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Successful leaders are those who can motivate their team and gain buy-in and commitment from team members to achieve the team’s goals. Use this exercise to reflect on leadership experiences that have inspired you and to think about what you can do to be a truly inspirational team leader. Allow yourself about 20 minutes to complete it.
Task
- Think about a time when someone has inspired you to do something that you did not really think you could do, or perhaps did not want to do.
- Once you have thought of at least one example, recall the situation in detail and what the person did. Make some notes on why their approach inspired you to do what you did. Consider their style of approach, language and behavior, and why they were particularly effective.
- Now think about an occasion where you tried to positively influence a member of your team. If it worked successfully, consider if there are any parallels with your own experience. If there are, identify a model approach to help ensure repeated success. If it did not work successfully, consider why this might be. How did the person who inspired you differ in style from your own approach? In hindsight, how would you approach it differently?
- Finally, list a few simple steps that you will apply to ensure that your leadership approach stays on the right track when working with members of your team.
