If You Believe, The Rest Will Come | Inspiring Believables

Written by: Lorraine Twombly

Published: December 2009

You know how you get these ideas in your head while doing your exercises or when you are getting ready for whatever the day brings you?  A couple weeks ago, I thought of a topic for this article that I felt should be written about and I had to quickly write it down with some notes so I’d remember to write it for December's newsletter.  

Quite a few years back, I had heard for the first time two words that resonated with me so much that I’ve been thinking about it ever since.  Those two words are "Inspiring Believables".  I’ve always loved the word "Inspire" or "Inspiring" and have been doing a lot of research on the topic these last 20 years and my conclusion is that it takes a certain willingness and commitment to become better at inspiring others.  I've seen tremendous results with people who take their leadership seriously, and can participate in skills-building events to help develop and learn about their style of leadership, how to motivate and inspire others, how to create a culture of coaching and mentoring, and, the always talked about, how to create participative teams.

Here are some "inspirational" themes that have worked for most people that I've had the pleasure to meet in the workplace (thank you all for contributing to my conclusions):

• Believe that you work in a great company and that you believe in its products and services
• Have genuine curiosity and attention when conversing with others - always a winner if you are helping others to ID their issues and solve their own problems
• Ask, rather than tell, is a good thing to think about in most conversations
• Participate with others for input, feedback, and have crucial conversations with guidelines that will keep a civil attitude
• Create balances at work that will encourage appreciation and gratitude (transactional versus transformational)
• Build as transparent a company as you can via consistent communications, organizational vision, and ethical guidelines
• Encourage innovation - ask employees to come up with ideas so they feel included and feel the ownership of doing their best work (guidelines need to be made clear to avoid misunderstandings)
• Embrace a culture of learning and development - most people love to learn new things and to become better at all aspects of their job and life

In conclusion, companies who encourage inspiration in the workplace are companies who will have the greatest successes in the long run, because they are creating a culture of achievement and support.  Inspiration is like dedication in that it translates immediately into smiles, steely determination and great places to spend our working hours.  They are looking outward and trying to do the most good at a reasonable timeframe and for benefit of not only the employees, but their families as well.  It is a slow burn and most companies will tell you that's true, especially after all the turmoil of the latest economic faux pas.  Haven"t we all learned that usually nothing we set out to accomplish happens overnight or that quick fixes do not work very well? 

Thanks for reading this article...you'll hear from us again next month!

For more information, please contact me at 207-653-2552. Have A Happy Holiday!!