The fourth ingredient for creating inspiration and emotional engagement in a time of change is to show people they have a problem.
At first glance this might seem like the wrong thing to do. After all, in times of change, people are already likely to be feeling nervous, uncertain, or even afraid.
But as Jack Welch used to say, when he was CEO of General Electric:
“Face reality as it is, not as it was, or as you wish it to be.”
By making it clear how they have a problem if things continue in the way they are going, you give people the motivation they need to do something different: after all, why change if they don’t have a problem?
Of course, you also need to remember that nervous people can react in unpredictable ways so be sure to do this in a way that inspires rather than scares them.
But the more clearly you can show your audience, in their words, how they have a problem they need to address, the more inspired and engaged they will become to work with you to build a solution.
Are you trying to create something new in the world? Do your stakeholders understand why they have a problem if things continue the way they are?
Adapted from Inner Leadership: a framework and tools for building inspiration in times of change.
You can sign up to daily posts here.
You can buy the book here and the workbook here.
(And remember: you can’t learn to swim just by reading about swimming, you also have to do the practice.)
Photo By Christian Bordeaux (adapted) via StockPholio.net