Inspire your team is on my mind constantly. Right now I’m in my US home office. The ceiling fan clicks every third spin. My cold brew drips onto last week’s notes. Seriously.
I once thought influential leadership meant epic speeches. Or perfect slides. Maybe Pinterest-style vision boards. Then I led real people. People who were tired. Underpaid compared to today’s prices. Some skipped stand-ups because their kid’s online class crashed. Most “how to motivate your team” tips online feel fake. They come from folks who never said sorry for a 9 p.m. meeting.
The Time I Tried to Be “That” Motivational Leader (and Crashed)
Two years back I went full TED Talk mode. I rewatched Simon Sinek’s “Start With Why” again . I printed quotes. Bought logo Yeti tumblers. Started Monday with a huge “we’re changing the world” speech.
Midway someone muttered, “Can we just get the Jira numbers?” The room froze. I felt the temperature drop.
That night I stared at my ceiling fan. Same click. I realized something. I was inspiring them like 22-year-old me wanted. Not like today’s worn-out 30- and 40-somethings need in 2025.
What Actually Started to Move the Needle (My Flawed List)
I’m still learning. These things at least stopped the eye rolls.
- Stop hiding your mess Last quarter I told the retro the truth. I’d stayed up till 2 a.m. three nights. I was scared our OKRs sucked. No polished humblebrag. Just “I’m terrified and it’s mostly my fault.” Two people messaged me later. They felt less alone. Vulnerability isn’t a trick. It just makes things less lonely.
- Ask one stupidly specific question “How’s everyone feeling?” gets you “fine” seven times. I switched to: “What’s the one task right now that feels like pushing a boulder?” Suddenly I heard real issues. Broken API docs. PTO denials. Wi-Fi dying during Roblox. I could fix some. Or at least stop pretending they don’t exist.
For more on this, HBR nails it: The Power of Listening in Helping People Change.
- Celebrate the ugly wins We shipped a feature late. Over budget. Three bugs still live. I sent a silly phoenix gif anyway. Caption: “We survived. That counts. Beers next week—virtual or real.” Sprint engagement jumped 18%. People liked that messy progress got love too.
- Shut up and listen longer I used to jump in fast. Now I count seven Mississippi after someone speaks. Extra words pour out. Those seconds taught me more about how to inspire your team than any book.
The Part Where I Still Screw Up (Because I Do)
Yesterday I snapped at a dev in grooming. No sleep. Roadmap stress. Ten minutes later I posted in Slack: “That was shitty. Sorry. Won’t happen again.”
Did it fix everything? Nope. Did it save trust? Probably.
Influential leadership isn’t zero screw-ups. It’s owning them fast. Publicly. So people still believe you care.
Wrapping This Ramble Up
I’ve got no magic tricks to inspire your team. Just mistakes. A few lucky wins. And one truth: most people want to feel seen. Not sold a shiny vision.
Try one small thing this week. Ask that weird specific question in a 1:1. Admit something stressing you out. See what happens.
