If you own or manage a health club, you should already know that one of your most important duties is inspiring your employees. It’s not just a nice thing – it’s a requirement. Why? Because managers are responsible for optimizing performance and retention – and uninspired employees don’t do their best work. Over time, those uninspired employees result in a club that no longer thrives.
Uninspiring managers often need to kick it up a couple notches. So with that, here are a few ideas for how to inspire others.
- Listen more. Speak less. Show your employees that you value and respect their input. This applies to your team members and peers.
- Represent your employee’s needs to senior management and with your peers. Take the initiative to make things better, and Wow — that will speak volumes about your intention to serve them. Inspiring, isn’t it?
- Achieve your goals, then beat them — and don’t rest until you do. Managers who settle with mediocre performance (even if they can make the case that it’s not their fault) are uninspiring. People want to work for successful leaders.
- Be a courageous role model. When managers demonstrate courage, they inspire the rest of us to do the same and we will respect them all the more.
- Run away from politics! Most people are sick of company politics and would gladly follow and respect leaders who rejected the gossip and muckety muck – even if they don’t agree with the managers all the time.
- Spend time in their shoes. Better yet, trade places with your employees every now and then. Show them you want to understand what their world looks and feels like. Bonus: you will learn tons in the process!
- Allow yourself to gain inspiration from others. Share your role models and why they inspire you.
- Reject those over the top perks. Good for you; you’ve earned the promotion. Don’t flaunt your goodies and take a stand to reject the big perks that separate you from your team. Think about how you felt when you were in their positions. Try to spread the wealth on great experiences like conferences, trainings, and other shared perks.
- Be the best expression of your unique style. Everyone is different, so don’t turn into a corporate clone. What’s more, be the classiest version of you possible.
- Take a stand and be bold. Share your perspective and practice openness. The most inspiring leaders have a strong vision for how things ought to be.
Have you been a bit too comfortable with things? You may not need a big change to inspire others; just remember to consistently “fill” your team with inspirational fuel.
Feel free to add to this list in the comments.
