Jerry Maguire...

Great movie.

Many great lines to be shared.  "Show me the money!"  or "You had me at hello!"

But this is one of my favorites - spoken by Jerry Maguire, as he talked to Rod Tidwell, one of his 'employees'...

In my opinion, leaders today do NOT do enough to inspire their teams.  They just work for themselves, blame those who get in their way, and then hope that the employees jump on board.

When you think about all the leadership traits that one has to exude every day, it's no wonder that 'inspiration' does not make its way to the top of the list.

But inspiration is a key component of leadership.

I think there is a reason that most leaders do not want to inspire, and it is that inspiration is a little too...

soft...

touchy-feely...

fairy-tale-ish...

After all, we are programmed to believe that true leaders have POWER and GLORY and POSITION and STATUS and so on...

But they also need to inspire their team.  And that means they need to show some healthy passion and emotion.  NOT yelling...but inspiring!

Your employees come to work for a paycheck.  They stay engaged at work because their leader inspires them.

So what can you do to inspire your employees this week?

• Don't be afraid to use unconventional methods.

Your employees get the same output from you day in and day out.  Why not shake it up a bit?  Why not try to inspire them by telling stories, playing music while you talk to them, show pictures of your expectations, or communicate with them about your dreams and goals for the department.  It is easy to inspire someone when you open yourself up.

• Don't be afraid to show your emotions.

Employees are not going to follow someone that they don't trust, and they don't trust leaders who are stiff, serious, and stodgy all the time.  If you are going to inspire, you have to let loose and let them kow that you are a human being just like them.

• Don't be afraid to get to know your employees 

Too many leaders are afraid to communicate personal information with their employees, as they feel this will decrease their power level.  This is a bunch of bunk.  The best team I ever worked on was one that shared their individual work styles, their dreams and goals, and their work preferences.  If you want to inspire your employees, you need to know what makes them tick.

Employees want to be coached and inspired.  If you don't give them inspiration, they will get it from somewhere else...

...like from an actively disengaged employee.  And by then you are too late!

Get out there and inspire someone today!