I began a series in which I plan to look at each of the letters in the word LEADER and connect to an attribute leader's possess. Today's posting will focus on E = Encourage.
One of the significant elements of leadership is encouragement. When times are tough or when there are challenges ahead encouragement can be a way of keeping forward momentum.
So how does one encourage others? Let's look at a definition of encourage from dictionary.com to get a clue - Encourage: to inspire with courage, spirit, or confidence. So one key element of encourage is 'inspire' and a component of inspire is 'influence'. A part of encouraging then is to influence someone in a positive way so that they can keep moving forward. Moving forward can be keeping on the same course or moving in a new direction. The key here is appropriate action for the situation at hand.
The others components of the definition of Encourage highlighted here are: courage, spirit, and confidence. Sometimes to move from 'where we are today' to 'where we need to be' requires courage and coupled with this is whether or not we can do so confidently. This is where encouragement from someone can instill in us the confidence we need. By knowing the person and knowing what challenges them we can be there to help motivate them to go beyond the barriers they encounter to achieve the success and fulfillment desired.
So may I Encourage you to Encourage others. It can make a difference!
Next posting: A … Advise
Signing off for now - LD Guy from MN
Dave,
ReplyDeleteWelcome back to blogging. It can be a challenge to stay consistent, can't it? I *encourage* you to remain steadfast :-)
When consulting my trusty Visual Thesaurus (via ThinkMap), I found one definition of encourage to be "contribute to the growth or progress of". Because we're both in the business of helping others grow, this definition strikes a chord with me.
I love how you take a very nebulous topic like leadership and break it into it components. Looking forward to "advise".
Thanks Jennifer for your insightful comments; they are a great addition. Much appreciated!
ReplyDeleteDear Dave,
ReplyDeleteYou're really onto something here, you already know. I'm glad you're here. Peace and all good things for you in your work and in life.
Sincerely,
Diane
I like this blog concept -and I love to encourage--it's what keeps me going and I believe encouragement is highly underrated!
ReplyDeleteSo here's to you- may 2011 keep you on your toes so you will be above the rest!