Category: Thought Leadership

How Do Leaders Stay Motivated?

Managing a project requires strong leadership skills and ample amounts of motivation. Unfortunately, it isn’t always easy to maintain enthusiasm. If you’ve been an industry leader for many years, you may fall into an everyday routine of ensuring that each project goal is being reached on time and within budget.

The best leaders are always motivated and know how to maintain a sense of enthusiasm. That’s essential if you want the people you manage to remain engaged in their work. Keep in mind that it’s challenging to build up your motivation after being demotivated. Whether your stress increases or you become bored with the same tasks, ambition is critical toward ensuring success. These five motivational techniques for leaders will help you better maintain your initiative now and in the future.

1. Make Sure You Acknowledge and Reward Your Accomplishments

One of the critical examples of self-motivation is making sure that you acknowledge and reward your accomplishments during the year. While project management isn’t as driven by routine as some occupations, finding the right time to reward yourself can be challenging. This is especially true when you’re focusing on keeping the people you manage working hard.

Neurotransmitters are responsible for regulating our motivation. Our brain responds to two types of motivation, intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation comes from a sense of satisfaction, while extrinsic motivation focuses on an external reward. Using these two together is the best approach. There will undoubtedly be times when you should reward your achievements, which could include everything from reaching a challenging goal to completing an entire project. The most meaningful rewards are those that boost your energy and lower your stress levels. Keep in mind that stress is a crucial factor in a lack of motivation.

2. Identify Ways You Can Improve as a Leader

Identifying ways that you may be able to improve as a leader is important for self-motivation. If you feel like you’re at the end of the road when it comes to your career, finding a new spark can undoubtedly be challenging. However, it would help if you never stopped searching for ways to improve as a leader.

Perfection in leadership is impossible. Nevertheless, you can always look for ways to build on your role as a team leader. Motivation invariably occurs when you’re striving to do better. Set goals that challenge your skills and require you to rise above your usual level.

3. Strike the Right Balance

If you want to stay motivated, it’s not enough to focus on how to increase your motivation. It’s also essential that you understand how to avoid becoming demotivated. One way to prevent this is to strike the right balance between your life and work. While being an effective leader is time-consuming, you must set aside some time for your personal life. Life and work can coexist when you strike the right balance.

This balance isn’t the same for everyone. Businessman and author Stephen Covey says that “leadership is a choice, not a position.” Once you’ve made this choice, it’s vital that you find the balance that works and allows you to remain motivated. Without motivation, your team’s management will be lacking, which only makes it more difficult to reach project goals and maintain a sense of urgency.

4. Delegate Certain Tasks When Necessary

While being bored is an easy way to become demotivated, so is being too stressed when you’re overworked. If you can’t complete all your tasks, don’t hesitate to delegate to other senior members of your team who have the necessary experience. Remember that being a strong leader doesn’t mean that you need to do everything. If you’re swamped with project tasks, you may find that the people you manage are aimless. Giving them more responsibility will also prepare them for future projects.

5. Remember to Eat Healthy and Regularly Exercise

Though not as centered around project management as the previous techniques, eating a healthy diet and exercising are essential if you want to maintain enthusiasm. If you’re sitting all day, you’ll find it challenging to stay engaged with a project.

Spend at least 30 minutes to an hour, exercising every day. This can take the form of walking, running on the treadmill, or doing some peaceful yoga. Eating a healthy diet is also important when maintaining motivation. If you eat poorly, your body will be tired and feel run-down, which only serves to sap your energy and keep your motivation levels low. With the right nutrients in your diet, you’ll notice a boost in enthusiasm and energy.

It can be all too easy to become demotivated when a goal isn’t met, or the people you manage aren’t performing as expected. In most situations, however, there will be enough time to turn things around as long as you take action to change direction. One of the many benefits of self-motivation is that it can take many forms. Whether you exercise daily or challenge yourself to improve as a leader, the steps that you take to strengthen your motivation will pay dividends. If you want to learn more about leadership and motivation, contact Leonard Productivity Intelligence Institute today.

How to Become a Leader in Your Industry

When it comes to taking the next step in your career, focusing on becoming an authority in your industry is a great place to start. Being established as an expert in a specific niche could lead to a lot of opportunities. However, this naturally involves having an in-depth understanding and up-to-date knowledge of the most significant developments in your field.

You could be well on your way to cementing your industry leadership position by amassing an impressive knowledge base in your field. These helpful steps will build off that knowledge base and earn you widespread recognition as a trusted authority and visionary leader.

Cultivate a Leadership Mindset

Rather than fixating on the status quo or how things have always been done, finding ways to innovate and embrace change in your field builds a leadership mindset. This will allow you to forge new paths and eventually be recognized as an innovator. As advised by Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”

Study an Industry Leader Example

When you identify another industry leader who you aspire to emulate, study their background and recent projects to gain perspective on where to focus your efforts. For example, if your peers publish articles in certain industry magazines or journals, consider finding a topic to write about and submit for publication.

Plan and Protect Your Time and Schedule

It’s incredibly tempting to become absorbed in the challenges and daily tasks of your professional life. However, there’s a danger that comes with engaging intensely on too many issues; you risk losing sight of your most important priorities and becoming distracted from your ultimate goal.

The key to developing a workable schedule that you’re more likely to stick with is clarifying your objectives daily, weekly, and monthly. Setting a tight schedule and abiding by the timeline you establish requires discipline and practice over time.

Stay Connected to Your Clients

Maintaining frequent and substantive communications with your clients will keep your work grounded and your solutions practical. While studying the literature and developments in your field is critically important to your advancement, this should not come at the cost of being connected to your clients.

Engage With Related Industries

Besides staying connected to clients, maintaining cross-disciplinary ties can give you enhanced perspective and creativity as a leader. Identifying critical areas for collaboration with other leaders may help you leverage innovative and proactive solutions to your field challenges.

Leveraging Neuroscience Principles to Become a Leader in Your Industry

As Dr. David Rock explained in an interview for Inc.com, neuroscience research has revealed valuable principles regarding the brain’s ability to process information. Based on the results of years of study, Dr. Rock recommends that leaders consider the best ways to present information to team members, the public, and other industry peers.

Above all, the most effective strategy you can implement when communicating in a meeting or any other public forum is simplifying and streamlining your message down to three or four essential concepts. Instead of bombarding your audience with a laundry list of objectives or related messages, be pithy. The more direct and concise your message, the easier it will be to digest and remember.

Building a Culture as a Trusted Leader

The corporate culture you create in your quest to become an industry leader can significantly impact your effectiveness. Your team members and employees are invaluable assets in helping to shape and carry out your vision.

The foundation of any thriving corporate environment is a relationship-centered on trust and empathy. This idea may be best expressed in the case of Rosenbluth Travel, which was founded by someone who often used “ego-driven” policies. After managers implemented a culture shift based on caring about employees, this family-owned business blossomed into the world’s largest privately held travel company.

Managers approached communications with their direct reports from a place of empathy and sincere engagement. Over a relatively short period of time, this culture shift filtered down to all company levels. Such approaches create an environment where candor and creativity are encouraged, which could ultimately help elevate your status as a trusted leader.

Key Takeaways on Becoming a Leader

The most significant steps in establishing yourself as a leader take time and focus to see through to completion. Your willingness to embark on this journey without delay will help you build momentum and capitalize on your intermittent successes toward the bigger goal. Choose one of these strategies to develop each week to keep yourself progressing efficiently and effectively.

“So, tell me, Mr. Hawthorne,” Sydney started, “how did you become such a prominent leader in your industry? What’s your secret?”

Mr. Hawthorne chuckled, “I had a lot of help. My team worked with me to make things happen. I couldn’t’ve done it without them.”

“It seems like you really care about your employees,” Sydney noted with a small smile.

“I do. I’m always working with my board of directors to make sure we cultivate a familial culture. I want my employees to come to work feeling as if they never left home.”

Sydney nodded thoughtfully before saying, “Is that all? What about your clients? I’m aware that your company is very hands-on with them. Did that make an impact?”

“Oh, certainly,” Mr. Hawthorne replied with a grin. “We make it a habit at our company to be intimately involved with our clients. They’re our bread and butter. We make it our priority to make sure they’re happy and satisfied with our services.”

“Well, Mr. Hawthorne, if I weren’t a reporter, I’d be tempted to apply to your company. It sounds like you really have cultivated a positive and homey culture.”

“Thank you. When I first started this business, I was so focused on getting things done that I neglected my company’s culture. I wanted so badly to make it to the top that I was willing to do anything to get there. It really hurt our business down the line,” Mr. Hawthorne explained, his eyes staring off into the distance.

“I remember reading about that,” Sydney murmured. “I’m guessing that creating a team and family culture really helped?”

His eyes focused on her face. He smiled, “It did. We picked ourselves back up and really committed to our clients, and reestablished our values. If it weren’t for that, I don’t know where we’d be.”

“I notice you don’t claim the business as solely yours.”

“I make mistakes, but I’m a quick learner. I know this business is more than just mine. Like I said before, I wouldn’t be here without my team. We all made this business what it is today. I’m indebted to my team and my employees.”

“I see. So, to recap: You became a top leader in your industry from your team and your clients. Would you like to add anything before we wrap up?”

“It didn’t hurt to pay attention to the trends out there,” he chuckled. “We played a balancing of being mindful of trends, but not letting them completely dictate our every move. I think all three of those things combined brought us to the top of our industry.”

“Impressive, Mr. Hawthorne. Very impressive,” Sydney commended. “Well, it was a pleasure interviewing you today.” She extended her hand out to him.

He shook her hand, saying, “I hope you get an A on your paper.”

Sydney laughed. “I think I will. I don’t think my professor is going to believe that I interviewed a big wig like yourself.”

“Well, I’m sure it helps that this conversation is being recorded,” he chuckled. “It was great talking with you.” He stood up from his chair.

“Thanks so much for taking the time out of your busy schedule. Not many CEOs would do that,” Sydney smiled, stopping the recording on her phone and getting to her feet.

“It’s a pleasure. Good luck on all your endeavors,” Mr. Hawthorne smiled back.

“You as well,” she replied cheerily, watching him go.

What stood out to you from this interview? How can you follow in Mr. Hawthorne’s steps and lead your own industry? In what ways can you cultivate a culture of family and teamwork at your workplace?