Many leaders say they need to develop their ability to inspire others but don’t really know how to do that. Inspiration can be very personal, so how do you actually inspire others?Often people think you have to be somehow extraordinary or charming yourself in order to be an inspiring leader. Particularly the more quiet leaders often consider they can’t be inspiring or need to learn some unnatural skills for them to be inspiring. Yet when you look at what inspirational leadership is, it is composed of simple everyday actions. And it’s not so much about you – it’s more about how you treat others.
Think about the Leaders you have found inspiring – how did they inspire you? I myself remember a very Senior colleague, Susie, having inspired me in my early days in a consulting company. She would always have people’s best interests in mind, and you could truly trust her. She got me involved in really challenging projects, but made sure I had the support needed to manage them. And she was the first one to recognize my achievements when things worked well or talk through learnings when things didn’t go so well. Whatever the situation, I always felt safe, trusted and respected. It inspired me to persevere and do my best work.
Inspiration has a clear link to motivation. People have their own motivations and as a leader you can tap into their motivations by creating an environment where people can feel motivated. It all starts with knowing what motivates your team members and there is only one way to find out – talk to them. Ask questions, and then listen and observe.
Many people are motivated by achievement, where setting goals and working hard to reach them is motivating, or more human factors like having good relationships at work. For others the security motives are important – having a salary each month to pay your bills and provide financial security. And some are motivated by visibility and power, often with the desire to have an impact.
Whatever the motivations, by knowing what people are motivated by, you can then try to link assignments/projects to their motivations. Assignments that bring visibility and impact, the opportunity to work with a group of colleagues they can learn from and enjoy working with, or an intellectual or technical challenge that requires creative thinking to find a solution, are some examples.
Then, linking what people are doing to how they contribute to the broader goals of the organization is important. Leaders often think this is evident, and there’s no need to talk about it, yet seeing the link between what you do and how it contributes to the wider organization creates clarity and gives a sense of satisfaction.
In addition, showing genuine interest in the people you work with, treating them with respect, providing feedback and direction, creates for most people an environment where they can strive.
Again, if you think about the Leaders that have inspired you – how did they behave with you? Very often you will hear things like being trusted and respected, having been given opportunities to learn and develop, being challenged in a constructive manner, and having been given autonomy. And you don’t have to be extraordinary to do any of that, you simply need to be sincerely interested in the people you work with.
So rather than putting pressure on yourself to be extraordinarily inspiring, focus on the simple things you can do to create a motivating working environment around you. Bigger actions are of course also welcome when the situation calls for it, but overall it’s the everyday leadership that counts more than the few exceptional actions.
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