(hint: it’s all about listening)…
What comes to mind when you think of inspiring people? Motivating them?
Do you picture a charismatic leader on stage giving a speech? Maybe getting a standing ovation at the end?
Well, the reality is: that’s NOT what it means to inspire and motivate.
Because—think about it—how many times have you clapped for someone and then forgotten everything they said?
A key to INSPIRATION and MOTIVATION is to:
Listen with the 3 A’s!
- Listen actively.
- Listen assumption-free.
- Listen with acknowledgement.
The majority of the leaders I talk to think they are good listeners. And they do intend to be.
But when I talk to their TEAMs, I don’t hear the same thing. What I hear instead are leaders who:
- finish people’s sentences (literally, or in a distracted way in their head) while the other person is speaking
- make assumptions about the meaning of what others say
- answer a text or type on their keyboard while they’re in the middle of a conversation
- move onto the “next thing” after someone finishes what they’re saying—without acknowledging what’s just been said
⭐️⭐️ There is a famine in the land of leaders who know how to listen well!!
In school, we were taught to read, to write, to speak.
We were not taught how to listen and how to let people know they’ve been heard.
Yet listening with all 3 A’s—actively, assumption-free, and with acknowledgment—are acts of TRULY listening and giving people your attention.
It makes people feel:
- VALUED
- HEARD
- APPRECIATED
…which translates to inspiring and motivating them.
It seems counterintuitive that LISTENING does more to inspire and motivate people than SPEAKING does.
But the greatest gift you can give someone is to be fully present and
truly listen.