As a leader, you can increase business performance if you figure out how to inspire employees. The most important way is to model your company’s mission – show your people the difference their work is making for your customers, clients, or community. Do that daily so your team can perform on the fly.
But there is more you can do to inspire employees.
Remember the last time you were inspired by what you were doing? What effect did that have on you? Did you enjoy the work? Did it increase your output? What did it do to your mood? What did it do to your stress level? We all have different sources of inspiration. First, know yours.
Now, consider your people. Inspired employees will work harder. They’re more creative and more satisfied. Workplace stress and absences are reduced, too. So why don’t we all just heap on the inspiration every day? We can.
Really! First, we need to understand how to inspire employees. Every person is different:
- Ask each employee what inspires them outside of work. Creative pursuits? Details? People? Certain tasks?
- Find out when they get inspired most. During downtime – when they’re performing a menial task? Or do the ideas come when they’re busy?
- Who inspires him/her? Interactions with some people add value and others drain it.
- Where does inspiration usually strike them? In a quiet room, a noisy coffee shop, or during a walk on the beach?
Once you know the source for each employee, you can find ways to inspire. If one likes to be creative, suggest she takes a creative approach to a mundane task. Give another some quiet time to work if that helps his inspiration. Learn their source of inspiration, implement it, and use it to inspire them even more. You haven’t peaked yet!