The adverts for top jobs are remarkably similar, with the message that organisations seek inspirational leaders.
It doesn’t seem to matter about size, location or complexity, big or small, new or well established, rural or city, national or local. They all want an inspirational leader. But aren’t all leaders by definition people who inspire others?
Why is it necessary to specify the need for an inspirational leader? Is it about emphasising this quality above other leadership qualities and if so why? Is the power of inspiration now viewed as the difference a chief executive makes? Is inspirational leadership the difference between a successful organisation and the also rans?
There is a difference between leading an organisation and leading a team which these job adverts for chief executives are highlighting. Inspiring your team involves motivating them, instilling enthusiasm, and a high level of commitment such that people are prepared to go the extra mile because they believe in what you’re trying to achieve. This requires the leader to have a relationship with the individual based on trust, respect and honesty, such that the leader is described as, ‘genuine’. Leaders do this by sharing personal information about themselves, their lives, their values and by learning about the people they manage as individuals, their families, their hobbies, their aspirations.
If you’re leading an organisation you are doing more than inspiring your direct reports, your senior management team or board members. As an inspirational leader you are establishing a relationship with the whole organisation! You want everyone who works in that organisation to trust you, even those who have never met you. You want everyone in the organisation or who has dealings with the organisation to know what you stand for, and believe you are a genuine person. This is difficult to do when you will not have face to face contact with the majority of these people.
There are opportunities to address employees and partner agencies directly; the speech opening a conference, the budget road shows, regular forums to address and listen to service users. A well-crafted , skilfully delivered speech can be very inspiring and can reverberate around an organisation and its partner organisations. Few chief executives can hope to give a speech like President Obama’s ‘Yes we can’ inaugural address but it shows how it is possible to reach out to the wider audience and make an emotional connection to a diverse audience if you speak with passion and conviction in a way the audience can connect with.
Organisation seek chief executives who by example set the tone within the organisation and promote a culture of empowerment because inspirational leadership is about encouraging people to be creative, to find new ways to meet new challenges, to inject energy and enthusiasm creating a positive buzz around the place, developing high levels of commitment and a strong sense of belonging. A very challenging remit.
Blair McPherson is a former director, and an author and blogger
