You are contagious!

When we ask participants in our leadership programmes to identify the four things they most want in a leader – being inspiring is always one of them.

Why? Because we want to be inspired at work! Negative, grumpy, or cynical managers can rob us of inspiration.  A leader’s emotional mood is contagious – an invisible but potent virus infecting all those around them. So if we want to be inspired at work we look for leaders who spread the inspiration virus.

The leadership lesson is simple – if you want inspired people around you then you have to be inspiring. If you find uninspired people around you – head to the mirror. Ask yourself – who am I being (or not being) that has people around me being uninspired?

Inspiration is about energy and enthusiasm and it manifests itself in different ways. Sometimes we fall into the trap of thinking that inspiring leaders are those who inspire through heroic deeds and words.  However, we believe consistency is more powerful than volume!  A leader with a consistent slow burning energy and enthusiasm is more inspiring than a leader who one day is on fire and the next grumpy!

So the leadership lesson is to bring consciousness to your mood.