Inspiration | Leading Like A Champion

Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action is what can change the world ~ Joel Baker

Partnership

Leadership is perhaps best viewed as a partnership – the partnership between the “leader” and the “led”. The goal of beneficial leadership in this regard would be to facilitate and unlock the potentials of the parties to achieve desired end results. In this context, a good leader is the person that acts as the bridge linking people to their goals through inspired actions. This distinguishes a true leader from a “greeder”. A “greeder” is the person that benefits only at the expense of the people that he or she leads.

There are people today in diverse positions of power, influence and authority who exploit the will, trust and belief of the people they supposedly lead. The often silent but agonising cry of these people for inspirational leadership is often met with more brazen exploitation.

Inspirational Leadership

Personal inspiration rather than mere motivation is what makes the leader stand out. Inspiration is far superior to motivation. It is a process that is spirit-induced and heart-controlled. It is revolutionary in concept and dynamic in approach. An inspired person is energised, enthusiastic and so passionate about his convictions that he is perpetually restless and tireless in pursuit of his goals.

I remember once asking a class during a coach-training session if well known transformational leaders like Nelson Mandela, Barack Obama and Bill Gates, among several others were inspired or merely motivated to do what they are recorded to have done? There was not one person in the class that was not convinced that these leaders were personally inspired.

Inspired Leaders Make Lasting Impact

Many scientists, writers, politicians, entrepreneurs, philosophers, entertainers, artists, teachers and others that make lasting impact in the lives of others and in their communities have been personally inspired to do so. Each of them has through some personal ingenuity made the world a better and happier place for others, because there has been a massive and irresistible personal drive to make a lasting impact. Personal inspiration is a hallmark of true leadership.

Strength from within

You cannot stop a truly inspired leader or even try to put him down, because he is propelled by forces of stronger convictions within him than all the negativism around him. That is why true personal inspiration is the key to successful leadership. A leader that is not personally inspired often ends up being the puppet of other people.

The Next Generation

A challenge of leadership succession and ascension is that some entrenched systems do not often favour the emergence and sustenance of truly inspired leaders. As a result, the transformation that the people earnestly desire continues to elude them.

Tell me what you think about Inspirational Leadership by leaving a comment below.

We were dwarfs on the shoulders of giants, so that we can see more than they, and things at a great distance, not by virtue of any sharpness of sight on our part, or any physical distinction, but because we are carried high and raised up by their giant size. ~ Isaac Newton

I sat through a one-hour lecture on 4000 years of management history with great difficulty as I asked myself the question, “What is the relevance of this to me?” On a deeper reflection I realized how myopic I was in my thinking.

Here I was unable to appreciate the energy, effort and passion that had produced this amazing intellectual work. While I find no immediate use for what I heard, there are countless of others who will. This made me think differently about the work I do, the decisions I make and the actions I take. Everything is important and everything is relevant.

Today, tomorrow or 4000 years to come, someone somewhere will have a chance to build on your work and will thank you for making the effort.

What value do you put on the work you do? Beyond yourself, have you stopped to consider the effects of your thoughts, the implications of your decisions, and the consequences of your actions?

Yes it’s not about you. It’s about those coming after you. To leave a legacy is to think beyond yourself and have some consideration for those who will inhabit this world after you. As long as there is breath in you, you cannot resign yourself to your present circumstances or get complacent about your station in life. There is more to be done and you have a unique role to play. Yes, there is one more mountain to climb.

What inspires you to keep going when all that is inside of you wants to give up? After 27 years in prison, Nelson Mandela said “I found inspiration in a poem that helped me stand when all inside me wanted to lie down”. What inspires you to get up and move on?

I draw strength from the achievements of those who have gone before me, whose accounts and thoughts I glean from the books I read. I look beyond myself to the many I can assist on their journey just like many have helped me on my journey. You must find inspiration from outside of yourself. You must look around you at the things in your world from which you benefit not from your direct effort but from the effort of those who went before you.

You have available to you an enormous amount of information, knowledge and wisdom. That which took several men and women the whole of their lives laboring and sweating to investigate, learn and understand is now available to you at the click of a mouse. To who much is give, much is expected.

You can be more, do more and achieve more than you can think or imagine, you only need to make the required effort to climb on the shoulders of those who have gone ahead of you.

As you acquire and leverage knowledge, you can take advantage of opportunities unseen by many simply because you are standing on the shoulders of giants.

Leading Like A Champion

Developing Tomorrow's Leaders Today

Tag Archives: Inspiration

The Cries for Inspirational Leadership (Part 1)

Standing on the Shoulder of Giants