Whether you are a leader or a follower, a manager or an employee, a coach or a player, the desire to be inspired and motivated is part of your human nature. Who wouldn’t want to work for an inspiring boss? Who wouldn’t rather lead by naturally inspiring those they lead than forcing people to do what they need them to do? The ability to inspire and motivate others is an art that can only be mastered if the leader possesses people skills, persuasiveness, and passion.
Interpersonal skills are defined as the ability to communicate effectively with people in a friendly manner. Those who have good social skills are generally good at understanding a person’s values, feelings, and desires. Great leaders understand that values drive action and figure out how to integrate the values of others with those of the organization. They are considerate of the feelings of others and are willing to put their own ego aside. They must understand the basic human need as a desire, especially self-realization.
For example, you could appeal to a person’s need for a sense of belonging by saying, “We want you in our organization, we know you will make a big difference.” To appeal to self-esteem, you could say, “I have 100% confidence in your unique abilities and talents that will make this project a success.” Understanding human behavior provides you with the knowledge to drive people to action.
Listening and observing are ways of understanding those you lead. The more you understand your followers, the better you’ll hear the words being said and the better you’ll hear between the words that aren’t. Most people listen to others but do not listen. When you actively listen, you can let go of your biases and mental models and understand what the other person is communicating.
Interpersonal skills allow you to connect with others, and without this connection, you will never motivate or inspire. You can only connect with people through open and honest communication.
Once you’ve mastered your people skills, you can take it to the next level and start persuading. Persuasion is the use of your communication skills to influence the actions of others. Inspirational leaders persuade their followers to believe in their vision to the point of changing the followers’ actions. But persuasion will never happen before you’ve built the foundation through your people skills. People need to trust you in order to be influenced by you, and they will never trust you until you can communicate effectively with them.
Passion is also a requirement to inspire. Inspirational leaders can connect followers to their deepest passions. When people find their passions, they are able to move on. They believe that they can be part of something bigger than themselves.
That is one of the reasons why leadership requires an immense amount of energy. Leaders must lead with such passion that it is contagious! They must tap into their full potential frequently. Only after they are able to tap into their own inner motivation and inspiration can they tap into the motivation and inspiration of others.
Leaders unite people by giving them a common goal. There is nothing more powerful than a common vision and purpose. It is a human desire to want to belong to something bigger than yourself. Part of being able to motivate and inspire others is making people feel part of the group. They feel that the leader cares about them. When individuals feel that they belong and are cared for, they open up to the influence of the leader.