Empower your team! Become an inspiring leader.
Inspiring leaders unlock higher performance through empowerment, not command and control. Are you looking to empower your team, motivate them more, or coach individuals for success?
Here are some things you can do.
Vision and mission alignment
The inspirational leader feels passionate about the vision and mission of the organisation. They are also able to share that passion in a way that enables others to feel passionate too.
The nature of the vision and mission is critical for enabling others to feel as if their work has a purpose and meaning beyond the tasks they perform each day. Sometimes leaders have to help their staff connect the dots by explaining this bigger picture.
Communicating this vision and goal regularly will help reinforce the reason your organisation exists, helping employees connect to it.
Here's an exercise you can do to help your team align with your company vision. Ask everyone to reflect on the company values. Then take about an hour to discuss the reflections and connect them to your team goals. What mission does this put each team member on in relation to the bigger picture? Discuss.
Active Listening is the foundation of empowerment
The inspirational leader listens to the people in her organisation. Talking to people about your passion is not enough. You must allow the ideas and thoughts of your team. No one is ever one hundred percent supportive of a direction they had no part in formulating. People need to see their ideas incorporated—or understand why they were not.
Ensure you make space for ideation and discussions regularly - this will help everyone feel heard. Encourage everyone to contribute with their thoughts.
You can also use tools to collect ideas and feedback to aid your discussions and idea sessions.
Give praise
Finally, an inspirational leader recognises people. The inspirational leader understands that recognition - praise, rewards, a “thank you”, any way of noticing an individual’s contribution to a successful endeavour – is the key to motivating and inspiring people.
Speaking directly to a contributing employee about the value that their work provides for the organisation is a key source of inspiration for the recipient. You can make this a habit by scheduling regular one-on-ones or feedback sessions and encouraging reflection sessions after a project has been delivered.
Want to inspire more? Remind yourself, that the actions that you take every day at work are powerful beyond your wildest dreams. Make sure that your actions are inspirational and call out the best from your employees.