Inspirational leadership is about being a role model of an authentic, learning leader. It is about having a vision and values to which you are committed and which you inspire others to sign up to. It is about enabling your people to realise their potential.
Your role as a leader is to believe in your people because how you see people is how they will behave. When you do believe in their abilities, they will aim for the heights of what is possible for them, so that they fulfil their potential and maximise their performance. When people are asked about leaders that have made a difference in their lives, they almost always mention leaders who believed in them more then they did themselves.
Being inspirational means being inspired yourself. Inspiration comes from within. When you are clear about what you stand for as a leader and the difference you want to make you are naturally inspired. Couple that with creating a vision for your organisation which centres around a purpose that everyone can buy into and you have a winning formula. You need to believe in the vision you want to share with your people and be able to communicate that passion so that it becomes infectious. In this way you inspire those around you to bring their passion to work instead of leaving it at home, as often happens.
Inspiration happens through two vehicles – how you behave with your people, and how you share the bigger picture for the organisation and the part they can play in realising it.
Your behaviour – inspiring people takes energy, but you get a head start if you truly believe in what your message is. Inspirational leadership involves realising that your behaviour influences 70% of what happens in your organisation and as such, you need to always be aware of how you are behaving and the impact it is having. It takes commitment and self-management to ensure that what you do and what you say are on message and aligned. Once this happens, people trust you and believe in you and your vision and want to follow you.
Remind people of their part in realising the vision – people often need to be reminded of the golden thread that links what they do day to day back to the vision. No matter what their role is, they are a significant member of the team – and this is something that needs to be communicated often. As an inspirational leader, your job is to join the dots up in order for your people to see how they can make their contribution to bringing that vision to reality..
Taking on board people’s views and ideas – as you develop your vision. This shows that you as a leader are willing to listen and trust the opinions of your people. This is, after all, a ‘shared’ vision and illustrates that everyone’s views matter. People will be inspired by the fact that their ideas have been heard and have influenced the organisation’s vision. They will be doubly committed to it and intrinsically motivated to get to the finishing line.
One of the foundations of developing inspirational leadership is to know who you are and what you stand for as a leader. This helps to build your confidence as a leader through increasing your self-belief. The other foundation of inspirational leadership is to be a visionary leader who through listening to others ensures that the vision is relevant and inspiring to them all. Inspirational leadership coaching with me enables you to do all of the above.
We also look at how important it is to provide clarity about what you stand for as a leader and to ensure your people have a clear sense of the direction in which you are all heading. This leads you to being able to inspire your people to bring all of their passion and commitment to the shared journey that will realise your vision and ensure the future of your organisation.
