A few weeks ago a team member disclosed, “My boss lays low and tries to stay under the radar. He doesn’t care much about what we achieve.”
Whether or not that statement is true of his boss or not doesn’t really matter. After all, perception is reality. And it was certainly this team member’s reality that his boss isn’t inspired or inspirational.
Why Is Being Inspired And Being Inspiring Important?
The more inspired a team member is the more their discretionary effort soars. You can guess how much discretionary effort this team member and his peers put in.
A crucial, perhaps even the most crucial, part of your leadership job is to maximise the effort you elicit from others. Therefore being inspirational isn’t optional if you want to be an above-par leader. It’s a must have!
Inspiring Leaders Have A Clear Motive—And Are Therefore Motivating
As a leader, when you’re clear about our end game, connecting me to the bigger picture about the why we’re doing what we’re doing—that’s when I join you in feeling uplifted and purposeful.
Imagine, for example, you want to create enthusiasm for our new product or service. Let’s not talk systems and processes just yet. Let’s get totally tuned-in to the immense virtues of the product or service, and how it’s going to be good for me, for you and for the greater good.
Be explicit and excited about our purpose—and I’ll get excited too.
Inspiring Leaders Are Optimistic—And Therefore Create Optimism
What you focus on is what you see!
When you focus on the possibilities and abundance—rather than the limitations and fears—you’ll be tuned in to what’s taking us in the direction of our goals. You’ll actually notice the good that happens.
When you’re optimistic and a hurdle shows up, you become stronger and more determined. Hiccups don’t have you feeling deflated and defeated, they have you increasing your resilience.
Research indicates that, not only does expecting good things give you a better chance of creating them, optimism gives you a buffer against stress, has you feeling healthier, increases your resistance to a virus, and might even lengthen your life. (Suzanne Segerstrom, PhD, author of Breaking Murphy’s Law.)
When you’ve created a stable belief that what’s around the corner will work out well, you’ll notice that I’ll be predisposed to take on that belief too.
Inspiring Leaders Are Interested—And Therefore Are Interesting
“I don’t care how much you know until I know how much you care.”
When you are interested, you’re empathetically tuned-in to me. You’re listening. You’re hearing about what I care about. You’re likely to get into my shoes before you start a conversation.
And only then, after you’ve heard my thinking, you’ll put your thinking on the table. Then you’ll ask me about my thoughts, my reactions, my perceptions and my feelings about what you’ve just said.
The funny thing is, the more you care about me and my needs, the more I’m likely to care about you and yours 
.
Inspiring Leaders Are Authentic—And Therefore Generate Authenticity
There’s nothing phoney about you!
When you’re being an authentic leader you’re being yourself. You’re not faking feeling motivated, being optimistic or being interested in me. You’re genuinely excited about working with me to create the targeted outcome.
And because you’re authentic, you’re consistent and reliable. What you say you’ll do, you do.
I can trust you. And your trustworthiness and transparency is attractive for me to be around.
When you’re authentic, consistent, reliable, trustworthy and attractive to be around, guess how I’m going to show up?
This is sounding like an attractive team to be a part of, isn’t it?
Your Leadership Call to Action
Motivating, optimistic, interested and authentic leaders—they’re inspirational leaders!
I therefore want you to stop and think carefully about this: Is it that you, your team, and your organisation will benefit when you:
- Are clearer about the motive, the team’s purpose for being there?
- Optimistically focus on how things are going to work out well?
- Empathetically tune in to what I care about?
- Authentically put the real you on the table?
Don’t you love it? It’s actually not that difficult to be an even more inspiring leader who’s creating an even more inspired team .
Please let me know if you’d value my support with this.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Carolyn Stevens has worked with leaders for more than 25-years—hundreds of them.
She’s supported leader after leader (including those who previously struggled to confront the difficult, let alone persuasively deal with the it) flourish—and become confident, courageous and impressively influential.
Carolyn is authentic and results-oriented. She draws on an eclectic array of approaches, tools and techniques to suit the situation.
