Motivational Leadership - How Could You?

We secretly interviewed your team about your leadership style and here are the stunning results:?

• A visionary?

• Consistently positive?

• A galvanising force?

• Deeply respectful?

• Supportive and empowering?

• Open and self-aware?

• A collaborator?

• Confident in decision-making?

Congratulations, that’s quite the inventory of attributes, a real motivational leader, we bet you’re EPIC to work with! ?

BUT, we want to know your secret, how do you manage to sustain these characteristics amidst all the everyday challenges and opportunities? How do you prioritise your behavioural approach irrespective of the environment? ?

How could we attempt to be more like you??

PURPOSE you say? Ah, you mean ensuring that we stay true to ‘why’ we are doing what we do? Not just targets and outcomes but the fundamental difference that it makes? That’s something to sense check, particularly when we keep getting consumed by targets and metrics.?

FRAMING. What’s that? How we approach challenging situations, uncertainty or setbacks? We get it! Not everything is going to go to plan of course, but what you’re saying is how we view the event and implement the solution will make a huge difference for the team. They are looking to us to see how we react and respond, which influences their mindset. Sounds good.?

BELIEF. In what? The skills, attributes, characteristics and behaviours of our team members? Remaining steadfast about our confidence in their capability and potential? Got it! It feels a bit like that concept of labelling: if we believe a team or an individual to be ineffective, underskilled, or unproductive, we subconsciously look for (and find) more examples to prove ourselves right. But, if we believe a team or an individual to be invested, considerate, and full of potential, we treat them as such and they in turn step up to the label. We will deploy this approach straight away!?

VIGILANCE. That sounds like we are under potential attack, explain! Improving our awareness of the experience of others. Metaphorically getting out of our chair and sitting in theirs to survey the scene. Got it. This feels like it goes beyond empathy and takes stock of how the team are responding to the demands on them. We imagine this then gives us the opportunity to assess where there might be skills or confidence gaps or conflicted opinions, helpful thanks.?

INTROSPECTIVE. Pet Shop Boys album! No? Taking time to consider our own thoughts, feelings, and responses. To conduct regular self-analysis to observe and optimise our approach to leading the team. And feedback too? Asking the team how we can best support them? This sounds like we are asking them to help us help them, that feels open and collaborative, we like it!?

TRUST. This one’s an easy one, everyone knows that Task #1?for any motivational leader is to establish and foster trust among their team. In ourselves you say? To trust that we have developed the experience, and done enough due diligence to feel confident in our conclusions. To make clear decisions based on all that we know now, and pour energy into the operational process that follows, remaining nimble and alert to new information or developments. Got it. That one feels mission critical for a motivational leader.?

Please thank your team for the blueprint of motivational leadership characteristics, we will endeavour to sharpen up our own attributes. And thank you for all the how-to's, we are now inspired to have a go ourselves, knowing that we’re #incoolcompany.?

Need some support with your own skills uplift? Get in touch, we’d be delighted to help!