Perspective matters and leaders must maintain the proper perspective. Experience can help a leader know that what their team is attempting is possible even if no one else thinks so. The leader must see past the current circumstances so that they can push the team through both good times and bad. Someone has to act like they
When I am building a team, I must have enough self-confidence to ask someone to commit to something big. If I approach someone with an apologetic attitude, I am communicating that I am not sure that my endeavor is worth our conversation. While this demeanor may seem polite, it is absolutely ineffective in inspiration. I have to
I always find it interesting to see how different teammates respond to challenges. I have found that many of the naysayers in the initial discussions are not saying no because they don’t agree with the direction. They cast doubt because they secretly doubt themselves and their ability to step up to the challenge. Usually what ends up
Regret is also a habit of the nostalgic. Remembering watershed moments is important but allowing ourselves to become overly affectionate about the “good ole days” can cause us to miss the good of today or the potential of the future. It can also set us up for regret when things do not turn out like they used
Our experience as a leader can be respected but the trick to inspiration is not to come up with every idea. Telling isn’t very inspiring. Instead, a nuanced guiding of people toward their own ideas and cheering them on until they feel trusted is what separates the dictator from the inspirational leader. Constant correction and direction can
Our appetites for entertaining information are so easily fed by social media and other convenient phone applications that anything that requires effort without entertainment can just seem unreasonable and even evil. The truth is that work is not always as pleasant as our internet profile. That is why we are compensated for it. Even people that enjoy
Every team goes through cycles of planning, implementation, evaluation, recovery, and then more of the same. When life begins to become predictable, it becomes safe. When safety is optimized, comfort begins to become a priority. It’s the leader’s job to inspire the team to move past familiar cycles so that its purpose doesn’t lapse into the preservation
I have found that the energy at the start of something is important. Good starts are important because falling behind can be so discouraging. It’s not that catching up is impossible but that it takes so much extra effort, intention, and discipline to stay motivated through the uphill battle that follows the slow start.
Teams that have valuable members should make sure they do everything they can to retain them. People leave teams for any number of reasons but smart teams never give great teammates a reason to leave the team by under-compensating them or limiting their ability to gain a promotion. It’s not about walking on eggshells. It’s about never
Hope can be found in a leader’s expectation. It’s the leader’s job to cast a vision that inspires hope of a better future, past the present pain. We hope when we expect things to improve. Leaders must monitor the team’s ability to see the possiblity of a better tomorrow. They must be able to keep that vision