How to be an Encouraging Leader?
Leadership
May 6, 2013
Tal Shnall
Topics
Character-based Leadership, influence, Leadership Development, personal growth, relationships“People go farther than they thought they could when someone else thinks they can.” John Maxwell
Webster’s defines encouragement as the “the act of inspiring others with renewed courage renewed spirit or renewed hope.”
Think of a time of when you had a problem and you needed to talk to someone. Who was the person you thought about? Why did you choose that person and what did they do to help you?
We call these people encouraging leaders. The next time you are around a group of people, take the time to reflect on who is the encouraging leader among them. What qualities do they have?
Leadership can be very challenging but at the same time very rewarding when you encourage and uplift someone to a higher ground. By encouragement, we bring a light to someone’s life. We become the messengers of hope and courage to lead the people we care about.
Encouraging leadership is a process that focuses on the individual’s strength and contributions in order to drive their motivation and performance to a higher level. When people are encouraged, they feel valued and cared for.
Encouraging leaders bring the best in other people. Each one of us needs an encouraging leader to be around us when we need a lift. The encouraging leader adds value through believing in our potential and provides resources to help us achieve better results.
One of the best ways to think about encouraging leaders is the way they build rapport and facilitate open communication with their teams. People feel they can make a positive difference in their organization as leaders encourage more and more. Human behavior is a social behavior which is influenced by the relations with others.
People want to be part of something bigger than themselves. People believe they are fulfilled, valued and self- actualized when they feel encouraged to be part of a worthwhile journey. To be an encouraging leader, we must learn the ways in which people feel accepted. People can only get a feeling of acceptance by belonging to something they value through their daily contributions.
To be an encouraging leader, it is crucial that you have meaningful and motivating beliefs about human behavior. You begin to notice as you help individuals move from “I can’t” to a more powerful state of “I will.”
Many people are unhappy and sometimes discouraged. They lack the ability to grow and the courage to face the challenges in front of them. Encouragement helps someone to take risks toward a positive change because humans have the capacity for constructive change in their lives.
Encouragement always makes a positive impact on someone’s life. A word of encouragement can have powerful last impact to drive better commitment and help people reach their full potential.
When encouraging leaders help people feel more valuable, capable, and motivated, we see their lives change for the better and reach their potential.
If you would like to know more about how to be an encouraging leader, please visit my blog.
"You never know when a moment and a few sincere words can have an impact on a life." Zig Ziglar
Very inspirational and excellent pointers – sometimes we all need reminding on how be an encouraging leader.
[…] “People go farther than they thought they could when someone else thinks they can.” John Maxwell Webster’s defines encouragement as the “the act of i… (#leadership How to be an Encouraging Leader? […]
[…] “People go farther than they thought they could when someone else thinks they can.” John Maxwell Webster’s defines encouragement as the “the act of i… […]
Hi Tal,
Thanks for sharing your insightful wisdom for encouraging people to be the best they can be. Yesterday I was feeling overwhelmed by all the work we need to accomplish and privately fussing about how we’d pull it off with our current staff. During our staffing call, one of our leaders turned my whole thinking around by reminding me that we’ve done a lot more is less time and with less staff. It was all about breaking the project down into bite-size chunks and assigning the right people to the tasks. I left that call both encouraged, but also a bit embarrassed. I knew this, but succumbing to the stress of the moment overshadowed my logic. The moral of the story: Listen to the encouraging leaders around you. They know what you’re capable of accomplishing!
Thoroughly enjoyed this blog. I’ve had to transform by fire into an “encouraging leader.” I’m a parent of an 18 year old who is lost right now. I see glimmers of hope but I’ve definitely had to be encouraging and have faith where there was no light. I certainly agree that people achieve a lot more than they think they can when someone else believes in them. Great blog.
Thank you for the inspiring feedback both Jonena and Rober are sharing. I am always fascinated by the real life stories of encouraging leadership taking place in the work place and in our personal lives. Wish we could hear more about these stories because they resonate with us to to make a better world.