Pub 1 2012 Issue 1

14 Leading advocate for the banking industry in Kansas. W E HEAR A LOT ABOUT LEADER- ship and many consider themselves to be leaders simply because they have a title or position that implies a super- visory role. When we consider leadership at a deeper level is when we can truly make a difference for our team, their perfor- mance and, ultimately, the bottom line. For instance, do we consider the power of perception when leading? We never want to infer the good parent / bad parent type of leadership, especially with the younger generation that is entering the workforce today. This group can be adept at playing supervisors off of one another. A good leader will recognize this dynamic and reverse it by engaging in communication that fosters a thriving environment for personal professional growth and goal-oriented teamwork. It’s also an opportunity to recognize future leaders. Remember that the hallmark of a genuine leader is that they relish in developing other leaders. Cultivating leaders doesn’t happen by chance. It calls for an investment of time and resources to grow potential leaders to be effective and respected supervisors in due course. A leader isn’t crippled by a need to be liked but instead powered by their ability to inspire an average group of employees into amotivated, reach-for-the-stars team of A players. This isn’t done by brow beating and threats. Like President Dwight D. Eisen- hower once said, “Pull the string, and it will followwherever you wish. Push it, and it will go nowhere at all.” When we begin to think of ourselves as a “leader” instead of a “boss,” we can view our role through a totally different per- spective. That shift alone will be noticed by a team who is looking for direction. The higher calling of a leader is to un- leash the motivation that is within each individual. A balanced use of the managerial tools at our disposal, such as training, recog- nition, communication and incentives, we can discover the uniqueness of the employees on our team and their motiva- tional preferences. An employee survey may reveal sur- prising results. We learned that our em- ployees’ top three incentives are time off, money and recognition. While this might not be true for every individual, it gives us a sense of what we can do to inspire our employees to be their most effective. We did this by “listening” to what they want. When we make it about them, they make it about us! Inspiration doesn’t just occur now and then. A ll of us need it every single day. It’s the energy that fuels our performance. That’s why at our bank it’s ingrained in our culture. My bank has experienced phenomenal results on our sales campaigns by applying the principles of inspiring leadership with A good leader will recognize this dynamic and reverse it by engaging in communication that fosters a thriving environment for personal professional growth and goal-oriented teamwork. INSPIRING LEADERSHIP Unleashing Motivation In The Workplace Brian Townley