I think we can all agree: companies can no longer be impersonal buildings where employees show up each day, carry out their duties and shut off their brains before going home each night. People aren’t satisfied with simply following procedures and checking boxes. They seek professional fulfillment through engagement, passion and long-term value.
Great leaders seek ways to inspire passion in their people. It’s the key attribute of leadership authenticity. The greatest, authentic leaders I have met make genuine efforts to enhance their employees’ experiences and are rewarded with a staff of motivated, productive achievers who are passionate about their work.
Conversely, inflicting a smothering system of red tape, indecisiveness and apathy kills employees’ interest and efficiency. People are more invested in their jobs if you offer them as much authority as they can manage. Empower people to make decisions, take action and put ideas in motion. The less your people need to rely on you to make decisions, the more fulfilled they’ll become.
Challenge Your Employees
Challenge your people to accomplish what they didn’t think possible. Provide real opportunities that push them. People find passion when they’re free to be all they can be. Create a culture that aims high and demands excellence. Your people can raise the bar on their own endeavors, as you continue to reward their successes and offer positive feedback.
Of course, challenges carry opportunities for failure. When this topic comes up with my coaching clients, we discuss how to allow for mistakes when people are trying their best. Letting people fail can be positive if you continue to support them and send them back out there with new challenges. People need to learn from their mistakes and often find success in ways that wouldn’t be possible without having failed. A culture that forgives failure reduces fear and hesitancy, two significant roadblocks to fulfillment. Leaders who offer authentic encouragement and confidence boost their people’s passion.
Your most effective way to inspire passion is to live it. Passion cannot be forced or faked (it’s simply too easy to detect). Leading authentically draws followers, so don’t be afraid to show vulnerability.
Remember: not everyone will agree with your visions and ideas. Every time you put yourself out there, you risk rejection or pushback. Confidence and determination help balance vulnerability, or, as Anna Crowe describes it in Get Real: The Power of Genuine Leadership, a Transparent Culture, and an Authentic You (Lioncrest Publishing, 2019), displaying strength through weakness.
Authentic feelings, responses and behaviors engage people, affording you respect and trust. Trusting employees are more likely to be fulfilled.
What are your thoughts on authentic leadership? Would you agree passion is the key attribute of leadership? You can call me at 561-582-6060, let’s talk. And as always, I can be reached here, or on LinkedIn.
