Team Building and Effective Communication
Unconventional Training
When I facilitate leadership training seminars we frequently talk about inspirational
leadership. This is a kind of leadership that goes beyond the standard approach
of directing and managing people and processes to inspiring people from within. If
you’ve ever been around an inspirational leader you know how thought-
I meet very few people who think they are poor leaders but only a select few truly move their employees to grow and succeed. A very limited amount of leaders take classes on how to inspire employees so they go out into the workplace and do the best they can with what they learned in the classroom, at previous jobs or, more commonly, in their family. They lead by reacting to whatever comes their way.
There are untold thousands of well-
Here are ten important qualities of an inspirational leader.
- Invites all employees to create a joint vision for the organization.
2. Includes as many people as possible in developing a plan for the organization’s development.
3. Encourages employee growth and provides ongoing educational opportunities.
4. Builds cohesive, inclusive and collaborative teams.
5. Is not driven by a desire for power, control or because of an unhealthy ego.
6. Listens actively to employees and is open to new ideas, change and uncertainty.
7. Doesn’t micromanage or check up on people, encourages autonomous work.
8. Sets a positive example, is kind and offers additional advice only when asked.
9. Creates a workplace that feels positive, energetic and welcoming to everyone.
10. The employees are actually motivated and inspired to excel as well as happy.
Think about yourself and how many of these ideas you practice regularly. An inspirational leader will apply all ten of these approaches the majority of the time. If you’re not there yet, don’t worry, the key is to identify the areas you might strenthen a bit. For example: If you tend to micromanage people try letting them work on their own a little more each day. The idea is to do small things that eventually lead to big results.
Inspirational leaders enjoy improved morale, higher productivity, more innovation, increased collaboration, less absenteeism and lower turnover because their employees feel great working for them. There’s no mystery to inspiring people, you just have to get out of their way and encourage them to excel. Practice the ideas we’ve talked about and you’ll begin to notice the benefits of being an inspirational leader. You, your staff and everyone you work with will enjoy the new you as well.
Team Building, Effective Communication, Leadership and Diversity Articles
Why continue doing the same old things when some basic shifts will get you much better results? I enjoy writing professional development articles that help people live happier lives at work.
Copyright © 2011 The Relationship Guy, LLC
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