How Great Leaders Inspire the Best from Their People
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 Larry
Fehd
Larry Fehd is president and founder of Human Performance
Strategies. Please see
bio for professional background and experience.
Contact Information
Phone: 512-415-0748
Email: lfehd@hp-strategies.com
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Being inspired is unique to the individual, and inspiration has different
meanings for different people. Inspiration can stimulate both the
intellect and emotion and often motivates people to action. Inspiration
fills people with emotion, which then stimulates creativity, influence,
and meaningful contribution.
Recall a time when you were inspired by another person. Ask yourself
the following question: Was I inspired more by my thoughts about
this person's actions or was I inspired more by my emotions as a
result of those actions? In other words, was your experience based
more on what your head or your heart experienced at the time?
Rudy Giuliani, former mayor of New York City, is an extraordinary
example of great inspirational leadership. If you consider his behaviors
in the midst of tragedy, what do you recall most about his leadership?
Was it his actions (i.e. take-charge demeanor, rapid assessment
of the situation, marshalling limited resources, etc.) or was it
his authenticity and openness on September 11 and during the events
that followed?
In the movie Starman, Jeff Bridges played an alien being
visiting Earth from a distant planet. At the end of the movie, while
bidding farewell to co-star Karen Allen prior to boarding a spaceship,
he made an interesting observation. He said, "Do you know what
I find most interesting about human beings? People are at their
best when things are at their worse." In the context of September
11 and Rudy Giuliani, it seems that Starman's observation may be
significant in the role of inspiring the best from people.
When things are at their worse, don't we rely more on our hearts
than our heads? Tragic events are painful and often remain firmly
etched in our memories. However, they can also be valuable lessons
when applied to our lives including inspirational leadership.
In a business environment, it is far more common to remain focused
on the head rather than the heart. No experienced leader would debate
the merits of intellectual capital as an essential component of
business success. However, if you reflect back on your response
to the question about an inspirational person at the beginning of
this article, what characteristics were composed of thoughts vs.
emotions? Was it perhaps a higher percentage of emotional characteristics?
Exemplary leaders perform at their best and inspire the best from
their people. They appeal to their employees' heads and hearts and
achieve extraordinary business results.
Research suggests that as much as 80% or more of the reasons leaders
ascend and remain as senior leaders is attributable to their Emotional
Intelligence. Emotional Intelligence does not mean being emotional.
Rather, it means understanding both the head and heart in order
to access the fullest potential of individuals, teams, and organizations.
Learn more about Emotional
Intelligence.
In the final analysis, Rudy Giuliani appealed to the heads and
hearts in leading and inspiring the best from the people of New
York City. He also inspired the best from many others in our great
country and around the world.
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