How a Business Leader Inspires Others to Take Action

Great business leadership comes from the heart. As any leadership coach will tell you, a business leader with a true passion for inspiring others to take action is able to squeeze every ounce of potential out of their employees. Passion isn’t everything, though. Below are some other traits of effective business leaders and how they are used to inspire others.

10 Ways Leaders Inspire Others to Take Action

  1. They communicate effectively
  2. They earn respect, not demand it
  3. They are relentless in the face of adversity
  4. They have a contagious enthusiasm
  5. They encourage their team to embrace creativity
  6. They clearly explain the value of the task at hand
  7. They are effective and efficient decision-makers
  8. They value fairness and equality
  9. They have high self-awareness
  10. They are great at sharing their wealth of business knowledge

Great business leaders are made, not born. You can make every single one of the traits above part of your leadership style with a little hard work. Then you will be able to inspire others to take action and buy into the big-picture vision of your business.

1 – They Communicate Effectively

Effective communication is at the root of how a business leader inspires others to take action. Inspiring others to succeed starts with clearly defining to your team what success looks like to you.

Motivating others to work for you requires you to be clear on what you expect of them. It also means you have to be a good listener. Be open to their feedback and use it to figure out the best way to empower them to get the job done.

A relationship that is open and receptive on both ends is far more inspiring for people. Your employees are much more likely to get the job done right if they feel comfortable enough with you to ask questions. Effective communication is the cornerstone to making this happen.

2 – They Earn Respect, not Demand It

A business leader who demands respect because of their job title will never be able to inspire and motivate their team. Be a leader who is willing to show their team how they want things done, and compliment them when they do good work.

You will find your team is inspired to take action beyond their call of duty when you show you are invested in their success.

3 – They are Relentless in the Face of Adversity

How do you react when things go wrong? You will never inspire others to take the action you want if your first instinct is to blame your team.

Show your team you are willing to shoulder your share of the blame. When your team sees you are willing to hold yourself accountable, they do the same.

Leading by example when things go wrong is how a good business leader influences their employees. It is the one thing in common all 40 of the business leaders on this list possess.

4 – They Have a Contagious Enthusiasm

Positive energy is infectious. It is one of the most powerful tools in the leadership toolbox when it comes to inspiring others in the workplace. How can you become more positive and enthusiastic as a leader? Jim Rohn once said, “we are the average of the five closest people we spend our time with.”

Network with other inspirational leaders and model your enthusiasm after them. Let them inspire you to take the action of being more inspiring to your team!

5 – They Encourage Their Team to Embrace Creativity

Creative business leaders find new and exciting ways to revamp old ideas. Inventiveness creates a magnetic vibe. Employees are inspired by this creative energy.

A good leader capitalizes on this and empowers their team members to add their creative ideas into the pot. They want their team members to believe that their contributing ideas are necessary for success rather than a challenge of authority.

A leader who only cares about their authority rarely fosters a creative environment. They don’t understand how a leader inspires others to take action.

6 – They Clearly Explain the Value of the Task at Hand

You will never inspire others to take action if you think they should do whatever you tell them simply because you are the boss.

Good business leadership revolves around the ability to clearly explain the why behind each task. This doubles back to being an effective communicator.

When you can get your team members to take ownership of a task because they buy into why you won’t need to worry about motivating them. Their motivation will come from within.

7 – They are Effective and Efficient Decision-Makers

How can you expect your team members to make the right decisions if you don’t have an effective decision-making process yourself?

The best business leaders know the strengths and weaknesses of each team member, and they delegate tasks accordingly.

They also teach their team members how to make decisions on their own. Inspiring others to take action requires you to trust your team to do their jobs instead of micromanaging them every step of the way.

8 – They Value Fairness and Equality

Nothing destroys a team faster than a leader who plays favorites. Treat every single member of your team with the same level of respect.

Conflicts are limited when you create a culture of fairness When they do arise, your team trusts you to hear out everyone’s side of the story and make a fair decision. This inspires your team to take positive action rather than negative action.

9 – They Have High Self-Awareness

The best business leaders are highly in tune with their strengths and weaknesses. Instead of getting defensive and projecting their insecurities onto their team, they know exactly what they need to work on to become a more effective leader.

How well do you know yourself? Take a long, hard look at your weaknesses and how you handle them. The only way to inspire others to take action is to be someone who is consistently taking action towards improving their weaknesses.

10 – They are Great at Sharing Their Wealth of Business Knowledge

Your deep level of business knowledge got you to where you are today, but are you sharing that wealth with your team? Great leaders want to inspire others to be just as great, if not better than them.

Don’t hoard your knowledge – share it generously. Always be willing to teach your team members as much as they are willing to learn. You won’t have to worry about how to motivate others because they will be inspired by your personal investment in their growth.

Why do we Need to Motivate Employees?

Good leaders don’t blame their employees for being lazy or ineffective. Instead, they blame themselves for failing to motivate their employees. The fact is, it is human nature to take your foot off the pedal if you don’t constantly have someone in your corner pushing yourself to be your absolute best.

Employees are so much happier and productive when they are motivated. Studies show 75 percent of people who quit a job quit because of their boss and not the job itself.

If you properly motivate employees, you are able to retain your top talent. You’ll save money on recruiting costs and ultimately generate more revenue.

Becoming a more effective business leader who is an expert at how to inspire others to take action requires dedication and hard work.

A leadership coach simplifies the process by serving as an objective observer who can help identify exactly what you need to do to be the best leader you can be.

Arman has over two decades of experience coaching dozens of successful business people like you to reach their highest potential as a leader. Schedule a free leadership coaching consultation today to take the first step towards becoming a master of inspiring others to take action.

Do you have a question or comment about any of these leadership traits? Let us know below. We love hearing from you!

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Comments (3)

  1. Avatar for Arman Sadeghi Linda Jackson says:

    The last leader I worked under couldn’t communicate for crap. He thought that we should be able to read his mind and that he never had to explain himself. Needless to say, all of his top talent left.

  2. Avatar for Arman Sadeghi Nina Stewart says:

    I work under a leader right now who has all of these qualities. I walk into work every day and feel inspired to give my best so that my boss is proud of me. She is so encouraging and values creativity. It is so nice to work in an environment like this.

  3. Avatar for Arman Sadeghi Monica Madison says:

    There is nothing worse than working under a leader with bad energy. My last boss felt like he was just there to cash a paycheck. He didn’t really care much about us, and you could feel the negative vibe coming off him. I would definitely be inspired by a leader with positive energy.

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