Welcome to midweek motivate, where our goal is to build your leadership and give you something practical to try with your team.

We are part way through a six week coverage of the Six Daily Practices of Outstanding Leaders. These practices are based on research I’ve conducted over the past three years across thousands of leaders to identify what outstanding leaders actually do that makes a difference when engaging their people and producing results. Last week we looked at the importance of Reflecting. The second daily practice that we will explore today is Inspiring.

As leaders, we want motivated people who are aligned to the direction we’re heading as an organisation. But aligned motivation doesn’t just happen - it takes effort. And we can’t force anyone to be motivated. Instead, a key part of achieving aligned motivation is inspiring our team members.

 

What does it take to inspire someone? First, it’s important to recognise that what inspires one person may not inspire the next. We can’t just push out the same message to everyone the same way. Just like any other influencing exercise, we need to start by understanding the individual. Which brings us to the four activities of Inspiring.

 

Inspiring leaders:

1. Understand what motivates their people - they take the time to uncover what connects people to the work, and what motivates them outside of work
2. Communicate a compelling vision - the leader takes their plans and shapes them into a vision that is clear, concise and memorable
3. Align individuals to the vision - they work with each individual to help explain the vision and why it matters in a way that is aligned with the individual’s interests
4. Define roles in the context of the vision - the leader ensures all the work that is undertaken links back to the vision

Inspiring isn’t a once a year activity. We can’t just leave inspiring up to the most senior leaders in our organisations. Inspiring is a daily practice of every outstanding leader. What are you going to try today?