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Leadership Question #3: How Can You Keep Inspiration Alive?

Continuing in my series of “20 Leadership Questions,” we come to the third question that Michael Smith asked when he interviewed me. This is one that every leader inevitably faces as his organizations grows.

Businessman Watering Grass in the Desert - Photo courtesy of ©iStockphoto.com/skodonnell, Image #7597823

Michael asked,

As an organization gets larger there can be a tendency for the ‘institution’ to dampen the ‘inspiration.’ How do you keep this from happening?”

We’ve all experienced it: the large bureaucracy where where the employees seem to be just punching the clock.

Last week, I had to get my drivers license renewed. This meant a trip to the Department of Safety’s Driver Service Center. While the process was quicker and more efficient than I expected, the people working the counter seemed lifeless. No smiles. No warmth. Just marking time. It was a little depressing.

However, this happens in the private sector as well. In fact, it happens any time people get disconnected from the their purpose.

Here are four ways you can keep inspiration alive in your organization:

  1. Connect people to the larger story. People want to know that their organization matters. They want to know it is making a difference in the world. For this to happen, you must connect them to the larger story. Why was your organization founded? Why does it exist? What would happen if it disappeared? What is really at stake?
  2. Remind people why they matter. It’s one thing to understand that the organization matters. It’s another thing to understand that they matter—and they do. But they must be reminded. They must be affirmed. They must understand how their actions contribute to the overall mission. While this might be clear to you, it is probably not that clear to them. This is why you must help them “connect the dots.”
  3. Resist creating new policies. I have seen this over and over again in organizations. Someone makes a mistake. Rather than dealing with the problem—which is likely an exception or an anomaly—the leaders create a new policy. Over time, these policies slow an organization down, like the ropes that rendered Gulliver immovable. The better tactic is to deal with problems and people head-on and only institute a policy if the behavior happens repeatedly or spreads beyond the original situation.
  4. Set the pace for what you expect in others. This is ultimately your most important leadership tool. You cannot create an inspiring organization without being an inspiring person. If you want people to be positive and upbeat, you must be positive and upbeat. If you want people to be flexible and embrace change, then you must be flexible and embrace change. Like it or not, your people will mimic your priorities, values, and behavior. To quote Ghandi, “Be the change you want to see in the world.”

While there may be a tendency for your organization to become more bureaucratic as it grows, this is not inevitable. However, it does take a leader who is determined to inspire himself and then inspire others.

Question: What do you do to actively inspire those who follow you?
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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Posted on May 24, 2010

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  • http://intensedebate.com/people/patriciazell patriciazell

    I would suggest that a leader should consider everyone his/her equals as human beings. While there has to be a ranking order to insure success for any organization, underneath all those "trappings," we are the same. Having leaders that are arrogant or dictatorial will snuff out inspiration quickly. To be able to provide leadership and to stay humble at the same time marks a great leader.

    • http://intensedebate.com/people/michaelhyatt Michael Hyatt

      I agree. For me, this flows from my fundamental belief that all people are made in the image of God and, therefore, deserve our respect.

  • http://twitter.com/lvgaldieri @lvgaldieri

    All four suggestions are good ones, but don't expect them to add up to "inspiration"– unless of course you reduce "inspiration" to a piece of fluffy management speak. I am not so sure people come to work looking for inspiration; and I am not so sure we should ask them to be inspired. Being competent, creative, diligent, conscientious, hardworking — those are things we can realistically ask of people, without abusing language. And in my view, avoiding management speak is ultimately about respecting people and treating them as intelligent, autonomous human beings whose lives are not the property of their employers.

    • http://intensedebate.com/people/michaelhyatt Michael Hyatt

      I agree: I don’t think people necessarily come to work looking for inspiration. But I also don’t think they come looking for a bureaucratic experience either. If expectations are low, we can let that work in our favor and try to wow them with a different experience—one they might not expect or get any where else.

      And you are right: it all begins with respect.

    • http://intensedebate.com/people/Geoffreywebb Geoff Webb

      I agree that people don't necessarily come to work looking for inspiration. However, if they happen to find inspiration in their work, I think they'll be more likely to stay.

      I disagree with the idea of divorcing inspiration from being creative, conscientious or hardworking. One definitely affects the others. I think a leader's job is to both guide and inspire.

  • Jeff Goins

    I like the “be the change” concept. I try to do that by working hard to stay motivated and on task, while being as flexibleand innovative as I expect my team to be. It seems that you cannot lead people where you are not willing or able to go yourself.

  • http://www.mycents.com.au Mathew Green

    Brilliant post Michael, I’m really enjoying your posts, they are inspirational and practical.I especially liked the section about connecting people to the bigger vision and reminding people why they are important.
    I think that the greatest ideas and concepts are in the
    minds of people. I think that it is a real challange for business
    owners to great a workplace where innovation and motivation thrive.

    Thanks again for this great post, I look forward to hearing more of your posts.

    Mat
    mycents.com.au

  • http://www.danieldecker.net Daniel Decker

    Just forwarded this along to several leaders I know. Love it. Thank you.

  • http://www.therextras.com BarbaraBoucher PTPhD

    I agree with Mat that these posts give practical information. I don't self-identify as a leader, but I am trying to absorb what I can for the future. Most of my career has been in the employ of a government program, and your contrast with the employees of the licensing bureau was exactly correct. As I read through the 4 suggestions I thought back to my last most unhappy employment – indeed the opposite of each of the suggestions was practiced. I am now forewarned that this can happen in a private sector business also.

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/success2you John Richardson

    One thing that has been really fun and inspiring to do is have employees take a strengths test. When you get the results back, it's fun to have a meeting and share the list with others. This test and others like it allow us to see a glimpse of what makes other people tick.
    I ran into a new test last week called the fascination test, put together by Sally Hogshead. In this test you find out what your top fascination trigger is out of seven choices. The test only takes ten minutes, but it provides hours of conversation. My top trigger is "prestige," which means I'm goal oriented, focused on rewards while still being self-motivated, and respected among peers. My latest post has all the info.http://bit.ly/bhhTQL
    It would be really interesting to see how fascinating your readers are…

  • http://www.validleadership.com James Castellano

    We set expectations and discuss them regularly. We send out reports of where we stand on key performance indicators, which correlate to our expectations. And more importantly we value the input of those who are assigned to complete the tasks. When our people our heard and their ideas are valued, they develop their own inspiration.

  • http://twitter.com/kevinbrinkley @kevinbrinkley

    You hit this right in the sweet spot Michael. Our company has been in business 10 years and I have noticed trends that need this type of attention. Thanks for the tips.

  • Ken Brayton

    Didn't appreciate the side-swipe at government employees. I really hate that stereotyping. I can walk into many fast food stores, "mini-markets", and other private establishments in my town and get the same dead, expressionless, faked "inspired" service. I also recently had to visit my local Department of Motor Vehicles and was served by very engaged, pleasant, smiling human beings. I also work for local government in the Health Services field. We go to great lengths to encourage our staff to be engaged in their work, provide opportunities to improve competence, recognize contributions, and build pride in their work. Most of our staff are exceptional people that I'm sincerely glad to know. Of course, some are not, but it has nothing to do with the fact that they work for government. It has to do with their own personal character and attitude.

    • http://intensedebate.com/people/michaelhyatt Michael Hyatt

      As I noted, Ken, this happens in the private sector as well. I wasn’t reporting on all government offices; I was reporting on my personal experience with one. It just happened to be the most recent.

      I personally believe this has more to do with leadership than anything. That was the point I was trying to make. Bureaucracy can happen any where: government, the private sector, and non-profits.

      • Ken Brayton

        Michael, I do agree with you on the importance of leadership contributing to the succes of the workplace. I appreciated lvgaldieri comments. Respect goes a long way.

        For another time, where do you see the responsibility of the individual to the organization fitting in to the success of that organization? Any tips on how to be an inspirational employee?

  • Ken Brayton

    Perhaps in future articles you could expand on your point of resisting policies. I'd like to know more about what you mean. My work in the health field requires us to conform to government regulations (HIPAA for example) that have strict guidelines on what people can and can't do. Are there different types of policies that you are thinking about? Are there other tools or practices that can assure compliance with these regulations besides policies? Would be interested in your thoughts.

    • http://intensedebate.com/people/michaelhyatt Michael Hyatt

      I am not opposed to all policies. I certainly understand the need for compliance, particularly as it relates to the government. I am really thinking about optional, self-imposed policies that sometimes proliferate in organizations where the leaders lack the courage to deal with individual problems and, instead, issue a new policy. Thanks.

  • http://intensedebate.com/profiles/masoncondrad Mason Stanley

    Push forward through the struggles with selflessness. It is possible, when you feel the most overwhelmed, others feel that way also. The natural reaction is to let off the throtal and focus on the weariness. However, when there is something greater at stake the leader must be first to push forward through unpleasentries and difficulties. Not with a "look at what I'm sacrificing" attitude but rather with a "for the cause" determination.

  • http://www.michaelleestallard.com Michael Lee Stallard

    Mike,

    Many thanks for raising this issue. Research shows that inspiration is in short supply today. This provides tremendous competitive edge for the leaders who do inspire the people they lead. A couple data points are telling. The Conference Board just published a research report in January that said employee engagement in America is at the lowest point since the organization began surveying more that 20 years ago and that the downward trend began long before the great recession. Another organization, the Corporate Executive Board, released research in 2000 that concluded 75 percent of employees were not engaged and giving their best efforts, and of the 25 percent who were engaged, 60 percent were not aligned with their organization's goals. The bottom line was that 90 percent of American's are either not engaged or aligned at work.

    Research my consulting firm conducted showed that inspiration and employee engagement were grounded in both rational and emotional connections that people experience at work (I was glad to see you use the word "connect" in your first recommendation). Other research by the Corporate Executive Board has shown that emotional factors (e.g. the way people feel about the meaning of their work, whether they are respected and recognized at work and feel a sense of belonging, etc.) are four times as important as rational factors (such as compensation) when it comes to the amount of discretionary effort people put in their work.

    I wrote a book entitled "Fired Up or Burned Out" (Thomas Nelson) about how to inspire employees by creating a "Connection Culture." If it's ok with you, why don't we make the digital version of the book available to your blog readers. Here's the link to the download:http://www.michaelleestallard.com/wp-content/uplo…

    For those who don't have time to read the book, a quick introduction to Connection Cultures can be found in the free manifesto I wrote that Changethis published at this link:http://changethis.com/manifesto/show/44.06.Connec…

    I have taught these principles at GE, Google, Johnson & Johnson and many other organizations. Next month the Rev. Jason Pankau and I will be teaching the leaders of NASA's Johnson Space Center how to inspire by increasing connections with employees.

    I'll be speaking about Connection Cultures to leaders at the NASA Johnson Space Center next month.

    • http://www.michaelleestallard.com Michael Lee Stallard

      Just noticed a typo, the Corporate Executive Board's research that I typed was released in 2000 should have been 2009.

    • http://intensedebate.com/people/michaelhyatt Michael Hyatt

      Fantastic info. I think making the book available is great. Get it!

    • Ken Brayton

      Thank you for making the book available!

      • http://www.michaelleestallard.com Michael Lee Stallard

        Ken,

        Your welcome. Let us know what you think, ok? We’re working on a follow up book now and the feedback would be helpful.

        Mike

  • http://tyroneandstephanie.com tyronebcookin

    Hello Michael,
    #3 is especially interesting to me…I have found many Christian, Mission, and Humanitarian organizations that suffer from this. One in particular that I worked for (in a volunteer missionary setting) over 7 years. It/They created a lot more meetings, frustrations, and wasted time that kept accumulating.

    More policies means more meetings, more meetings mean less productivity…and in most cases the policies had a cumulative effect on the amount of time wasted to get 'permission' to proceed past policies that weren't understood by people who came in 'after the fact'…and yes, most of these new policies were extreme case examples of 'one-time' problems or people trying to find loop-holes. (because they really weren't team players or 'synergizing' as they should have been.)

    I wish I could post your article and point out number 3 to a few key people I worked with in these areas…but alas, they probably would take offense and tell me to take the 2×4 out of my own eye. sigh.

  • http://www.mackrillmedia.com Jud Mackrill

    Great post. Every organization should be at its core, people based – with those people understanding their purpose, value, and overall critical importance to the end goal.

  • http://intensedebate.com/profiles/marshalljonesjr Marshall Jones Jr.

    Reward trying. Usually, we just reward people when they do something inspiring, but inspiring is risky. Often it doesn't work out. But as leaders, we still have to see past the actual outcome and reward people for taking that risk.

    And if we're not really doing that, then we're not really valuing inspiration.

    -Marshall Jones Jr.

    • http://intensedebate.com/people/michaelhyatt Michael Hyatt

      I agree. This is one of the things we could still work on in our company.

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/BLichtenwalner BLichtenwalner

    Great points as always.

    Regarding Number 1: Connect people to the larger story, this reminded me of Jim Collins' comments on the Chick-Fil-A Leadercast. Based on his extensive research of successful companies and comparisons to those that failed, he reflected that every great company can answer this question: "Why would it matter if we disappear?" As he put it, you must have a reason for existing, beyond just making money.

    Regarding Number 2: Remind people why they matter, I find one of the best times to do this is when they are struggling with a particular task or project. Reminding team members of how far they have helped the organization come already, particularly when faced with a great challenge, can help keep us all focused on what we can achieve together, rather than focusing on a barrier in front of us.

    Thanks again for sharing Michael.

    • http://intensedebate.com/people/michaelhyatt Michael Hyatt

      I think your second point—and the timing—is spot-on. People need to be reminded about what they do well before they take on a new challenge. Confidence is a key component in tackling new projects.

      Thanks.

  • Pingback: Are You an Inspiring Leader? — Success Begins Today

  • http://intensedebate.com/profiles/kaikunane ThatGuyKC

    Glad to hear you survived renewing your driver's license with your soul intact.

    Thank you for calling out organizations for being trigger happy in creating new policies. Can't tell you how many times I've seen potential progress crippled by over application of policies.

    Also, I appreciated your challenge to lead by example. It's ironic how we'll complain about our environment without taking the necessary steps to change ourselves and create a positive impact.

  • Juan

    Hi Mike,
    I am avid reader and follower of Jack Welch (GE's ex-ceo) and Art Williams (AL Williams founder), both realized early on that their main job was to develop leaders by creating the right environment, they also realized that they were not able to motivate anybody, for example if my family do not motivate me to get better, to make more money, to be more successfull in life then noblody else would.

    They rather focused on developing those with the desire to, the want to, actually Welch practiced the 70-20-10 rule:

    20% – Those are the self motivated, the doers, the people that would bring 80% of the whole results of the company. He advised to get out of their way, only make sure you reward them greatly.
    70% – That was his main challenge to manage those to become 20%'rs or may fall into the 10%'rs category.
    10% – They have to let go and had to be quickly before they spent 30years of their life in the company.

    We have the national debate of teachers that most of them want to be rewarded by seniority, however in reality everbody (including teachers and goverment employees) need to be rewarded by results or performance.

  • Scott Kimbro

    Terry Barber in The Inspiration Factor, claims there are actually 7 Principles that create a culture of inspiration.  Sounds like a great compliment to what you are blogging about.

  • http://www.dialect.com/blog Andy Kanefield

    Michael,

    I’ve worked with many CEOs and I have say that your posts always make me feel like I could work in your company. I think you’re dead on with respect to what inspires people.

    Andy

  • Pingback: In Case You Missed It – May 29 | Technically Speaking

  • http://sevensentences.com Geoff Talbot

    Wow… Just looking through these old post as I am researching  what is inspiration?.

    I think we need to understand that although people connect with the source of their inspiration in different ways… certain “atmospheres” are necessary for inspiration and creativity.

    For me these are freedom, safety, confidence and excitement. If the environment isn’t a “safe to fail” then the majority of people will feel free and open enough to be inspired.

    The best films are normally made in environments where a strong vision is cast and freedom is released for everyone involved to add to the “inspiration.”

    Inspiration is vital for life and “buy in” in any organization or on any project. Unleashing an employee’s creativity genuinely makes them feel good about their work.

    Thanks
    Geoff Talbot

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