What is it that makes a great leader truly inspirational and what are the leadership qualities they display? There are many great leaders in the world and in history, but what are the qualities that you need to inspire others?
For me, the first leader that I saw as truly inspirational was Tracy Edwards MBE, who was the first woman to lead an all female crew in the Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race. In the 80’s, very few women had taken part in a race as tough as the Whitbread, and there had never been a boat that was skippered by a woman with a female crew. It really struck a chord with me, partly because I was learning to sail at that time (I was a teenager), and also I loved the fact that she was a pioneer in a predominantly male sport. Even then, I knew that she had inspirational qualities, and she certainly inspired me. Whilst I never wanted to take up yacht racing (I get very seasick!), I did lead several sailing teams, including the ‘Mens’ firsts at university.
Being an inspirational leader has two meanings.
It’s being a leader that that others want to follow because you believe in their cause. It’s not about the money, or the fame, or the success, it’s about sharing a dream, and sharing values. Simon Sinek talks about starting with the Why?, and this is what an inspirational leader can do; they can share their ‘Why?’ with their team, so that they are as committed to the same cause, with the same values and the same mission. They will go above and beyond in the work they do because they are committed to the same vision as their leader.
It’s also about inspiring others, including future generations, to believe that they can be successful too, as they’ve seen someone else achieve something. In Tracy’s case, getting to the start line seemed impossible as everyone told her a bunch of women weren’t capable of sailing around the world without men on board. They said she’d never even get sponsorship and the whole thing was doomed to failure. But she did get sponsorship, she did buy a boat, and they did win two legs of the race, and came second overall in their class, beating other highly successful all male crews. Seeing someone else succeed in an area you are passionate about helps you think yes, I can do this, it is possible.
So what are the qualities that make a leader inspirational?
Alignment
Knowing your ‘Why’ is important, but doesn’t help you move forward to your goal if you can’t take others with you on that journey. To do this, leaders need to be clear within themselves about their mission and the decisions that are taken. In reaching those decisions, there may be debate within the team, but once the decision is made, it’s key that everyone is in agreement. If the leader is still unsure, this will be reflected in the way they act, and an inconsistent message will be broadcast to their team. If they are clear on their vision, and wholly committed, the message to others will be clear.
Truly great leaders can communicate so passionately and clearly that those around them will share their vision and do anything they can to achieve success. The Wright brothers weren’t the only ones working on planes at the start of the 20th century, and they had much less money than one of their competitors, Samuel Langley, who was funded by the American government. Langley just wanted to be famous, and flight was one of the areas in which he tried to gain fame. However, the Wright brothers had great passion for their work which they communicated so well that all of those working with them felt such a great connection to them and their vision that they worked tirelessly, often for free.
Empowerment
I can still remember the thrill of excitement and terror that ran through me when my boss asked me to take control of a project on my own. At that point in time, I would never have asked for that level of responsibility myself, and yet I was ready for it. I was given the support I needed, and learned and grew so much from the experience. Inspirational leaders are always looking out for opportunities to help individuals in their team take on responsibility, because they know everyone stands to benefit from that growth. They show others that they believe in them, and offer support where needed to help that individual succeed.
Growth Mindset
Having a growth mindset is a phrase that has become much more familiar in the last few years. Inspirational leaders will display that growth mindset, always asking what can be learned from different experiences, how can things be improved? James Dyson talks about the importance of failure; ‘You never learn from success but you do learn from failure’. If we are scared of failure we will never learn anything, because we’ll never take action to try new things. By modelling that growth mindset, inspirational leaders help to create an atmosphere of psychological safety where their team can learn, grow and succeed.
Resilience
Our resilience has been tested in numerous ways since the start of the pandemic, and it is often something leaders need to draw on: President Zelensky being an outstanding example of this at present as he continues to lead his country whilst under attack. Fortunately, most leaders have lesser problems to manage, but resilience is still needed. Sometimes projects aren’t successful as expected, work is given to competitors, or feedback isn’t good. It’s in the difficult times that a leader’s real qualities can be seen, and resilience is key to helping them move forward successfully.
Leading by example
Inspirational leaders will be seen living the values they say are important to them, or the rules they have set. Is it any wonder that the moment the Number 10 photos appeared in the press they dominated the headlines? In companies, if the CEO is talking about needing to make cutbacks and reduce expenses they are likely to lose the respect of their team very quickly if they’re buying new furniture for their private office and travelling unnecessarily in business class. Seeing your leader taking actions that are aligned with their stated values and priorities is far more likely to inspire loyalty and similar actions in others.
Authenticity
Brene Brown describes authenticity as ‘the daily practice of letting go of who we think we’re supposed to be and embracing who we are…Mindfully practicing authenticity during our most soul-searching struggles is how we invite grace, joy and gratitude into our lives.’ Truly being ourselves allows others to connect with us, and this is key as a leader. We don’t look to robots when we want someone to follow, we want real people, and we respond to others being honest about the things they find hard. If we see our leaders being authentic, we feel connection with them, we feel loyal to them and we want to follow their vision.
Agility
The agility of great leaders is being constantly tested, and the pandemic provided a huge test of agile thinking, when the world as we knew it disappeared almost overnight. Thriving companies had to completely rethink their growth models: eat in restaurants turned into take aways; Spotify pivoted to offering more podcasts as advertising revenues were hit, and Shopify, the e-commerce platform offered a cloud based bundle of services that have helped vendors pay bills, plan accounts and optimise deliveries, to mention just a few. Being able to take setbacks in your stride and turn those into opportunities shows an agile mind at work, and teams look to their leaders to display this quality, especially when pressure increases.
So an inspiring leader… It’s a combination of different qualities that makes a leader stand out ahead of the others. Some of these come more naturally to leaders than others, but they can all be developed and improved over time, meaning great leaders continue to inspire their team, their communities, and future generations.
Lucy Chaplin is a Leadership Coach, working with leaders in B Corps to help them increase their confidence and be inspirational leaders. She is an Associate Certified Coach with the International Coaching Federation and has a PGCert in business and Personal Coaching. If you would like to talk to her about the ways she work with individuals and organisations, you can email her: lucy@lucychaplincoaching.co.uk.
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