The DNA of Inspirational Leadership: key traits that set leaders apart
Who would you rate as an inspirational leader?
I’m sure that we have all, on our own leadership journeys, been asked at one time or another ‘who would you rate as an inspirational leader’? Maybe the answer is someone famous or an outstanding boss you once worked for.
But what was it that made them ‘inspirational’? The Oxford English Dictionary defines ‘inspiration’ as: ‘The action of inspiring, the fact or condition of being inspired’. Whilst undoubtedly factually correct (you don’t argue with the OED), that doesn’t really get under the skin of what it is to be ‘inspiring’.
One of the tools we use at Amicus, particularly helpful for emerging leaders, is the ‘Leadership DNA’ – essentially asking our audience to highlight what attributes contribute to a good leader. In essence, what does a good leader have in their ‘DNA’? The answers cover a wide range of helpful behaviours and whilst ‘motivational’ often sits towards the top, ‘inspirational’ appears to be harder to grasp. Yet, when we follow this up by asking our clients how they would like their employees to view them, ‘inspirational’ is an oft-used phrase.
We don’t think this is just a phraseology issue – we believe that it has roots deeper in the leadership psyche. Being motivational is but one attribute and there are many ways of motivating people to work harder – motivating through additional financial reward, for example, requires little in the way of personal leadership capability. However, being an inspirational leader is much more than an individual characteristic, it’s the sum of the parts – in other words, an inspirational leader must have many of the characteristics that get highlighted in the Leadership DNA. This is why we include ‘inspiring your people’ on our Amicus Leadership Excellence framework, rather than ‘being motivational’.
Whilst each of the Leadership DNA attributes are important and help shape the whole, case studies we use often highlight three core attributes that inspiring leaders hold in common:
- Communication
- Positivity
- Leading by Example
The ability to communicate effectively (upwards, sideways and downwards) is well recognised as an essential leadership trait that is employed by inspirational leaders – we can accentuate this by the fact that we still use quotes from famous inspirational leaders to emphasise points we wish to make. Clear messaging, repeated often, enables your people to understand and get behind your vision.
As for positivity – who’s ever going to be inspired by a nay-sayer? Inspirational leaders hold a relentless positivity. This is particularly important when things are not going all that well. This positivity is not about painting a rosy picture when all around is chaos. But it is extoling to the organisation that you have seized the problem, you have a plan, and, with commitment, you have better days ahead. Very much ‘communicating positivity’.
Finally, leading by example. The inspirational leader is seen living the standards they set and, in the oft used phrase, unprepared to ask people to do things they would not do themselves. Think again of a time when all is not going well – a C-suite that hides in the boardroom does not inspire a workforce to go the extra mile. A C-suite that is visible, extols positivity and communicates an effective plan inspires their people to put their shoulder to the wheel.
If you’re interested in understanding more about inspirational leadership, a good case study to google is that of Xerox in the early 2000s - $18bn in debt, negative cashflow and a market that was betting on bankruptcy. Enter a new (and surprise) CEO in Anne Mulcahy who clearly communicated to her senior team that she only wanted people who were 100% committed, devised a vision and plan that focused on the positive (such as remaining committed to R&D) and, with her team, lead from the front. From losing $273M in 2000, Xerox moved to a $91M profit in 2003. Not bad.
Whilst focusing on communication, positivity and leading by example, there are other leadership DNA traits that help the inspirational leader. Keep an eye on our LinkedIn feed as we explore some of these.