The Road to Leadership 2: Inspiration- Paving the Way

The Road so far:
Part One: Vision Defining the Dream [posted 11/08/13]

The great American writer Jack London said, “You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.” I get it – I’m just not sure that I agree with it 100%. Yes it’s true that inspiration requires action but it doesn’t mean that it always has to be overt. Inspiration is as much about subtlety and tact as it is about beating the drum.

My previous article showed you how to define your dream – the vision. Today we’ll discuss how we can inspire others to join our journey. The first step on the road  is to believe. Not only in your dream or in the absolute certainty that it can be done but you must also believe in yourself. From the start you have to believe not only that you can do it but that it cannot succeed without you.

Put yourself first:

When you defined your dream, you figured out what you wanted to do and why. Now you have to determine if it’s worth it. Is it worth the time, money, and sweat equity you have to invest to make it happen? If it is, great – If not, back up to the first road and  redefine your expectations. Repeat this until your dream and your resources are in alignment. If you don’t, your personal inspiration will turn into frustration which could spell trouble.

How to convince others?

Tap into what excites you and make sure other know it. One caveat: don’t expect everyone to be excited to the same degree that you are. Until you can inspire them to come along, it’s your road alone – not theirs. Just because they want to share a part of your vision does not necessarily mean they want to stick with it from cradle to grave. That’s OK. Help them identify parts of the program they can personally champion. Need brochures? Have a local art student design them. Find out what excites them and get them to do it for as long as you need.

Make it fun

Nobody wants more “work” – even if it is for a good cause. Your dream doesn’t become theirs until they can contribute, feel good about doing it and have fun in the process. in short, they have to “own it”. Use words like, interesting, ownership and even fun to create energy and enthusiasm.

Turn energy into synergy

Try to talk to more than one person at a time. The enthusiasm will catch like kindling and start a life of its own. You now have the responsibility of fanning the flames without losing control of the fire. Celebrate early (and often). Once you have people on board and things start to move, you job is  to keep them inspired. An easy way  is to celebrate the milestones; big and small. All of necessary permits have been approved? Bring in doughnuts. Celebrations don’t have to be huge affairs, just an acknowledgement that things are proceeding according to plan can work wonders.

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