Turning an ember into a flame takes skills. But any fool can throw water on enthusiasm.
Show up to fuel energy and build morale.
Everyone gets discouraged. That’s why successful leaders make it a daily practice to energize others.
Drooping shoulders are leadership’s responsibility.
10 vulnerabilities of discouragement:
#1. Fatigue is a megaphone for your inner critic. When your inner critic is loud, your outer critic finds courage.
#2. Discouraged teams think like losers. The world shrinks when you feel beat down.
#3. Stress, fatigue, and discouragement cause people to spiral inward. You can’t serve others when all you think about is yourself.
#4. When you’re tired and stressed, you revert to patterns that worked in the past, but hobble you today.
#5. A tired brain is befuddled like a two year old that’s up past his bedtime. You aren’t thinking right if you’re living on caffeine.
#6. Prolonged discouragement turns to bitterness.
#7. Bad is glaringly obvious but good is a hazy memory when you’re exhausted.
#8. Words like ‘always’ are common when you’re stressed.
#9. The faults of others are big but your faults are small when your hands hang down.
#10. Self-pity and blame rule the day when your fire goes out.
How to build morale:
- Turn toward people. All you think about is getting something done when you’re stressed out. You lose sight of people and relationships.
- See the good side of frustration. A frustrated team member cares. “Thanks for caring.”
- Notice something good. Discouragement justifies itself by focusing on bad. The people you hired aren’t complete losers, are they?
- Breathe.
- Hold your shoulders back and your head up.
- Smile.
- Stop being a control freak. It’s exhausting.
Tip: Don’t judge others by your ability to endure discouragement.
What are the indications that people feel discouraged?
How might leaders build fires rather than quench embers?
