How to become an Inspirational Leader
What does inspirational leadership look like in your organisation? What impact do inspiring leaders have on performance, both organisationally and at an individual level?
Here is something to consider. While an employee’s mindset is vital to their overall performance, even the most committed and motivated employee may not reach their potential without support from their leadership. This became very clear during the pandemic, as studies now find. When uncertainty and anxiety are high, employees must have clear expectations and emotional support.
Unfortunately, some leaders have risen to the top through marketing or hype. They sway others to do as they ask (or command) with a lack of genuine concern for their well-being. As a result, there is a large degree of distrust and reluctance.
Conversely, inspiring leaders take action because of their care and concern for others. You see, inspirational leadership is not about being in charge. It’s about taking care of those in our charge. While rank or title may indicate leadership authority, they are not indicators of leadership ability.
Inspirational Leadership Can Be Developed
Inspiring leaders are often described by their innate traits, characteristics, and strengths that define their leadership style or level of authority. Fundamentally, inspirational leadership is the ability to positively influence and/or motivate others. In today’s world, inspirational leadership is about connection: connecting with those you lead in ways that are meaningful to them.
The relationships that you create determine your abilities as an influencer. If you build trust and practice empathy in your relationships, you’ll develop higher-quality connections. This may sound simple, but it poses particular challenges that require nuance and practice.
Fortunately, we can develop inspirational leadership. At the core is our ability to see those around us.
Why We Need Inspirational Leadership
In today’s world, we need inspirational leadership.
In a 2017 survey recently published in Harvard Business Review, 85% of 14,500 workers across various industries said they were not working at full potential. Only 15% reported working at 100% of their potential, and 16% reported less than 50%.
What’s happening in your organisation? How do you motivate employees?
We know that external incentives or benefits alone are not enough to motivate workers. Great leaders inspire their people with why they do what they do instead of the what and how. When employees believe their work matters, when they have a purpose that aligns with the mission of the organisation and their leader, they are more creative and productive.
Have you noticed this? Inspired people are the glue that holds an organisation together, especially during times of crisis and recovery. They care because their leaders skilfully communicate genuine care.
Engage the Heart and Mind
Great examples of this in action are those leaders who engage both the heart and mind. If you haven’t heard it recently, I urge you to listen to the entire speech of Martin Luther King Jr. delivered on August 28, 1963. He didn’t begin with “I have a plan.” Nor did he open with the changes that needed to be made. He started by telling us why: why all people need to bond for a better future.
“We've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.” - Martin Luther King Jr
When we begin communication with why we engage the part of the brain most responsible for decision-making. Let’s call it the WIIFM (what’s in it for me) part of the brain. It searches for data on pleasure versus pain, friend or foe, help or hurt.
You see, the area in our brain most responsible for decision-making registers subconscious thoughts. But it lacks language, uses gut intuition, and is heavily influenced by feelings and drives for survival. And it impacts our level of trust. When leaders share a more significant cause and higher purpose, listeners are sifting, sorting, and deciding whether and how much to trust and ultimately commit. Then, leaders can focus on the how and what.
How Leaders Inspire
The pressures of the pandemic have affected our communication. We’ve reverted to old school communication styles that are less effective.
You see, the traditional communication approach is to define the problem, analyse it, and recommend a solution. While this appears logical—it appeals to reason—it is actually limiting. It only serves to pass on information to those who desire it or are looking for direct orders.
If you want to inspire and motivate others, this approach does not work. Worse, it can create more problems. Employees who disagree, have other ideas, or ingrained habits won’t respond well to a perceived command and control order or a lecture on beliefs.
Have you noticed this? When communication does not align with what we know or believe, we dismiss it as irrelevant or wrong. We question the source. This takes place in the part of our brain responsible for emotional reactions rather than the areas of logic and reasoning. This is often the reason presentations bomb.
When confirmation bias has been activated, you face a sceptical, cynical, or hostile audience. We see this all the time on social media. Regardless of your intended message, it will be heard as a reason not to believe or act. And it’s contagious.
Communication That Inspires
Leaders inspire their audience when they pay careful attention to communication details and understand the importance of:
Word choice
Patterns of words
Order of patterns
Successful leaders don’t rely on a single communication. As implementation proceeds, they reinforce communication and work with their people to co-create the future by continuing the conversation.
In addition to words, the language of leadership is most effective when you:
Can share intelligent stories and narratives
Display appropriate, congruent body language
Demonstrate an understanding of the audience’s story and context
What Your Audience Wants to Hear
To be sure, inspiring leaders are always needed in good times and in times of crisis. It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in, the size of your organisation, or your title. If you and your colleagues want to reach your full potential, you need inspirational leadership. Language matters.
Most of our communication is done electronically (email, phone, video-conference, etc.), and people aren’t necessarily listening. They may be multi-tasking: preparing for their next meeting, thinking about other things, responding to texts, etc.) Inspiring leaders understand this and use four methods to grab focused attention.
Sharing a personal story or message – sharing “why”
Triggering emotion – sharing “how”
Presenting trustworthy data or reliable source – sharing “what”
Using concise language without relying on jargon (i.e. industry-specific terms, abbreviations, etc.)
The Role of Positive and Negative Messaging
Studies have found that the combination of personal stories that trigger emotion is more than twice as likely to resonate with your audience. Negative messages are also more effective with attention-getting when they illustrate the seriousness of a problem. The trajectory and how it was and can be overcome. However, negative messages can deter enthusiasm and actually de-motivate people.
Positive messaging creates a desire to change and sparks imagination. If you want your employees to reach their full potential and/or change course, present stories and clear examples of how others are making a difference. This appeals to the heart and the mind.
Inspirational leadership is not about imposing your will on your audience. Instead, it’s to enable your audience to see the possibilities and create their own conclusions. Practice telling positive, concise stories that illustrate how successful changes have occurred. This approach connects you and your audience emotionally, leading to action and willingness to imagine a new future.
What Your Audience Needs to Hear
As a leader, do you know what your audience really needs to hear to be inspired? How do they respond to your appeals for change?
Inspirational leadership relies on the establishment of an emotional connection, as well as sound reasoning.
The Importance of Connection
At its core, inspirational leadership is about connection: connecting with those you lead in ways that are meaningful to them. You see, the relationships that you create determine your abilities as a motivator. For example, if you are empathic and establish trust in your relationships, you’ll develop higher-quality connections.
Generally speaking, leaders have access to others. Higher-quality connections are authentic: they require a certain amount of vulnerability and genuine respect. When there is an imbalance in access, the trust in a relationship may be weakened. Of course, too much vulnerability can be interpreted as weakness. When leaders demonstrate competency and humanity, trust and high-quality connections grow.
Inspirational leaders encourage individuals to speak truth to power. They create an environment where there is a safe space to share ideas, including disagreement and dissent. This enables greater collaboration and innovation.
The Importance of Compelling, Sound Reasoning
Any desire or willingness to change will wane unless it’s reinforced by compelling, sound reasons. When we encounter new ideas, we can easily fall into a confirmation bias: we search for reasons to preserve our existing point of view.
Appeal to your audience in story forms that communicate:
Why: why the change is needed
What: what the change is and how it will impact them
How: the change will be implemented
Why this change will work: the sound reasoning
Leaders who inspire establish an emotional connection and stimulate a desire for a different future. Without that emotional connection, nothing happens.
Inspirational leadership creates a scaffolding that enables an audience to see the world for themselves, view their relationships in a new way, and make progress in reaching their full potential.
What do you think? I’d love to hear from you. I can be reached here and on LinkedIn.
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