Inspiration, says Bertrand Piccard, a Swiss psychiatrist, adventurer and “inspioneer” (BertrandPiccard.com), is revealing what someone really wants to do, but doesn’t dare do.
In a work world where 64 percent of CEOs don’t recognize what truly motivates people (see accompanying chart), leaders need to focus internally more than externally. “When you complain about unmotivated employees, you’re making a statement about yourself,” says Dan Rockwell, who blogs at leadershipfreak.wordpress.com. Rockwell offers these insights for inspiring your team:
1. Seek to inspire — not motivate: Baggage hangs from the term motivate – reward and punishment (carrots and sticks), for example. Motivation is something you do to others. Inspiration rises from within. This is more than semantics. You can’t motivate someone for very long. Inspiration fuels itself.
2. They: Focus on others, not yourself. “Reveal what theywould really like to do…” Like and accept the people on your team for who they are. Acceptance comes before inspiration. Become “one of” not “one above.” Uncover inspiration in frustration. How might frustrations reveal what they would really like to do?
3. Run to the edge: Average never inspires. How are you pursuing your own dreams? (This is not about being rich, admired or powerful.) What are you doing that ignites someone else’s imagination? Give yourself to something bigger than yourself.
