Did You Know that Inspiration is a Leadership Trait?
People want to be inspired. In fact, there is a whole class of people who will follow an inspiring leader–even when the leader has no other leadership qualities. Being inspiring is usually just a matter of communicating clearly and with passion. Being inspiring means telling people how your organization is going to change the world.
A great example of inspiration is when Steve Jobs from Apple lured Pepsi's CEO, John Sculley, from Pepsi by asking him, “Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life, or do you want to change the world?” Being inspiring means showing people the big picture and helping them see beyond a narrow focus and understand how their part fits into the big picture.
One technique to develop your ability to inspire is telling stories. Stories can be examples from your customers, fictitious examples from your customers, or even historical fables and myths. Stories can help you vividly illustrate what you are trying to communicate. Stories that communicate on an emotional level help communicate deeper than words and leave an imprint much stronger than anything you can achieve through a simple stating of the facts. As John Maxwell says, "People want to know the why behind the what". He is a great storyteller.
Learning to be inspiring is not easy–particularly for individuals lacking in charisma. It can be learned. Take note of people who inspire you and analyze the way they communicate. Look for ways to passionately express your vision. While there will always be room for improvement, a small investment in effort and awareness will give you a significant improvement in this leadership trait.
Successful individuals have an intentional plan of development. They know what they're doing and why they're doing it. For you & your team to be successful, it needs a structured and consistent plan with accountability to help them not only learn leadership, but to live out their leadership skills. Being intentional means working with purpose, having a plan. Contact Night Owl for to develop pre-determined strategy so that growing as a leader becomes practical & convenient.
One technique to develop your ability to inspire is telling stories. Stories can be examples from your customers, fictitious examples from your customers, or even historical fables and myths. Stories can help you vividly illustrate what you are trying to communicate. Stories that communicate on an emotional level help communicate deeper than words and leave an imprint much stronger than anything you can achieve through a simple stating of the facts. As John Maxwell says, "People want to know the why behind the what". He is a great storyteller.
Learning to be inspiring is not easy–particularly for individuals lacking in charisma. It can be learned. Take note of people who inspire you and analyze the way they communicate. Look for ways to passionately express your vision. While there will always be room for improvement, a small investment in effort and awareness will give you a significant improvement in this leadership trait.
Successful individuals have an intentional plan of development. They know what they're doing and why they're doing it. For you & your team to be successful, it needs a structured and consistent plan with accountability to help them not only learn leadership, but to live out their leadership skills. Being intentional means working with purpose, having a plan. Contact Night Owl for to develop pre-determined strategy so that growing as a leader becomes practical & convenient.
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