Developing our Inspiration
I ask myself, why is it that when I am home with my friends and we feel like hot chocolate we will walk a mile in the snow to find it, yet in the office when we need paper we all flip coins to see who will go? We feel the answer.
The question I am really asking is what is it that inspires me to walk a mile in the snow? I am paid to go get paper yet I pay for hot chocolate so it’s, not the money. It would take less time to go buy paper too, so it is not the time it takes. If time and money are not factors why is it that we use time and money as a commodity?
As an inspirations developer my goal is to find that pearl bring it to the surface, and help it shine, making every moment a glorious one.
A group of friends walking in the snow or a team walking through a project can have the same dynamics.
A team of individuals with a different set of ideals can have fun together. Inspiration is individual, focusing on one’s own quality of life, one’s own goals and one’s own ambitions can develop a groups morale. It does. Raising morale has always been top on the list of ways to motivate teams. Raising morale through bonuses and time off is nice but not necessarily inspirational.
One’s own individual inspiration may seem contradictory to a group dynamic. Think of it this way, remember how you felt seeing a glass fall off the table after a great day? And how you felt after a bad day? The same goes for a team, if an individual member is uninspired the team will struggle to find solutions. If a team member is feeling inspired he will share. The next goal is finding inspirations that motivate us at our job and still allow us to be proud of what we do.
With pride in our work comes dignity, with dignity we can build trust and with trust we can gain respect and with respect the freedom we need to continue to develop what it is at work that inspires us.
This paradigm shift shifts a team from obedience to co-creators. Co-creators may move on to other companies, but if they are inspired, motivated and trusted - why would they move on? And why would they want to take over? Inspired people create and love to share what they see, what they feel and their vision for the whole company, project, community and or planet.
With an inspired team even the sky is not a limit.
