“Inspired” Leadership
by Cindy Stradling CSP, CPC

 “Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be.” 

By Ralph Waldo Emerson

Definition from Dictionary.com

in·spired [in-spahyuh rd] Show IPA, adjective

1. aroused, animated, or imbued with the spirit to do something, by or as if by supernatural or divine influence: an inspired poet.
2. resulting from such inspiration: an inspired poem; an inspired plan.
3. inhaled: inspired air.

Can you think of someone who has inspired you? Was it a teacher, parent, friend or leader in your organization or community?  What were the qualities that this person demonstrated that connected you to them?  Do you exhibit these qualities yourself?

 When I deliver my sales or presentation skills programs, participants often tell me I am inspiring. I simply tell them I love what I do and love watching others grow and that inspires me.  They in turn they get inspired as well.  I think this is a critical component when inspiring others to action.  When you are engaged in activities you love to do, you generate a more positive energy and people can connect to that.  I think much like laughter is contagious so is inspiration.  If you are a leader you want people to be inspired by your vision and connect to make the vision a reality.

 At times when things don’t go as planned, others watch to see how you handle these challenges.  You can inspire others by the integrity, attitude and actions you take in difficult times.  It is easy to be inspiring and passionate when things are going well, it is when things derail is when leaders need to “walk the inspired talk” or “practice what you preach.”  Inspired leadership means being willing to express your passion and excitement.  We are naturally curious and when you share openly personal triumphs and challenges it engages people.  Be curious about employee’s passions and what inspires them as well.  Be open to provide them guidance. It is impossible to inspire others if you are not inspired yourself. It goes without saying inspired leadership requires consistent, positive attitudes and actions.  When failures or setbacks occur, be prepared to review with an open mind and no judgement.  People need to feel safe to step up and take responsibility for their actions and outcomes, and inspired leaders create a space where employees can grow.

 Here are five tips on how to inspire others:

1. Be Compassionate – put others success ahead of your own. People feel inspired when they know you are pulling for them!
2. Be the Change – others are truly inspired when they see a leader being vulnerable and asking for support. This will endear employees to a leader versus someone who sends the message that they have no weaknesses
3. See the potential and believe in others: I love this quote by Mark Twain it pretty much sums it up perfectly “Keep away from those who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you believe that you too can become great.”
4. Accept others without wanting to fix them – this simply doesn’t work and it won’t inspire anyone.  As a coach I have experienced many clients who want to “fix” one of their employees. It isn’t until they are able to accept the employee the way they are and the way they are not, that they can begin to inspire change and address their areas for growth.
5. Just Be Great – a few years ago I create a very short exercise where I had participants create Just Be Great cards for themselves.  They were to create an acronym that was personal to them using the letters GREAT. It was a huge hit.

The GREAT acronym I created for myself was:

G – gracious and grateful
R – respectful of others
E – engaged and empathic
A – acknowledge others freely
T – tenacious

When I am being all these things I know I am being great for others. 

Take a minute now and create your own acronym for the word GREAT and the next time you have a challenging situation, use it and say to yourself “Just Be Great!”

Can Mental Practice Enhance Your Leadership Effectiveness? 

By Cindy Stradling CSP, CPC

In the world of sports it is common to hear that a professional actually does mental practice in addition to actual practice to enhance their performance.  I was curious what some of the experts say about imagining yourself performing tasks like giving presentations or training, delivering a difficult message, conducting an interview or being interviewed or going on a sales call.  I know when I deliver both my sales and presentation skills programs I always recommend that people mentally rehearse their presentations.

According to Dr. Scott Williams, Department of Management, Raj Soin College of Business ,Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio leaders can most definitely improve their leadership effectiveness and master their managerial behaviours.

Research has shown that when someone does both mental and actual practice they achieve better results than by just actual practice alone.  This is not just in the world of sports.  I know personally I have used visualization for many years prior to any program or what I thought might be a difficult situation.  Often people who worry a lot about negative things happening to them don’t realize that they are actually contributing to the likelihood that what they don’t want to happen, will in fact happen.  That is what they mentally rehearsed. 

So how can you use this to enhance your leadership effectiveness?

By mentally rehearsing you experience more confidence as you will be more prepared.  We have all heard the saying “practice makes perfect,” actually that is not 100% true because if you are practicing incorrectly you will not achieve mastery in whatever you are trying to improve on .  With mental practice you are practicing perfectly and it can really increase your confidence even though it is imagined.  The assumption here is that you would already have a certain level of experience or skills for whatever it is you are working to improve upon. Mental practice is effective as a supplemental way to develop your skills and does not replace normal avenues for learning new skills.

Mental practice can also help reduce stress.  By taking the time to mentally rehearse you are giving yourself an edge that can support you to be at your very best.  Think about the areas where you can start to use this in your everyday activities:

• When giving difficult feedback
• When you have to give a very important presentation
• When you are working in areas that you are a little less confident
• Day to day visualize yourself handling everything that comes your way with ease and confidence
• To improve your ability to listen and communicate

The techniques we have been taught to mentally practice for sports can also be applied in business and all areas of your life.

What area are you going to mentally practice to enhance your leadership skills?

A few Tips to effectively create mental practice:

• Find a place where you will be uninterrupted
• Close your eyes, take a couple deep breaths, relax and mentally go through the steps to perform perfectly what it is you want to practice
• Pay attention to as many details as possible
• Actually create the practice in your mind exactly how you want it to go, notice how you feel, what you see, hear or smell (include as many of your 5 senses as possible)
• See yourself successfully completed
• Do this several times (up to seven is said to be most effective)
• Open your eyes, smile and go about your day with new confidence

Everyone Makes a Difference

by Cindy Stradling CSP, CPC

In addition to sales and presentation skills programs, I periodically deliver programs that are designed to support employees with the tools to deliver exceptional customer service.  It is surprising to me sometimes how little it takes sometimes to make a difference for people.  I usually include a exercise that includes the following paragraph that I found in the book “Inside the Magic Kingdom” by Tom Connellan:

XVXRYONX MAKXS A DIFFXRXNCX

Somxtimxs I gxt to thinking that what I do doxsn’t mattxr.  But whxn I start thinking that way, I rxmxmbxr my old typxwritxr.  Most of thx kxys workxd finx most of thx timx.  But onx day, onx of the kxys stoppxd working althogxthxr.  And that rxally mxssxd xvxrything up.  So whxn I’m txmptxd to say I’m only onx pxrson, it won’t makx a diffxrxncx if I don’t do this quitx right, I rxmxmbxr my old typxwritxr.  Thxn I say to mysxlf “I am a kxy pxrson and nxxdxd vxry much.

Often after we read this paragraph I ask everyone what it means to them.  I get varied responses and they all agree with the message that everyone makes a difference.  Usually the groups are small enough to have everyone go around the room and tell each other why they are important and what they appreciate most about each other.  In many instances I can see that people are moved by what they are acknowledged for.  I have had people come up to me after the program is over and say they were surprised (and delighted) to know they were appreciated.

We will debrief this session with some creative ways that people can acknowledge each other on an ongoing basis, and these are some of the suggestions:

• Thank you notes when someone does something special
• Buy a coffee (or tea, soft drink) for someone who has helped you
• Have candy or treats available for spontaneous acts of kindness
• Compliment when you see someone doing something great
• Send an email to a person’s boss telling them of something special colleague did
• Have a mascot (appropriate to the organization and culture) that is awarded weekly to the person who went the extra mile the most

The take away from this short exercise is to acknowledge each other for even the small things and this will go a long way to building a supportive team culture.  I encourage everyone to look for ways to acknowledge each other everyday.