Leaders - influential inspirers or blockers of growth?

There’s no doubt that anyone in a leadership position has strong influence.

I’d even go as far as to say that everything leaders do is amplified by at least 10. That’s a fantastic level of power. But many don’t realise just how strong theirs is.

I’ve seen teams exhilarated or demoralised according to the boss’ mood. When positive, leaders inspire everyone, releasing precious motivation like a shaken bottle of fizz. When negative, it can be well and truly flattened.

For example, I know two enthusiastic, passionate co-founders, who love their business, team and quality customer service. It’s infectious and a pleasure to be around them. No wonder performance and profit is 4 times higher for them than their industry average.

And then there’s the business with everything in place to succeed, including a beautiful set of values – none of which are applied by many of the leaders and managers. No coincidence, then, that teamwork is poor and new people don’t stay long.

Leaders literally set the scene for their organisations. So when I’m asked the secret of being inspirational, my answer is always: You.

Simply by setting the best example, you will be inspiring. And you can do more, because the good news is that this can be developed, linked closely with your personal traits, style, motivation and will to change.

Here is what I recommend to get started:

Decide what it is you really want.

• What’s your vision for the inspirational culture you want for your business?

• What will it look and feel like to be a customer, work in your teams, or supply to your business?

• What will be your best role in this culture? It may sound obvious but being in the right job makes people happier and that makes it easier to inspire others. Leaders are no exception to this; founders in particular can end up being frustrated in their own businesses because they’ve moved into roles they don’t much like. That can be demotivating if left unchecked; if resolved, it can be transformational.

Get some feedback.

• Ask your people for their feedback on you and the business.

• What works well?

• What could be improved?

• What ideas can they share?

Make a plan and do it.

• Just writing it down will help achieve your culture vision.

• What do you need to do?

• Are you prepared to actually do it?

• What help will you need?

• Who should be involved?

• How will you measure success?

That’s my take. I’d love to know what more you do.

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