What is inspiration?
Inspiration is an inert burst of creativity in a literary, musical, or other artistic endeavors. The idea has origins in both Hellenism and Hebraism. The Greeks believed that inspiration or “enthusiasm” came from the muses and the god’s Apollo and Dionysus.
But in the current world, inspiration is hard to come from inside. I am not a pessimist but a realist. Employees do not need scolding, or even a push these days. They need inspiration.
Leadership isn’t just about showing the people you lead what they need to do. To become an influential leader, you need to know your juniors on a deeper level. If you know where they are coming from, you are most prone to give them the support they need, and you’ll quickly understand how to drive them.
Here’s how you can get to know and encourage the people that you lead:
- Employees should not be silent: Set up weekly one-on-one meetings with your juniors. In these meetings, you can assist these people in talking about their problems or the things that block them from realizing their full potential. I suggest that you keep a record of your discussions as you can use this as a model later on.
- Scrutiny: If your juniors are not giving you a clear picture of their obstacles, use probing questions to get to know what they are going through. Make sure that your questions are brief, easy to understand, and right to the point. Listen actively and give them your complete attention. These people are most likely to open up to you if they see that you are genuinely interested to hear them out.
- Walk the talk: As for encouraging your juniors, it would help if you follow what you preach. These people are most likely to track everything you say if you lead by example. For example, if you are urging these people to arrive at work on time, make sure that you are prompt; otherwise, you will not become reliable to the eyes of the people that you lead.
