Leadership That Creates Energy

Leadership is neither a destination nor a finite skill set. It is a constantly developing journey of awareness and elevation. Some choose leadership and others arrive there without realising the role they had agreed to would require them to lead. Even those who choose it are seldom fully prepared for where it takes them. Leadership, even leadership of self, is a constant evolution of perspectives and pressures, trial and error, learning and reconfiguring.

Inspiring others is perhaps one of the most challenging aspects of leadership, as energising those who form your team often requires an injection of energy not already present. Sometimes it is a subtle energy that empowers an underlying buzz, and sometimes it is a greater energy that will carry a team towards a higher level or a greater goal. Either way, inspiring or motivating others is a required leadership skill.

Before we go into it, let’s first define the difference between inspiration and motivation.

Many people talk about motivation — as in motivational speaking, or motivating a team etc. I don’t personally believe that you can motivate people for very long. You can pump them up and point them in the right direction, but motivation is an outside force, and what is needed to drive people for the long haul comes from within. Motivation has been described as existing in one of two…