When employees aren’t just engaged, but inspired, that’s when organizations see real breakthroughs. Inspired employees are themselves far more productive and, in turn, inspire those around them to strive for greater heights.
Surveys show that less than half of respondents say they agree or strongly agree that their leaders are inspiring. Even fewer feel that their leaders foster engagement or commitment and model the culture and values of the corporation. But real breakthroughs in performance come from employees who feel inspired by their leaders and their organizations. A new study to uncover what makes a leader inspirational reveals some surprising results: there are many different attributes, 33 in all, that inspire people, but you need only one of these to double your chance of being an inspirational leader; inspirational leaders have behavioral “spikes” that are relevant to how the company creates value; and leaders who both inspire people and generate results disrupt established behaviors in their organizations.