Do You Need to Be Inspired? (#217)
The Confident Leader
BOOST YOUR LEADERSHIP IN UNCERTAIN TIMES
A radio host shared a conversation he overheard on a plane. A father said to his son, “if you look around your circle and don’t get inspired, you don’t have a circle, you have a cage.” The original quote is attributed to Nipsey Hussle, but here’s my leadership take on that nugget of wisdom.
“If you look at the people in your circle and you don’t get inspired, then you don’t have a circle. You have a cage.”
― Nipsey Hussle (American Rapper, Entrepreneur, and Activist)
This Week’s Edition
To be inspired means to be mentally stimulated to do or feel something or to have a spontaneous urge to do something creative or important. It can also mean to impart that motivation to someone else through words or actions.
Clarify Your Thinking
This year in Park City, Utah, at our annual Leadership Summit, one of the speakers, a chief of staff to a U.S. Senator, was remarking on the state of leadership in politics. He said, “in the absence of inspiration, people will settle for entertainment.” The truth of his comment impacted every single CEO in attendance.
In my work, I encounter leaders who feel uninspired. Many are searching for something, anything, to give them that spark – a spark of energy, curiosity, creativity, inspiration, and motivation.
They are desperately looking to be inspired, all the while attempting to inspire their teams to fulfill the vision, grab onto the mission, and generally do more. The challenge is you can’t give what you don’t have.
Old Thinking: I’m feeling quite uninspired. I remember feeling inspired a long time ago. Perhaps that season is gone, and I just need to grind it out. Maybe I’ll replace my need for inspiration with just being entertained, even if that entertainment is not edifying or productive. #bingenetflix
New Thinking: I’m not feeling inspired. I’m desperately searching for some shred of inspiration. I believe it is an important element of leadership. I need to figure this out.
Thoughts Lead to Actions
Data gathered by Harvard Business School from nearly 50,000 leaders learned that “the ability to inspire creates the highest levels of employee engagement and commitment.” Further research conducted by Bain found that “inspired employees are twice as productive as satisfied employees.” As a result, companies experience 21% greater profitability, a 41% reduction in absenteeism, and 59% less turnover. If even half of these stats are true, inspiration is something we should consider.
The quote from the father/son conversation on the plane holds the secret to becoming inspired as a leader. Who in your circle inspires you? That’s the leadership prompt for you to answer.
In preparation for this newsletter, I thought I would do the exercise myself. I panicked because at first, no one came to mind. Is it possible that I’m living in a cage because no one in my circle is inspiring me?
Thankfully, upon further reflection, I identified numerous people who inspire me, but the fact that no one came to mind immediately revealed I might not be drawing on the inspiration of others as intentionally as I should.
Here are the people who inspire me…
Alex: his entrepreneurial spirit and keen operational approach have revolutionized the short-haul consumer transportation industry.
Charlie: his passion for his cause fuels his never-ending energy that impacts lives around the country.
Alex: his passion for his role as a Peloton trainer encourages thousands of cyclists who feel like he is talking directly to them.
Chris: his ability to prioritize fitness and nutrition for himself, while also building an amazing business and keeping his family a top priority.
Lin: his ability to produce inspirational art by taking risks with his creative projects and spending years refining even the smallest couplet in the songs for his musicals.
Take time today (or this week) to identify those who inspire you. Determine how you can spend more time with those people. Your team will thank you for the renewed inspiration that will naturally emanate from you.
Community + Awareness = Inspiration
Boost Your Performance
Watch this week’s video to learn about the journey I went on to identify those who inspire me and how that impacts my leadership coaching for each of you.
What’s Your Opinion?
Who inspires you? Let me know: robin.pou@robinpou.com
If you are going to be a leader, you might as well be a good one. Don’t let doubt count you out. Have a confident week!
Robin Pou, Chief Advisor and Strategist
We live to make bad leadership extinct so forward this newsletter to others who strive to be confident leaders.
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What is “The Confident Leader”?
During the Covid-19 Pandemic, I began a video series called “Panic or Plan?” It was designed to equip leaders to navigate the doubt they experienced and to rise in the confidence they needed to lead during turbulent times. It took off. I then started this newsletter to equip leaders in the same fashion each week for the doubt that crashes across the bow of their leaderSHIP.
