Be the Spark!

I was recently inspired by a blog two of my colleagues wrote, which opens like this: “Since joining PS three years ago, I have been involved in recruiting over 70 new staff members.” I knew PS hired about 4 dozen new team members during the pandemic, but the number of 70 new hires that Gina and Katherine stated made me pause in awe and inspiration!

They go on to reference an article by psychologist and author, Scott Barry Kaufman, from the Harvard Business Review, on how inspiration involves both being inspired by something and acting on that inspiration. One of the authors describes what I believe to be the driving factor of inspiration: “Another essential and often overlooked spark for inspiration is exposure to inspiring managers, role models, and heroes.”

As President for PS, my top priority every day is to assess our progress toward delivering a world-class EX (Employee Experience). I want our employees to love their jobs, love their clients, and love their leaders.

It would be unconscionable and hard to believe that any executive would want anything less. After all, this is what I want to experience as well! It is the people I work with at PS that make me love my job, our clients, and my fellow leaders. They all inspire me to act on what I wish and hope for all business leaders to recognize and act on. That is, to be a spark of inspiration.

I would even make the case that being inspirational as a leader is a prerequisite skill that we must relentlessly pursue progressing in. We must be intentional about succeeding in being an inspiration to others because as time goes on, our colleagues and team members need more inspiration and hope than ever before.

Our new landscape of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity continues to transform the way we live and work – with little to no warning! It can be discouraging to think about how to stay inspired, to move forward, and summon the energy to grow. However, it is with inspirational pursuits/goals, plus inspirational leadership, that we can and will get through it all together, and be smarter, stronger, and more resilient for it. Being inspirational is an intention first, then a goal, and then a practice – so, get on with it!

PS will keep doing the same so that ultimately our staff is proud of who they are, what they are becoming, and the service we aim to deliver for our clients, whom we love and cherish. Now if that’s not inspirational, I don’t know what is! Thank you, Gina and Katherine, for inspiring me!