During the summer, I noticed a book on the shelves in my sister's house called Inspire: What Great Leaders Do by Dr. Lance Secretan. It called to me to pick it up. A few days earlier, I'd been in a friendly family discussion about how to best motivate people when my brother in law astutely pointed out that it's not motivation you want to foster —it's inspiration.
This is one of the key points of Dr. Secretan's book — motivation is fear based management. It ultimately breeds resentment and disillusioned under achievers. The true goal is to inspire people. The word inspire's origins are Latin meaning, "to breathe in." Breathe in life, the spirit. Dr. Secretan teaches us that inspired employees are happy and self directed, do their very best work and ultimately contribute significantly to an organization's morale and bottom line. Set up your business with the intention of inspiring your employees to be their best selves and great things will happen.
How do you do it? By being an inspired leader. Whether you are the CEO of company or the newbie in the mail room, it's in all of us to inspire those around us. The book details various methods to do this.
I wish I had read it five years ago when I was at a workplace that had lost its groove and consequently, so had I.
One of the pleasant surprises while reading Dr. Secretan's book was discovering he is Canadian and resides just north of Toronto. I contacted Dr. Secretan back in October, shared my admiration for his work and also a bit about our story. He was speaking in Toronto later that month and he was kind enough to make arrangements so I could hear him.
As the final speaker of the day at a marketing conference, Dr. Secretan stole the show. The passage below is from my notes that afternoon which I later shared with the good Doc:
Once you began your presentation, the energy in the room completely switched. Suddenly, you were talking about things that truly mattered — how do we create inspiring organizations, what do we really want for our lives? People sat up, they stopped fiddling about on their phones. I could see your words were affecting them deeply and they wanted to hear more.
The talk focussed on Dr. Secretan's latest book entitled, The Spark, The Flame, The Torch. This he calls his master work — a re-examination and concise synopsis of his ideas and teachings regarding leadership and living an inspired life. The title is a touch hyperbolic, I agree, but this is definitely the book to read.
It's worth picking up simply for the first three reflections (which is what I assigned to Jenn) asking the reader to do some introspective thinking and clarify three things — your destiny, character and calling. Yes again, a little over the top, but the exercise is designed to help you understand your WHY (destiny), BE (character) and DO (calling). Call it your WHY-BE-DO statement. Both Jenn and I did this exercise. Much of it we'd covered in other conversations, so there wasn't a need to get out the big shovels— we'd already dug a lot of it up. Dr. Secretan provides some super questions to chew on and help you form your statements. It was a useful process — we came out with some very clear declarations about what it is we want from our lives. Call it a grounding activity, creating a reference point to return to when you feel you've lost focus and wandered off into a barren backyard you never intended to enter. Dr. Secretan uses the term, "Your north star." Jenn keeps her statements in her wallet. I have mine on my computer and memorized. And now included here:
WHY I AM HERE:
To help evolve consciousness and bring freedom and bliss to others.
HOW I WILL BE:
Compassionate, authentic, courageous, positive and joyful in all my interactions.
WHAT I WILL DO:
Uncover life’s secrets and truths and share them with others to help build fulfilling lives.
I often refer to my statements when I am working on something that feels empty or when deciding whether to move in a new direction. It is a great guide for internal realignment. What it doesn't do is tell me where to "point my arrow," so to speak, but it does keep my bow taut and arrow sharp — ready to fly.
Jenn's WHY-BE-DO you will find in this entry just below. Definitely worth a read.
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