Managing a team can sometimes be a frustrating experience. When dealing with a diverse group of people with varying talents and personalities, you may occasionally feel like you’re spinning your wheels trying to engage and inspire them. Sometimes, you get so wrapped up in focusing on other people you forget how important it is to lead by example.
Here are five ways to inspire yourself and those around you:
1. Admit Your Mistakes
No one on your team is perfect. And none of them expect you to be superhuman either.
It can be difficult to admit your missteps when you expect the very best of everyone else, but it is a necessity. Cultivating a culture of honesty requires you to own up when you are wrong.
Ignore the fear that this is a sign of weakness. Instead, realize that it’s the most positive path to getting it right the next time.
2. Raise Your Goals
Even if you feel overwhelmed at times, a lot of good can come from testing your limits.
Re-examine some of the ambitions you have for the next year and make plans to surpass them. Sometimes when we manage others, we lose sight of the things we want to accomplish and how stimulating that accomplishment can be.
If you want your team to go above and beyond, then you should show them first that you are up for the challenge.
3. Show Your Values
More and more people want to work in an environment they feel goes beyond just profits. You can exemplify this by showing them what you yourself find rewarding and important about your organization. That doesn’t mean sending out some email, but instead being open to everyone about what you find fulfilling about your work and what it means aside from a paycheck.
Giving your personal outlook can fundamentally change how others see their work.
4. Loosen Your Tie/Let Your Hair Down
There is a time for work and there is a time for play.
Everyone needs moments of levity and relaxation, sometimes even during a workday. You are a regular person with a life outside the office. It’s important to make sure that you don’t allow that to overwhelm your position in the workplace, but you shouldn’t hide it either. When you show your team that you have more going on outside of the nine-to-five, it also shows you value them as people instead of just as workers.
5. Love Your Job
If you don’t love your job, you can’t expect the same from any of your team. You may think that attending to everyone else’s needs is enough, but personal unhappiness can adversely affect everyone around you.
Make sure that you are truly content with your position and that you are also focused on self-care. Doing what is necessary to make yourself happy is not only the best way to inspire your team — it is the best way to live your life.
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About the Author
Mike Seifert is the vice president of operations and marketing for the Pacific Institute® Education Initiative.
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