Leaders – influential inspirers or growth blockers?

There’s no doubt that anyone in a leadership position has strong influence.

I’d even go as far as to say that everything leaders do is amplified by at least 10. That’s a fantastic level of power. But many don’t realise just how strong theirs is.

I’ve seen teams exhilarated or demoralised according to the boss’ mood. When positive, leaders inspire everyone, releasing precious motivation like a shaken bottle of fizz. When negative, it can be well and truly flattened.

For example, I know two enthusiastic, passionate co-founders, who love their business, team and quality customer service. It’s infectious and a pleasure to be around them. No wonder performance and profit is 4 times higher for them than their industry average.

And then there’s the business with everything in place to succeed, including a beautiful set of values – none of which are applied by many of the leaders and managers. No coincidence, then, that teamwork is poor and people don’t stay long.

Leaders literally set the scene for their organisations. So when I’m asked the secret of being inspirational, my answer is always: You!

It’s starts by setting the best example yourself. It’s quite simple: just by “being” the values you stand by you will naturally inspire others. And the good news is, you can do more, because, with the will and motivation to adapt, you can develop your inspirational leadership abilities a lot further.

Here is what I recommend to get started:

Decide what it is you really want.

What’s your vision for the inspirational culture you want for your business?

What will it look and feel like to be a customer, work in your teams, or supply to your business?

What will be your best role in this culture? It may sound obvious but being in the right job makes everyone happier.

Leaders are no exception. And founders in particular can end up being frustrated in their own businesses, because they’ve found themselves in roles they never set out to be in, and that don’t much like.

That makes being inspirational a lot harder, and demotivating if left unchecked. If resolved, it can be transformational.

Get some feedback.

Ask your people for their feedback on you and the business.

What works well?

What could be improved?

What ideas can they share?

Make a plan - and do it.

Just putting your thoughts and aims in writing will help achieve your culture vision.

What do you need to do?

Are you prepared to actually do it?

What help will you need?

Who should be involved?

How will you measure success?

That’s my take. I’d love to know what more you do.

Since 2006, we’ve helped ambitious founders and leaders to build values-based culture that people love working in – with no compromise to growth and profit. Check out our Growth Framework to see how.