Building Greatness: Choose Inspiration, Not Treats.

It’s been over a year since I publicly shared my thoughts on leadership, communication and building an engaging culture in the workplace. I’ve told myself almost every day for the last four months, “Write something. Do it today. Do it noooow.” [Schwarzenegger voice] But inspiration has come at the weirdest times – in the middle of a spinning class, walking my dog, driving home from the office, at the top of a mountain; none of which, believe or not, invite an immediate halt for LinkedIn blogging. I’m a millennial, so I don’t carry a notepad or pens with me. 

So here I am today, finally – on the heels of being pretty lit up, with a little sprinkle of satire. Buckle up. 

The topic isn’t far off from what I wrote about last year - getting culture right. Today’s word vomit is all about choosing to inspire people the right way, for the right reasons, at the right time. Let’s break this down. 

Choosing to inspire. According to my idol and one true love...err, I mean, leadership expert Simon Sinek, “There are only two ways to influence human behavior: you can manipulate it or you can inspire it.” What we see in most organizations is an inclination toward the former. With some lipstick in hand, they call it “motivation.” As in, We can motivate performance / selling / closing deals / blah blah blah with a monetary reward / trip / fancy new gadgets. Long-term, this approach doesn’t work and here’s why: By incentivizing good behavior, leaders communicate that the reward for that behavior is tangible. Sit, get a treat. Roll over, get a treat. Pee all over the carpet? Bad boy! Once those tangible rewards lose their luster, the no-longer-motivated employee is out the door (or maybe they pee on the carpet…who is to say?). 

Instead, when leaders choose to inspire, the reward employees receive is an internal driving force fueled by a genuine connection between their actions and a vision of something greater than themselves.

When leaders choose to inspire, they show their people that they have chosen to look after the person to the left of them, and to the right of them, and that they themselves are showing up to achieve something greater than themselves. When leaders choose to inspire, they sacrifice first and eat last, as Simon says. Only then, do employees truly give their blood, sweat and tears for the leader’s or company’s vision to come to life. 

The right way. So how do leaders inspire, like, really truly inspire? First, they must communicate. A lot. That means sharing stories about what they believe with their people frequently and transparently. That means losing the “spin” and just being honest about what the vision looks like and how the team is going to get there together. Second, they must believe “we’re all in this together.” If a leader has one foot out the door or tries the whole motivation/manipulation thing too often, employees will check out. Be real, be vulnerable and make your employees feel safe and like they belong. 

The right reasons. Simply, know what it is you stand for and don’t waiver from it. If you’re a leader who cares only about hitting the numbers, this lesson isn’t for you. If you’re a leader who cares about always doing the right thing, you don’t need me to tell you what that is. 

The right time. When do you inspire employees? All day, err’day. Companies build and maintain trust with their employees when they are consistently and actively managing their values, beliefs and messaging. Once you start missing on clarity, transparency and discipline, you lose trust. The corporate landscape can be filled with confusing, complex and conflicting messages – from wherever you are, you can be a stronger and more inspirational leader by making sense of the madness for your employees. 

Are you inspired or motivated at your job? Or both? What are your tips for inspiring others to greatness? Share your comments with me – goodness knows, I’m better prepared for taking notes on inspiration when in front of a computer screen than when I am sweating through a spin class.