On holiday, a few years ago, in the Laurentian Mountains in Quebec, I looked up at a star filled sky and was overcome with awe. It was a cold November night and the ground was covered in deep snow, but the night sparkled with a myriad of stars and seemed so full of inspirational promise, that it felt magical.
After years of coaching and counseling some of the brightest leaders (and emerging leaders) in today's business world, I've written a guide to practical empathy called "Feelings For Thinkers." So far, I've shared the bulk of the content only with my clients. One of the key pieces in the book is a discussion of what makes the difference between leaning toward your "inner Entrepreneur" or your "inner Victim," and the two attitudinal types differ primarily in their developed ability to properly appreciate themselves and others.
The guy who's been inspired by the thundering "evangelist" type, and who's trying to pull off the same style without the tool kit (or grey hair) wielded by his role model, is often disappointed to learn he's not inspiring his colleagues - who are really looking for inspiration in him.
The two dimensions of self-appreciation and appreciation of others divide leaders into four basic camps. A person high on self-appreciation and low on appreciation of others tends to come across as the "Arrogant Boss," and that person's primary visible attitude is one of entitlement. The opposite type - high on others but low on herself - comes across as the "Humble Servant," with a primary visible attitude of obligation. The first seems to believe his teammates don't deserve their positions; the latter, that she doesn't deserve hers. Neither is an effective style for inspirational leadership.
Astrology is founded on the study of stars and twelve inspirational constellations that are the birth-signs in daily horoscopes. No matter how skeptical one is about horoscopes, the birth-signs and corresponding personality traits appear to be significantly accurate in their description. Soothsayers and prophets of old relied heavily on star readings to foretell future events. Certainly, gazing into the heavens at night-time gives one an inspiring sense of timelessness. Many of the stars in the night sky are a large number of light years away, meaning that the light we see from them is ten,twenty or hundreds of light years old. Theoretically, if we could instantly transport ourselves onto such a star and gaze through a super, Hubble like, telescope at our planet earth, we would be witnessing history unfolding before our eyes.
Obviously, the most inspirational leaders are high on both self-appreciation and appreciation of others. They're optimistic, roll-up-your-sleeves doers. Such a person has a courageous attitude toward self-discovery, a curiosity about other people (not just their problems, or what they can offer her), and in general, she has a collaborative spirit. She's likely to have an entrepreneurial bent, and she's likely to be both inspired and inspiring.
Not that it's easy, but the best (and most simple) way to inspire others is to stay inspired yourself, and let the natural event of role-modeling "do the work." True, you can skill-up, especially with excellent leadership coaching (give me a call, if you like). But you have to start from your authentic self. If you lose that center, you're not going to inspire a lot of great things from a lot of teammates.
After years of coaching and counseling some of the brightest leaders (and emerging leaders) in today's business world, I've written a guide to practical empathy called "Feelings For Thinkers." So far, I've shared the bulk of the content only with my clients. One of the key pieces in the book is a discussion of what makes the difference between leaning toward your "inner Entrepreneur" or your "inner Victim," and the two attitudinal types differ primarily in their developed ability to properly appreciate themselves and others.
The guy who's been inspired by the thundering "evangelist" type, and who's trying to pull off the same style without the tool kit (or grey hair) wielded by his role model, is often disappointed to learn he's not inspiring his colleagues - who are really looking for inspiration in him.
The two dimensions of self-appreciation and appreciation of others divide leaders into four basic camps. A person high on self-appreciation and low on appreciation of others tends to come across as the "Arrogant Boss," and that person's primary visible attitude is one of entitlement. The opposite type - high on others but low on herself - comes across as the "Humble Servant," with a primary visible attitude of obligation. The first seems to believe his teammates don't deserve their positions; the latter, that she doesn't deserve hers. Neither is an effective style for inspirational leadership.
Astrology is founded on the study of stars and twelve inspirational constellations that are the birth-signs in daily horoscopes. No matter how skeptical one is about horoscopes, the birth-signs and corresponding personality traits appear to be significantly accurate in their description. Soothsayers and prophets of old relied heavily on star readings to foretell future events. Certainly, gazing into the heavens at night-time gives one an inspiring sense of timelessness. Many of the stars in the night sky are a large number of light years away, meaning that the light we see from them is ten,twenty or hundreds of light years old. Theoretically, if we could instantly transport ourselves onto such a star and gaze through a super, Hubble like, telescope at our planet earth, we would be witnessing history unfolding before our eyes.
Obviously, the most inspirational leaders are high on both self-appreciation and appreciation of others. They're optimistic, roll-up-your-sleeves doers. Such a person has a courageous attitude toward self-discovery, a curiosity about other people (not just their problems, or what they can offer her), and in general, she has a collaborative spirit. She's likely to have an entrepreneurial bent, and she's likely to be both inspired and inspiring.
Not that it's easy, but the best (and most simple) way to inspire others is to stay inspired yourself, and let the natural event of role-modeling "do the work." True, you can skill-up, especially with excellent leadership coaching (give me a call, if you like). But you have to start from your authentic self. If you lose that center, you're not going to inspire a lot of great things from a lot of teammates.
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