the U.S. This was not a series of mandates handed down from leaders but a groundswell of passionate individuals fighting for a shared belief in equality and justice. The leaders of this movement didn’t enforce action—they inspired it.
When you lead through mandates, you rely on external forces—rules, penalties, consequences—to drive behaviour. However, external motivation only works to a certain point. It’s shallow, and over time, people become numb to it. Movements, on the other hand, tap into internal motivation. They connect people to something bigger than themselves. This kind of connection is powerful. It turns passive followers into active participants. It ignites passion, creativity, and innovation.
Why Mandates Fail
According to a 2023 report by the Work Institute, nearly 77% of employee turnover could have been prevented by proactive and provocative leadership. That’s right—more than three-quarters of people leaving their jobs aren’t doing so because they hate the work; they’re leaving because they hate how they’re being led. And guess what mandates do? They accelerate that process.
A mandate-driven culture says, “Do what I tell you, or else.” It’s about control, and control breeds resentment. In environments governed by mandates, people may follow the rules, but they do the bare minimum to avoid punishment. There’s no emotional investment, creative spark, or loyalty. Research from the University of Rochester found that their intrinsic motivation plummets when people feel forced to do something. So, you get a workforce full of clock-watchers and quiet quitters, just waiting for the first opportunity to leave.
Now, think about the difference when you create a movement. Movements spark a fire. They’re driven by passion, not fear. In a movement, people show up early, stay late, and contribute ideas not because they’re required to but because they want to. Movements foster environments where people are emotionally and psychologically invested in the outcome, and that’s where the magic happens. You don’t just hit targets—you exceed them because everyone is playing for something much bigger than a paycheck.
Why Movements Matter
If you look at the most successful companies, they aren’t led by mandates; movements lead them. Look at Apple. Steve Jobs didn’t just give a mandate to make “better computers”—he created a movement around challenging the status quo and thinking differently. That movement has led to the development of products that have redefined entire industries. Patagonia isn’t just selling jackets; it’s leading a movement around sustainability and environmental activism. Customers and employees don’t just buy into the product—they buy into the purpose.
And it’s not just tech giants or outdoor brands. Movements can be created anywhere. Research from Deloitte shows that purpose-driven companies have 40% higher levels of workforce retention than their counterparts who do not have a strong sense of purpose. Movements inspire loyalty, creativity, and, most importantly, action.
Movements Require Real Leadership, not just Management
If you aren’t leading a movement, you’re probably just a manager in disguise. And the truth is, most people hate being managed. They don’t want to be micromanaged, told what to do, or forced into a box. They want to be led. And being a leader means taking the risk of starting a movement that inspires, excites, and engages people on a deep, human level.
But how do you do it? How do you turn your tired, mandate-driven team into a group of passionate believers? It starts with action—because a movement is nothing if it’s all talk.
1. Start With a Bold Vision (That Scares the Shit out of You)
Let’s be clear: a movement doesn’t start with incremental goals. It begins with a bold, audacious vision that challenges the status quo. If your vision doesn’t make you shake in your boots scared, it’s not bold enough. You need to articulate a future that feels bigger than the people involved—something that excites them, makes them uncomfortable, and demands their best.
For example, rather than mandating that your sales team increase revenue by 5%, challenge them to redefine what it means to create value for customers. Tell them you want to change how your entire industry thinks about customer relationships. Make it ambitious. Make it risky. That’s where movements begin—where the vision becomes so compelling that it pulls people in.
2. Empower, Don’t Enforce
Movements are built on empowerment, not enforcement. Your role as a leader is not to issue directives but to clear the path for your people to take ownership. Give them the autonomy to make decisions, try new things, and even fail along the way. When people feel empowered to act, they think and act like owners, not employees.
This is key: micromanagement kills movements. If you’re hovering over people, correcting every move they make, you’re stifling the creativity and passion you’re trying to ignite. Instead, set the direction, offer guidance, and then get the hell out of the way. Trust your team to find the best path to the vision you’ve laid out.
3. Build a Tribe, not a Thorne
In a movement, everyone is part of the tribe. There’s no room for one overlord who wants to be obeyed, rigid hierarchies or siloed thinking. If you want to build a movement, you have to foster a sense of belonging—a place where people feel connected to the work and each other. People join movements because they want to be part of something greater than themselves, but they stay because of the community they build along the way.
As a leader, it’s your job to cultivate that community. Break down barriers. Encourage collaboration. Celebrate wins and learn from failures as a collective. This isn’t about you—it’s about us. When people feel like they belong, they become fiercely loyal to the movement and the people within it.
So … Stop Giving Mandates. Start Generating Movements
If you want to be a leader worth following, stop issuing mandates. Movements inspire action, passion, and loyalty in ways that mandates never will. People are tired of being told what to do—they want to be part of something that matters and know that their contribution also matters.
