Inspiration should play a leading role in the day to day activities of a CEO! To be a CEO is playing a role. In your opinion, what is one of the major qualities of a contemporary CEO? In most successful humanistic leadership research today you will find that inspiration is one of the main qualities.
Why? — because it is positive energy and leads to positive results not only for the bottom line, but most importantly the development of people talents, skills and capacities. In the end, who is creating and making the bottom line happen? – the people below you.
Look at some successful leaders, e.g. Warren Buffett, Steve Jobs, Richard Branson – one of the underlying genes in their business acumen is to inspire in their day to day activities. CEOs who inspire others in their day to day activities rally people around them to be productive, creative and innovative. To inspire is a way of being and being inspirational gives tremendous energy. Furthermore, inspiring others also inspires yourself – it is a full energetic circle. People sense this and will respond accordingly.
However, your words of inspiration must be truthful, from the heart, transparent, and straight talking. People can smell out a phony a mile away. Even if the CEO is a great manipulator, that will only last so long before he or she is found out. Then no matter how hard you try to inspire, you have already broken the back of trust with your people.
The question asks, “should”? ”Should” implies having to do something for the sake of others or simply doing it. Does this come from your heart or simply your mind? Is should the correct word here? Perhaps the word might be want. This is totally up to you as an individual.
Just take a moment and step outside of yourself. What happens when you are inspired? What do you feel, see and hear? What happens to your productivity and creativity? How does it feel like when you are inspiring others?
As a CEO, you most likely did not begin at this title if you came into an existing company. If you started the company, that is a different thing. However, the underlying premise remains. Put yourself in the shoes of others and remember what is was like if you had had or didn’t have an inspirational CEO/leader. Seriously sense, what did this feel like in your mind, body and soul.
In my view of the world I cannot understand why a CEO would not want to inspire his employees, clients and everyone he comes in contact with. It is a no brainer. The benefits are tremendous. However, lack of inspiration is rampant in companies. Rise above and make your company a model desired company to work for. Why? – because it is a company that inspires the genius of others.
A very simple exercise I like to have people do is a breathing exercise. I ask them to breath deep into their body and then out again. Focus your intent and minds eye on the breathing and what it looks like, sounds like and feels like. I then ask them to focus on the word inspire as the in-breath. Focus on the in-breath as inspiring the breath of life and on the out breath as expiring that, which is not needed or necessary anymore. Inspire and sense the feeling of what it does to your whole system. The word inspire itself holds and vibrates a lot of positive energy within you. When you have done about 5 minutes of this, I ask them to then write down or draw how inspired they feel.
When you start your day, ask yourself what is the energy that you want to show up with at the office – and then when you leave the office what is the energy you want to leave with? Perhaps an inspired state of being.
Coming back to the question, it is up to you if you wish to use words of inspiration in your day to day activities; however, what happens if you don’t? What is the impact around you? Can you afford in this world of business not to inspire?
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