Early in my career, there were 3 people who profoundly inspired me beyond my day-to-day work.
The first, with initials CB, was a natural leader. He was pretty socially awkward by nature but had a smile and laugh that would easily defuse any hesitation about his character. He was passionate about the work he led and about his time. That was his lasting impact upon me – whenever we had 1:1s, he was fully enveloped in it. No multi-tasking, no phone peeking, he was 100% devoted to you.
The second had initials MD. And if I told you CB was socially awkward, MD took the crown. I couldn’t ever tell if he cared – cared that I knew or cared that he knew. Regardless, he was incredibly business centric. So relating to him on a personal level was challenging. And yet, I was inspired by however poor his attempt was to earn my trust. I remember one day, he put his arm around my shoulders. I couldn’t think of a more awkward but innocent attempt of friendship.
The third went by JS. Polar opposites from CB and MD. JS had a swagger to him, not only in style but in spirit. He left at 5 PM not because he needed to, but because he could. Whenever you’d tell him something, he’d relate by story or simply by facial expression. His spirit carried his love for the world and for human connection.
Three entirely different people who share one vital trait – authenticity.
And that is half the battle inspiring a team, by being authentic. To show and prove to others you are genuine and vulnerable requires you to sort of pour your heart into your team. Good news is, doesn’t matter how big your heart is or what drives it. Could be an awkward heart or a swaggerish heart – if you give your all to your team, your team will feel it. And I don’t mean “all” in a completeness sense, I mean “all” in the way it makes you human, maybe by sharing something vulnerable or intimate. In the world of rapid-scale AI, being human is more important than ever.
The other half of inspiring your team comes in the form of openness.
Leaders naturally know a lot. They are smart, that’s why they’re in a leadership role to begin with. But it doesn’t mean they know more than their team. The leaders who inspire prove that. They want to learn more from their team, while elevating them to be better versions of themselves. So how do they do that?
They do that in the way they present themselves in meetings, asking questions not to prove a point, but to invoke curiosity.
They do that in their day-to-day, inviting analysts into their office to help practice an important presentation, asking for feedback around delivery.
They do that in digital communication, responding to performance reviews with “teach me more”, not “I agree”.
Ultimately, the best leaders are people you talk to, not one-way communication.
So combine the two (authenticity or openness)! Or if you’re having trouble gaining traction in both, start by mastering one – normally the openness is easier to achieve first. And if you’re having trouble evaluating how successful you are… there’s a perfect audience to ask.
Most importantly, if you’ve read this far, you care. That spirit alone will help power you through your development as a team leader. Best of luck! Believe in yourself.
