A few weeks ago I posed a simple question to my LinkedIn connections and followers:
“In a word or two… what does Inspirational Leadership mean to you?”
17 people took a few moments to respond, and each response was excellent! Here they are:
- Kind
- Trust, caring, encouraging
- Uplifting, inspirational
- Visionary, mentor
- Listening and empowering
- Practicing valued behaviors
- Transparency, integrity, follow through
- Bottom up
- Lead by example
- Integrity each day
- Respect
- Create more leaders
- Lincoln’s life
- Transformational, servanthood & persistence
- Lead by example
- Empowering. Accountable.
- Lean into the future and listen to those around you
What great insights into the characteristics of inspirational leadership! While there is no set formula or mold for inspirational leaders, I do believe that all of those named characteristics are represented by the leaders who have most impacted and inspired us.
As further confirmation of the common characteristics of inspirational leaders, I am pleased to share that these same traits and values surfaced again and again during my research for Be An Inspirational Leader: Engage, Inspire, Empower—and nearly all of them are addressed in the book.
How about you—what words would you add to the list above to describe what Inspirational Leadership means to you? Please share in the comments!
