We’re all looking for inspiration. The inspiration to grow, develop and break out of self-imposed restraints.

When we’re inspired then we act. And that action is fuelled by self-motivation.

Early on in my career as a General Manager I discovered that you can’t motivate people; not really. That’s why organisations struggle to gain employee buy-in to their mission, vision and values. No matter that you’ve sat with your colleagues for hours; to define a clear way of working for all. And that you’ve involved employee representatives, from across the business, to reach consensus on company values.

Whilst that’s an important exercise – one that every company needs to undertake; your work doesn’t stop there. Because if it does then you’re missing a trick; and a pretty big one at that.

The reality is that one size doesn’t fit all. And in practice every individual will find motivation from different things.

Being an inspiration means knowing your people

As a result we must take the time to know every member of our team. And you can’t single out specific people or groups. You have to know everyone. Moreover, you have to know what makes them tick.

Simply put, we all look internally for the motivation to act. And we all look externally for the inspiration to fuel that inner drive. Often we don’t know what we’re looking for. And yet we know when we see it.

Consequently, that makes our job as leaders and managers challenging. There’s no quick fix. Moreover, this isn’t a one-time exercise. You must invest regular time and effort in each employee. Since that’s how they’ll remain driven to give of their personal best.

We can all be leaders, regardless of position. And we can all provide inspiration for others. As a result, the mutual benefit is a thriving company driven by highly self-motivated employees.