Regularly reflect on your values, past successes, lessons learned from others, and your passions, as this ‘reflected life’ is a true path to personal and shared happiness and inspiration.
Understand that when people look up to you, your actions and words are amplified, meaning casual comments can become criticisms and offhand compliments become glorious praise.
Create a vision that provides meaning and understanding, helping individuals make sense of their own behavior and coordinate effectively with others, preventing miscommunication and conflict.
Ground your leadership in your core values, as they are a powerful pathway to meaning and purpose, and can guide you in making inspired decisions.
Understand that your emotions (calmness, anxiety, courage) are highly contagious and amplified when you are a leader, profoundly impacting the mood and behavior of those around you.
Actively look for opportunities to give genuine and specific praise, as it fulfills a fundamental human need to feel valued and can greatly motivate others.
Provide options to those you lead, as it makes them feel respected, increases their agency, leads to better outcomes, and reduces frustration for everyone involved.
Actively share credit for accomplishments with your team members and even competitors, as it boosts their status, increases your own perceived status, and fosters a positive, generous environment.
Recognize that you can gain valuable insights from people ‘below’ you in a hierarchy, which makes you a more engaged and empathic mentor and leads to better outcomes.
Use the ‘REIP’ framework for continuous self-improvement: Reflect on experiences, Emulate inspiring leaders, set Intentions for future actions, and Practice consistently.
Define your top values, arrange them in a hierarchy, and keep a physical or digital reminder (e.g., a laminated card or notes app) to consult in challenging moments for guidance.
Before important tasks, reflect on times when you felt powerful, confident, or were your ‘best self’ to leverage those experiences and tap into task-specific inspiration, increasing confidence and effectiveness.
Humanize yourself by sharing vulnerabilities, as it makes you relatable, fosters connection, and can inspire others to overcome their own challenges, rather than appearing out of reach.
Allow your genuine passion to show, as it is infectious and inspires others; authenticity in expressing passion (eyes lighting up, smiling, hand movements) is key.
Reflect on alternative paths or choices you didn’t take to realize how meaningful and precious your current situation (e.g., relationships, career) is, thereby increasing inspiration and appreciation.
After someone achieves something significant (like a first presentation), offer only praise initially, delaying constructive criticism until the next day to avoid crushing their spirit.
When praising others, ensure your compliments are genuine and specific to the action or achievement, making them more impactful and sincere.
Deliver praise in writing (text or email) so the recipient can savor it, revisit it when feeling down, and easily respond, which also provides a happiness benefit to the giver.
When facing challenging situations or strong emotions (like a child’s tantrum), consciously choose a ‘more generous path’ to avoid negative amplification effects, even if it goes against ingrained reactions.
When apologizing, take responsibility for your actions and, critically, state what you will do differently in the future to make a commitment to positive change.
Develop a ‘dynamic, steady voice’ (constant pitch, dynamic volume) to present yourself more effectively, as Margaret Thatcher did with a voice coach. This voice naturally occurs when feeling powerful, but can also be learned.
Recognize that even seemingly minor actions can have a magnified negative impact on those who look up to you, and proactively address misunderstandings.
Understand that an offhand comment, even if not intended as criticism, can be deeply impactful and discouraging to someone who looks up to you, potentially altering their behavior significantly.
Even in roles where you feel ’low power,’ those below you may perceive you as high power, making your casual criticisms deeply impactful; be mindful of this power dynamic.
Recognize that many roles involve leadership, and intentionally develop skills to be a better leader.