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Hidden deep within the heart of every Agile leader lies a universe of untapped potential… In this series, we’ve embarked on a thrilling quest to discover, develop, and deploy your Agile Leader Superpowers! So, far we’ve looked at Essentialism, Constraint Clarification, Listening, Challenging, and Awareness. This week, Inspiration.

Quintessential Thought

Are you facing a team that's feeling disengaged, bored, or just going through the motions? These are warning signs!

Address this peril with your Leader Superpower of Inspiration!

What is inspiration? It's more than just encouragement or challenging. It's about communicating a vision that resonates with your team, a future they're excited to be a part of.

Here are a few key strategies you can use to inspire your team:

1. Cast a Vision: Paint a picture of a future state that connects with a larger purpose. This could be a shared goal, a vision for the company, or a way to contribute to a broader cause.

2. Engage Your Team: Involve your team in refining the vision, crafting the path, and identifying their roles in achieving it. This fosters ownership and commitment.

3. Connect Frequently: Share stories, data, and updates that reinforce the direction and connect your team to the people who benefit from their work. This keeps them motivated and engaged.

All of these are especially critical if your team is facing a challenge, like a reorganization, a leadership change, or a recent failure.

Remember, your team is made up of individuals, each with their own unique motivations. Consider factors like autonomy, mastery, and purpose (as outlined by Daniel Pink) and tools like Moving Motivators (from Management 3.0). By understanding these individual drivers, you can tailor your approach to inspire each team member effectively.

Quotes

“Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

“People are not lazy. They simply have impotent goals - that is, goals that do not inspire them.” - Tony Robbins

“Leadership contains certain elements of good management, but it requires that you inspire, that you build durable trust. For an organization to be not just good but to win, leadership means evoking participation larger than the job description, commitment deeper than any job contract's wording.” -  Stanley A. McChrystal

Quick Step

Ask a few team members about one of the team’s goals (like the Product Goal) to learn more about how engaged and inspired they are by it.

Question

Think of a time you were highly motivated and inspired. What conditions brought that about? How can you learn from that to help you inspire others now?

Want to chat? Reach out to info@unstuckagile.com so we can help you get Unstuck!

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