- Geekmaster
- 2020-09-13 09:11:26
- 13 minute(s)
How Great Leaders Inspire And Motivate Their Team
How great leaders inspire and motivate their team? What’s the secret sauce to lead people with efficiency and authenticity? Great leaders are those who are inspirational enough to make things change.
Inspiration pulls people towards something that stirs their heart, mind, or spirit.
When we are inspired, we aren’t thinking about the final end state. In fact, when we are filled with inspiration, we want to hold onto that feeling for as long as possible.
Effective leaders inspire movements that exist only when people choose to move in the same direction.
WarningWithout a leader, movements fragment and get nowhere. The leader’s job is to inspire people to work together in the service of something greater than themselves.
We’ve found that great leadership comes from the heart.
As any leadership coach will tell you, a business leader with a true passion for inspiring others to take action is able to squeeze every ounce of potential out of their employees.
Being the leader of a team is a huge responsibility, regardless of whether you’re the CEO, department manager, or supervisor.
ImportantIn today’s workplace, there’s no room for negative traits and energy in the workplace. As a leader, it’s your job to inspire and motivate the others on your team to work to the very best of their abilities.
Being a great leader demands a number of qualities and characteristics that encourage those around them to succeed. This article will examine 6 leadership qualities and traits that can help to inspire and motivate your team.
They Share a Crystal Clear Vision
The greatest leaders of our time could articulate a vision so clear it seemed as though it had already come to pass. Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have A Dream” speech is a perfect example of this.
To truly inspire, know precisely what you are you striving to achieve.
Through words, actions and beliefs, inspiring leaders know what their preferred future looks like and can show others exactly how to get there.
Enlisting others into a common vision requires you to inspire them to follow your lead.
ImportantInspiring leaders know that the most effective way to enroll followers is to clearly articulate what they believe in, why they exist, and where they are going. Effective leaders have a high level of Emotional Intelligence (EQ) and are able to effectively inspire others to follow their dream.
It takes more than just telling about the vision, however. You have to be able to inspire others to travel the road with you. So it’s critical that you work with your team to find out what interests them, and find out where your common vision lies. It might mean that you have to adjust your vision slightly in order to get them on board.
Inspirational leaders have a vision — their focus is wide, ‘big picture’ oriented and strategic.
Google has defined a set of management rules, and as per rule no 7, true leaders have a clear vision and strategy for the team. Even in the midst of turmoil, they keep the team focused on goals and strategy and they involve the team in setting and evolving the team’s vision and making progress toward it.
Goal-setting is linked to task performance and is the main source of intrinsic motivation — that is the motivation driven by an interest in the task.
ImportantSetting specific and clear goals leads to greater output and better team performance. The key is to set clear and measurable goals with a deadline for completion in order to avoid any misunderstandings.
They are Optimistic
Positive energy is infectious. It is one of the most powerful tools in the leadership toolbox when it comes to inspiring others in the workplace. Employees want to be able to look to their managers and see that they love what they do — that even amid frustrations and heavy workloads, they’re passionate about their work and enjoy what they do on a daily basis.
But how can you become more positive and enthusiastic as a leader?
Network with other inspirational leaders and model your enthusiasm after them. Let them inspire you to take the action of being more inspiring to your team!
Truly inspiring leaders can find the bright side of any issue.
WarningThey know that doom and gloom accomplishes nothing, so they remain beacons of positivity in the face of challenges and failures. Of course, problems happen and troubleshooting is inevitable. But if you want to be a truly inspirational, show others the silver lining.
You can also help motivate your team by reacting positively to goal or project completion, and to the skills and abilities that each member brings to the team. Make them feel valued and appreciated, and your team will work harder.
The quickest way to bring down your team and make them extremely unproductive is by being negative.
ImportantPeople feed off the energy of the people around them, especially their leaders. If you’re routinely negative, I’m sure your team is feeling it too and this can lead to a higher turnover rate. Negativity can be costly for your company.
The inspirational leader feels passionate about the vision and mission of the organization.
They are also able to share that passion in a way that enables others to feel passionate, too. Shared passion makes organizations soar in the accomplishment of their mission and vision.
They Care About People
Nothing drains commitment from a team like feeling their efforts go unnoticed. Leaders who do not show appreciation for their employees are putting their business at risk for higher turnover, lower output and malaise.
Inspirational leaders give credit where it is due and recognize that their achievements are rarely theirs alone.
WarningEven small gestures of gratitude show people that they matter. Even a quick “Thank you, this project couldn’t have happened without you” is enough to inspire and bolster your team.
Truly inspirational leaders will look at their own responsibilities in events that went wrong and won’t be afraid to shoulder the blame.
Leadership can bring many rewards, but inspirational leaders are also prepared to carry the risks and burdens that their position entails. Exemplary leaders accept personal responsibility for their companies failures.
When you praise one person in front of others, it encourages them to work harder or perform better, simultaneously motivating the others to work hard in order to be praised. When a reward is linked to performance, people will work even harder and be more committed to their task in order to win the reward.
When you take better care of your employees and team members, they’ll take better care of the business and their clients.
ImportantWhile growing and making sure your company is successful is important, you need to remember that your company probably wouldn’t be where it is today without all of your team’s hard work.
Everyone on your team is a cog in the wheel that’s helping to move your company towards reaching their goals.
Continuing to grow wouldn’t be possible if everyone had the mentality of sink or swim. Helping team members is essential. This is why leaders should be coaches, teachers, and mentors.
They Empower People
A leader who only cares about their authority rarely fosters a creative environment. They don’t understand how a leader inspires others to take action. Creative business leaders find new and exciting ways to revamp old ideas.
Inventiveness creates a magnetic vibe. Employees are inspired by this creative energy.
ImportantA good leader capitalizes on this and empowers their team members to add their creative ideas into the pot. They want their team members to believe that their contributing ideas are necessary for success rather than a challenge of authority.
With people ‘slow is fast and fast is slow.’ Which is so counter to the fundamental paradox that exists within leaders.
In order to be successful most need to stop doing the very things that got them into a position of leadership in the first place. Giving colleagues and direct reports more time to contribute may seem like a slower process, but it ultimately creates a culture of team, performance, and accountability.
Change usually implies that the team must learn new skills to understand and interpret new methods of working. The team leader must provide an opportunity for the team to try the new approach. Be sure you have provided the appropriate level of development and training and provide ample time for the team and its members to confirm their newly learned skills.
When you give team members the power or authority to do something with complete control, this helps to motivate them to complete the work.
ImportantInspirational leaders provide their teams with the required coaching, training, and support to enable them to make their own decisions, achieve their objectives and learn along the way so they can keep on improving and become the inspirational leaders of the future.
Openness and the direct involvement of team members in the decision making is a critical step.
Provide support and facilitate discussion to help the team solve problems. As their confidence, commitment and competence increase, delegate more tasks to the team and let the team members make the decision and find the solution to the problems.
They Build Trust
Employees take their cues from their leaders. They are always watching. To believe in their leaders, they must believe them. Inspiring leaders know every action matters.
Customers and employees alike are much more likely to jump ship when a leader’s top priority is success.
ImportantLeaders inspire others to look up to them by telling the truth, being in integrity with what they promise and living honestly and earnestly. When employees take pride in their leadership and their organization, inspiration follows close behind.
Employees are most inspired when a leader takes the time to know them and shows that they have their best interests at heart.
The secret recipe to inspiring employees is to know the ingredients of the people you are motivating and inspiring. People want to know that their leaders understand their knowledge, tendencies, and behaviors well enough to best work with and motivate them.
Everyone has three fundamental needs, according to science: to feel safe, to feel like we belong, and to feel like we matter. Through acknowledgement and appreciation, we can address all 3 needs, and inspire our people to give us 100%.
Vision and passion are important, but your employees must trust you if you want them to feel inspired.
To experience inspiration, people need to feel included.
Inclusion goes beyond the realm of listening and providing feedback. For real inclusion, people need to feel intimately connected to the actions and processes leading to the accomplishment of the goals or the final decision.
They Have High Standards
The best leaders know what their team members are capable of — and then push them just a little bit further. When employees see what they’re truly capable of, they’re inspired to continue working for those hard-to-reach goals — knowing their manager is there to back them up the whole way.
At first, setting high standards can be frustrating to employees.
Their first thought is that the expectations are unrealistic and the manager is simply being cruel to assign something so unattainable. But a truly inspirational leader will then provide a way for the employees to achieve the “unachievable” — by providing the guidance, coaching, and resources necessary to get to the finish line.
A moonshot vision is critical for enabling others to feel as if their work has a purpose and meaning beyond the tasks they perform each day.
WarningSometimes leaders must help their staff connect the dots by explaining this big picture to all. Communicating the big picture regularly will help reinforce the reason your organization exists.
Innovation — technological and ideological — is essential to progress. Inspirational leaders understand this and are prone to ‘thinking outside the box‘ as well as encouraging creative and innovative thinking amongst those they lead.
Leaders have relentlessly high standards — many people may think these standards are unreasonably high.
ImportantThe standards and expectations you set as a leader will define the success of your team. As the leader you create the environment and the momentum to win in a tough environment.
Each step of higher standard leadership takes courage.
Courage is powerful because it means you are all in with what is right and you are willing to accept the consequences. At the end leadership is a way of life, and a courageous life is a life worth living.
Experience and technical skills are critical but a growth mindset is the game changer.
Many organizations have very talented people, great ideas, awesome tools of the trade to get the job done and a real mission but never get anywhere near their full potential.
Final Thoughts
The five qualities above are essential in making you an effective and inspirational team leader. By developing your leadership skills, you’ll see your team’s performance, productivity, and morale improve significantly.
Inspirational leadership is essential to business success. People don’t leave companies, they leave leaders!
WarningThe next time you want to motivate your people, ask yourself how you can inspire them. Look inside for your answers to drive a devoted following, quantum growth and lasting change.
An inspirational leader gives people what they want within their capabilities.
Speaking directly to a contributing employee about the value their work provides for the organization is a key source of inspiration for the recipient. The actions you take every day at work are powerful.
Leadership is more about exhibiting certain inspirational traits rather than a having a certain type of personality.
ImportantIf you properly motivate employees, you are able to retain your top talent. You’ll save money on recruiting costs and ultimately generate more revenue.
Being more inspiring can seem like an unattainable goal — and one you don’t have much influence over.
But when you know what your employees find inspirational and work toward embodying those things, you can boost your inspiration factor big time.
If you don’t inspire your teams to achieve greatness, you’re not a leader. You’re a manager, at best.
Following these leadership know-how will demonstrate your contribution to the success of your high-performing teams and help your organization reach its goals as well. I highly recommend trying these leadership techniques to find out how successful your teams can perform. If you enjoyed the article or have any comments, recommendations, or tips for improvement please do comment below.
Geeknack's Picks
[…] hinges on their ability to effectively lead teams in getting them to choose to follow their leadership, despite it potentially demanding sudden, […]
[…] How Great Leaders Inspire And Motivate Their Team […]