To inspire a team you do need to be able to create a clear picture of where you are going and what it will look like when you get there. You need to find a way to connect them emotionally to the vision. If you can find a way to do this with your team, they will understand on a visceral level what they’re supposed to be doing. 

One way to do this is think like an artist. Inspire others by evoking an emotional response.

Wait just a gosh darn minute you say. How do you expect me to channel Georgia O’Keeffe when I got a C- in art in high school.  Did I even take art in high school?

Stay with me for a moment and see if this sounds familiar.

You are launching a brand new website. Beth is focused on marketing and  Susan is working with the UX team and you have weekly meetings for everyone to update each other on their progress.  But while Beth and Susan understand that the end product is the website launch, they don’t have a strong, tactile feel for what a “win” looks like. So when problems come up, and they invariably do, you are the ultimate fire fighter. No one else can solve the problem.

The ability to formulate a big-picture plan and bring it to life for your team is a key skill of transformative leaders.

Who: Team leaders managing projects with multiple moving parts.

What: Create a picture that evokes what you are trying to achieve and share it with your team.

Today I want you to do a visualization exercise.  Set a gentle timer for five minutes and put your journal next to you.

Close your eyes. Clear your mind of your to do list and that last email you read.  It’s only five minutes.

Take a deep breath and think about what the things you need to do right now and think about your big project. Is it hosting an event? Is it releasing a new email marketing campaign? Is it shipping a new product? Is it when you have 500 sign ups? Is it a dollars raised goal?

Now I want you to imagine it’s done. Fill in the details of that moment. Think about the colors, the sounds and the smells. Who is there with you? How do you feel? How will you celebrate? What does that mean for your business and everyone that works with you?

When the timer goes off, jot down what you remember or sketch out how that win feels.

THAT is what you need to communicate to your team. You need to help them understand your unique picture of what you are trying to accomplish and color that in for them.

Now think about how you might make communicate that.

• Could it be a Pinterest board that you start and everyone on the team can contribute to?
• A photograph that evokes a mood? Can you find one for yourself and challenge everyone to find one that speaks to them and put it on their screen saver?
• A poem?
• A graph?
• A short memorable phrase like “500 signups in 50 days”?

Key Idea:

Helping your team understand what success looks like not only empowers them, it helps you feel more confident that you can release that secret (or not so secret worry) that it has to be you or it’s not going to be right.