Why is it that some people have the talent to inspire you and others just don’t?  We have all worked in companies with inspiring leaders, but we probably also have experiences working with people that have a negative impact on our future and well-being. I have experienced both. The first category of people makes you do unbelievable things and you are happy to do it and the second category of people will make your life miserable.

 The presentation by Simon Sinek explains well how some very well-known inspiring leaders have been able to get their troops to take huge jumps and get people to believe in the mission.  It usually boils down to communication and how you communicate to the world of why you exist, why your company exists and why you are different to the competition.  

What is exciting in the video is that Mr. Sinek explains most of our behavior and perception of things is based on biology, not psychology and how we as humans behave. I also have his book Start with Why: How Great Leaders Insipire Everyone to Take Action.

What we can all learn from leadership and the people that have made a difference is as follows:

1)      You can make a difference, no matter who you are as long as you behave and act in a manner where you can inspire others and as long as your motivations are based on good intentions.

2)      In the challenging economic times, the winners are the ones that get others to believe in the cause, whatever it happens to be.

3)      Look around you and ask yourself the question: do I believe in what I am doing and if I do not, why is that? Is it because you are not working with people that are inspired or is it that you are just too lazy to make a change? If either one of these turns out to be the case, I would recommend you to take action and change the course of your life

Our success is not only based on intelligence, but on the desire to do something that makes a difference. If you do not have the drive to inspire others and you are in a leadership role, you might want to figure out how you can change that.  If you don’t, you will not be successful as a leader in the long run as the people that work for you will either leave or try to figure out how to make your life hard to get rid of you. 

I am sure there are readers of this blog that think that my statements above are not based on true leadership mantra, but let me assure you, I have seen enough of cases throughout my career where good things turn bad due to uninspiring leadership. The old fashioned “hitting with the stick” leadership does not work anymore with the digital native generation.