Inspirational Leadership: The Three Keys

November 13th, 2008

Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens. C.G. Jung

Courtesy of http://flickr.com/photos/alicepopkorn/

©by Nick Grimshawe

Inspirational leadership is one of the new buzz words in the corporate offices across the land, so recently when I was asked to do a presentation, I suggested Inspirational Leadership for a topic. When asked why, I answered truthfully, “Because I don’t understand what it is.”

My research took me on a search from information on Inspirational Leadership. What I found did not inspire me. The material I viewed seemed to be part of some agenda designed simply to squeeze more out of people. While I understand the need to improve productivity, I thought that leadership designed only with that end goal in mind was doomed to failure.

Dissatisfied I turned my attention inward. I asked myself who in history represented someone who exhibited, at least to me, inspirational leadership.

A name popped right into my mind.

I thought: “A man who spent 20 years wandering in a desert with a small group of people ought to know something about inspirational leadership.

So I chose Moses as a model, not because I am religious, but because my inner voice thought Moses could teach me about the subject.

Remember the teacher appears when the student is ready.

I asked myself what qualities did Moses show that allowed him to lead his people through twenty years of hardship and eventually to the Promised Land?

Again the first quality jump out at me. He set very clear expectations. Yes, the Ten Commandments: a set of clear expectation for his people to follow while they searched for a way out of the desert. After all having a rule that says: Thou shall not covet thy neighbour’s wife,” is a pretty essential to the smooth operation of a small group of people living in close quarters for a long period of time.

The number one key then to inspirational leadership is;

Set Clear Expectations

What other qualities helped Moses command his tribe for twenty years?

He set a clear vision.

What was that vision?

Moses said that if they followed him he would lead them to the Promised Land.
So he gave his people a vision of a land very different No prescription cialis from the desert they wandered in. He spoke of a land flowing with milk and honey. When all you can see is sand, a land flowing with milk and honey is a pretty impressive place.

The second key to inspirational leadership then, is:

Set a Clear Vision

Now with his people understanding what was expected of them, and with the vision of a promised land full of abundance, what other aspect did Moses show that kept people trudging on when hope weakened?

Finally, Moses found a way to deliver on his vision. Times were not easy in the desert. Extraordinary things sometimes needed to happen to keep his people alive and the dream before their hungry eyes. He called on God for help and got it on more than one occasion.

The third key to inspirational leadership then, is;

Deliver on the Vision

The time it takes does not matter. What matters is that people understand that you will not give up, waver, or vary the course.

Following those keys, Moses eventually led his people out of the desert into a land of milk and honey.
Now you might not be called on to duplicate Moses’ feat but by following these three simple keys you will show yourself as an inspirational leader, no matter how big or small you team is.

Here they are again: The Three Keys to Inspirational Leadership.

Set clear expectations.

Set a clear vision.

Deliver on the vision.

Nick Grimshawe

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