Leading By Inspiration

Forget ‘leading by example’. It’s OK up to a point but has some serious side effects. For example, I know lots of managers who take pride in working long hours because ‘it sets a good example’. One in particular used to boast about being the first in the car park and the last out at night, as if this automatically made him an excellent manager. Far from it; it just proved that he worked long hours. All he actually achieved was to make his staff feel guilty for leaving the office on time and daring to have a life outside work.

I knew another who made sure she could do all her team members’ jobs to prove her worth to them. ‘Respect’ was her watchword. “I won’t ask them to do anything I can’t do myself,” she boasted. All very laudable but what was the result? She spend so much time doing their jobs that she never actually ‘managed’ anything at all. Her team was totally reliant on her expertise. 

I’m not saying that ‘leading by example’ is necessarily a bad thing, just that the modern leader needs more. I believe the elusive ingredient is ‘inspiration’. So, supplement ‘leading by example’ with ‘leading by inspiration’. Now you have the ingredients for a mouth-watering leader that the modern workplace craves. This is someone whose presence inspires you to give your best, day in, day out, during good times and bad. They don’t necessarily know exactly what you do or how to do it themselves, but they do spend time talking to you. They want to know your ideas for improving performance. They listen, coach and praise. They are calm under pressure. They laugh, sometimes even during the bad times. They have high expectations and you raise your game to meet these. You feel valued and you love your job. Most importantly, you grow.

Someone who ‘leads by inspiration’ can achieve all of the above and, boy, what a difference it makes to morale and performance.