Inspiring Others

American business people are uninspired. Are you surprised? Don't be. According to a recent Maritz
Research poll the fact is that only ten percent of the work force look forward to going to work; and most point to alack of leadership as the reason for this. "But it doesn't have to be that way. All business leaders have the power to inspire, motivate, and positively influence the people in their professional lives," according to a recent story in Business Week Online.



Inspiring others should be an aspiration of leaders. We do not live in a vacuum or lead in a vacuum, so the
way we use our influence is important. Motivation is a closely related action that is usually a result of good
leadership skills and influence. Inspiration is an interesting concept. To inspire means to stimulate someone to do something, or to provoke a particular feeling. It can also mean to cause some form of creative activity. My favorite meaning to the word inspire is to breathe in. In essence, when we inspire others we are breathing into them the influence and factors that will cause them to become a better form of who they presently are. The opposite of inspire is expire. It may be a stretch, but when we use our influence in destructive ways, even unintentionally, it may literally “kill” someone’s motivation and creativity and desire to become better. 



When working around great leaders I have found that they have a way of inspiring others through their
leadership behaviors, management tasks and compelling communication. Communications coach and author
Carmine Gallo, in his new book, Fire Them Up!, reveals basic skills common to the leaders who best know how to inspire their employees, colleagues, customers, and investors. The book is a great study of techniques needed to lead organizations and inspire teams to perform at a higher level. After studying their communication "secrets", Gallo came up with seven skills that he believes can easily be adopted to your own professional communications:

• Demonstrate enthusiasm constantly
• Articulate a compelling course of action
• Sell the benefit
• Tell more stories so people relate to the realness of it
• Invite participation
• Reinforce an optimistic outlook
• Encourage potential

Continuous learning opportunities, executive coaching and small group interactions regarding ongoing work

will promote higher achievement in the team. Creating an environment in which the team members are expressing their potential and continuously learning and improving can only affect the culture and deliverables for the better.