“Good leaders make people feel that they’re at the very heart of things, not at the periphery. Everyone feels that he or she makes a difference to the success of the organization. When that happens people feel centered and that gives their work meaning.” –Warren G. Bennis
As a leader, your ability to inspire the people you lead is a function of your willingness to allow them to shine.
Inspiration is never a matter of proving yourself or your own point of view, or suppressing the opinions of others. Inspiration isn’t about impressing people with your own intelligence or ability.
In order to inspire the people you lead, you need to recognize their unique gifts and abilities, and reward them for expressing their own creativity and dedication. Inspiring people means letting them be great, and letting them know… thatyou know they are great.
Here are 5 ways you can start inspiring the people you lead…
1. Begin a practice of taking individual people aside from time to time ask for their insight or opinion about something important. Let them think about the challenges and problems that you think about, and allow yourself to be impressed by the solutions or insights they contribute.
2. Make a point of acknowledging people for the work they do, but especially for the work they don’t think you know they do!
3. Start interacting personally with people at every level of your organization. You may not realize it, but your people want to be with you and get to know you, and they want you to know who they are. Interacting with people at every level of your organization’s hierarchy helps dissolve any resentment between the ranks and create a culture where everyone feels like they matter.
4. Let other people be right from time to time! Since you’re the boss, you get to be right even when you’re not. Give people the experience of being heard and making a significant contribution by giving them the benefit of the doubt once in a while, even when you disagree with them. Yielding to other people’s opinions, when appropriate, helps foster respect and mutual admiration.
5. Give other people opportunities to lead. Let people express and develop their own leadership by catering to their strengths. If a particular project is well-suited to someone’s unique gifts and abilities, let them provide leadership by contributing their expertise.
Being able to inspire the people you lead is critically important to creating a vibrant and productive company culture. It’s not just about making people feel good. It’s about what people are capable of producing when they believe in themselves, and when they find meaning and purpose in their work.
As a leader, your ability to inspire the people you lead is a function of your willingness to allow them to shine.
Inspiration is never a matter of proving yourself or your own point of view, or suppressing the opinions of others. Inspiration isn’t about impressing people with your own intelligence or ability.
In order to inspire the people you lead, you need to recognize their unique gifts and abilities, and reward them for expressing their own creativity and dedication. Inspiring people means letting them be great, and letting them know… thatyou know they are great.
Here are 5 ways you can start inspiring the people you lead…
1. Begin a practice of taking individual people aside from time to time ask for their insight or opinion about something important. Let them think about the challenges and problems that you think about, and allow yourself to be impressed by the solutions or insights they contribute.
2. Make a point of acknowledging people for the work they do, but especially for the work they don’t think you know they do!
3. Start interacting personally with people at every level of your organization. You may not realize it, but your people want to be with you and get to know you, and they want you to know who they are. Interacting with people at every level of your organization’s hierarchy helps dissolve any resentment between the ranks and create a culture where everyone feels like they matter.
4. Let other people be right from time to time! Since you’re the boss, you get to be right even when you’re not. Give people the experience of being heard and making a significant contribution by giving them the benefit of the doubt once in a while, even when you disagree with them. Yielding to other people’s opinions, when appropriate, helps foster respect and mutual admiration.
5. Give other people opportunities to lead. Let people express and develop their own leadership by catering to their strengths. If a particular project is well-suited to someone’s unique gifts and abilities, let them provide leadership by contributing their expertise.
Being able to inspire the people you lead is critically important to creating a vibrant and productive company culture. It’s not just about making people feel good. It’s about what people are capable of producing when they believe in themselves, and when they find meaning and purpose in their work.
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