Leadership Tools For Inspiration and Motivation

By Bryant Nielson

Inspiration and motivation are musts for any leader. You can have perfect structures, awesome communication, and loads of emotional intelligence, but they aren't worth much if your group is not inspired and motivated to keep moving. What are some of the ways you can inspire and motivate?

First, you should take the time to encourage others. Don't confuse this with coaching - this is simply the act of telling people in the group that you believe in them and that their work is valuable to you and the organization. When you encourage this way, you can also cross the line into empowerment. Sometimes, you can encourage a person by telling them that you believe in their abilities to make decisions - and allow them to do it. Encouragement and empowerment go a long way to create an inspired atmosphere. Jack Welch famously said that the best way to harness people's power is to "let them loose, let them go."

With this newfound empowerment, you should try to create energy in other ways. For example, you must know what motivates people. In community organizations, it may be the motivation to create a better world, to help people. In your family, members could be motivated by personal factors or just the desire to do something, like playing soccer or taking ballet. In corporate situations, you may find that money, praise, or the promise of advancement motivates some people. When you look for motivation, think about your group and break it down from there. Remember that creating energy involves putting the spotlight on others' successes. Many times, the leader of a group is the one who receives the congratulations when things go well - if the members of your group truly contributed to the effort, you should have no problem giving them credit. The fact that your group is competent will only make your leadership look brighter. With empowerment and the spotlight comes accountability. If someone falls short of a goal, you must find out why and hold that person accountable for it. It's a way of teaching that the authority of empowerment comes with serious responsibility. We'll talk about coaching in an upcoming Foundations of Leadership article.

Show your investment and commitment to the group. It may be easy to empower, but what do you do when a person seems to reach their zenith with nowhere else to go? It may be time to send them for education or conferences. Think about the possibility of rotating people in the group through other areas of responsibility. You, as the leader, must prove that you are committed to success and that you are willing to invest in group members to keep them. This is probably easier in corporate situations, where there may be a budget for education or rotation. What about a community organization? Think about the ways you can show investment in the group where cost may be a factor. Perhaps cross-training group members in other functions could be a way to show that you value their contributions and that you're willing to do what it takes to keep them around. When you go home, take the time and money for soccer teams or dance lessons - as long as the accountability is there, you can prove that you want to see advancement.

The spirit of inspiration and motivation continues by driving for results. One of the best ways to do this is to set realistic but challenging goals - you're already aware of the group's abilities and motivations, so why not give them something to reach for? And show urgency in your drive for results - goals should always have a challenging timeline attached to them. Of course, any forward movement will almost always run across challenges and obstacles. You have to show that the momentum must continue in spite of the obstacles and challenges. You can either move the obstacles out of the way or challenge the group to come up with creative ways to go around the obstacle. Either way, you're inspiring the group to keep moving and keep thinking. Are goals and timelines applicable outside of corporate settings? In most cases they are. Think about your community and family involvement and what kind of goals you can set in order to keep people motivated.

When you inspire and motivate a group, you'll be surprised at the energy and loyalty you'll create.

Copyright 2007-2008 Bryant Nielson. All Rights Reserved.

Bryant Nielson - National Corporate Sales Trainer - assists executives, business owners, and top performing sales executives in taking the leap from the ordinary to extraordinary. Bryant is a trainer, business & leadership coach, and strategic planner for many sales organizations. Bryant's 27 year business career has been based on his results-oriented style of empowering.

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