Being The Inspiration

Frustrated and exasperated, Julia decided that it was finally time to close her business. After eight years of operations, and 25 odd members of staff that had passed through her doors, she deemed that with dwindling revenues and consistently spiraling costs, the business was just not viable.

But it was all supposed to have been so easy. After graduating from University with an LLB, she decided that, having studied Law to please her parents, she could now start living her own dream and fulfill purpose – by setting up her own Montessori kindergarten. She got qualified and set up the school and soon enough through word of mouth and referrals, the pupils came in. But year in and year out, pupil numbers were not growing as Julia had expected. Teachers too were not as inspired and motivated in their work as she needed them to be. Julia herself needed inspiration.

Imagine a world where people wake up inspired to go to work.

Imagine that world. A world where your employees are more often than not really looking forward to the business day. A world your employees daily look forward to interacting with their colleagues and leader. A world where your employees are also constantly and authentically excited about interacting with clients, for they see themselves as relevant for their clients – relevant with a listening ear, attentive heart, and responsive, premium solutions to the needs of their clients.

Imagine that. Wouldn’t it be amazing? Really, amazing?

I am of the view point that this would be seriously valuable, even as I am of the position that we should all seek to make our businesses and workplace one such place – and I am convinced that one of the ways that you can do that is to lead with purpose and direction – know your why of your business, live the why of your business in your operations, and inspire with the why with and in your business.

The Why
Why exactly are you in business? What is so distinctive and responsive about your business and your organization that it would potentially draws clients and potential employees to your door step every single day? There are some organizations that people just ogle to work with and or are the preferred service providers of many. There is a reason for this – both employee and prospective client deem you to be an especial service provider with a unique way of doing, a unique way of serving. There is something distinctive about your brand – and therefore your business.

But hardly ever is this a process of chance. The most sought after brands are relentless in their effort to be responsive to client and employee needs – and wants. They clearly understand why they are in business and who they are in business to serve – and are on an equally obsessive about serving clientele effectively and efficiently vis-a-vis their brand values, and doing so consistently and constantly.

The How
For Julia, the head of school in the case study above, I wonder if she had thought deeply about the why of her business. I wonder if she had thought deeply about how she would have to operation her business to satisfy that why. I wonder if Julia thought deep about what it would take to create the kind of school that she wanted – from organizational values, to organizational culture, to parent/school engagement, to away days for teachers, to school administrative policies, to continuous learning for herself and her teachers so that they become persuasive authorities in their field, to developing executive presence for herself. For in any business there are vital peripherals beyond the product and service that we sell which we must pay attention to.

The decisive business leader ensures that their business, their organization, operates at a place of inspired joint value for all its stakeholders, ensures that their organization is a continually learning, continually improving and continually responsive, ensures that their organization and business is continually enhancing their capabilities, services, and their products – and inspiring and motivating staff as it does so .

And that takes courage.

It takes courage to inspire for when you inspire you very often suggest innovative ways of doing and thinking for the better. In presenting new ways of thinking, new ways of doing, the business leader challenges the status quo and that is why leading effectively often requires courage. People often will need tremendous inspiration to offer their best and effect an otherwise dormant potential – and it will take courageous intentional leadership to emerge that potential.

It was TS Eliot who said that only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go – and the privilege and responsibility of business leadership is in taking calculated risks, within and in spite of your resource constraints, to see how you can more effectively serve and respond to your clients and your team’s needs. That takes courage.

But courage is ineffectual without purpose and direction – and this is why in business we must know our why, and gather the courage to demonstrate that why through our how.