Being inspirational or charismatic isn’t luck of the draw or simply a natural gift , it’s a skill that can be understood, practiced and developed.

And the literature agrees.

From The Charisma Myth by Olivia Fox Cabane to The Inspiration Code by Kristi Hedges, many leadership experts believe the behaviours associated with being inspirational or charismatic can be developed over time.

Here at Drew Povey Consultancy, we hold the same view.

For aspiring leaders who may not feel naturally charismatic, this outlook is incredibly encouraging because it means inspirational leadership is accessible to us all.

What makes an inspirational leader?

Unsure how to be an inspirational leader? The most impactful inspirational leaders tend to do these six things particularly well.

They leverage influence to promote followship

A core component of leadership always comes back to John C. Maxwell’s definition; “leadership is influence—nothing more, nothing less.”

And for someone to truly be influential, they must be able to encourage followship. Because while the job title of ‘Manager’ or ‘CEO’ can bestow a certain amount of authority, it doesn’t automatically make people want to follow you.

Imagine you need your team to work overtime to catch up with an impending deadline. If they’re not contractually obligated to work extra hours, it doesn’t matter whether you’re the department manager or even the CEO, they won’t be clocking in after hours if they don’t really want to.

They have to want to follow you: and this is where inspirational leadership comes in.

Inspirational leaders don’t just help people to understand where they’re going, they make them want to go there. That becomes particularly important when going through change, challenge or uncertainty.

They know how to transform inspiration into energy

Leadership isn’t just about setting the direction or some lofty vision about the future. It’s about creating the energy needed to move towards it.

Teams will always have a strategy, targets, goals and processes, but even with all those essential elements in place, they can still lack the crucial ingredient: momentum.

The inspirational leader brings optimism, enthusiasm and belief into the workplace. Those mindsets can become contagious within a team and across the wider organisation, creating the energy that drives momentum.

If you’re a leader but you’re unsure whether you inspire people in the workplace, ask yourself a simple question: What happens to the energy when I enter the room?

Does it shift positively or negatively? That’s often a really good place to start.

They recognise hope as a leader’s greatest currency

All great leaders understand that when there’s hope on the horizon, there’s power in the present.

Inspirational leaders are particularly good at helping people to see how their efforts today are connected to something bigger and better tomorrow.

Hope isn’t blind positivity or viewing the world through rose-tinted glasses. It’s the belief that something better is possible – and importantly, that our actions can help make it happen.

That distinction matters.

When times are difficult, people need more than instructions, targets and another to-do list. They need a reason to keep going.

By holding and communicating a credible sense of hope, inspirational leaders can help sustain motivation, resilience, and overall performance when it’s really needed.

They make people believe in purpose and themselves

Inspirational leaders know how to connect the work their team does every day to a bigger purpose (also known as the reason why), but they do more than that.

They’re also able to effectively communicate belief in achieving that purpose. In this way, inspirational leadership works on two levels by promoting:

1. Belief in where the team is going
2. Belief that the team can get there

People often perform differently when someone they respect sees potential in them that maybe they haven’t yet recognised in themselves.

Inspirational leaders therefore give their team a powerful opportunity to borrow this belief, unlocking new levels of confidence and performance that otherwise might not be available.

They understand that charisma is more than being loud

It’s a common misconception that charisma is about big speeches, excess confidence or extroversion, and being the loudest person in the room.

It isn’t.

In reality, charisma is much quieter and stems from being present, warm and having conviction. Because listening deeply can sometimes be even more inspirational than speaking brilliantly.

This aligns with one of the core principles from Dale Carnegie’s famous book How to Win Friends and Influence People: if you want to be interesting, you need to be interested.

People are most inspired when they can feel the leader’s belief – both in the destination and in them.

They practice inspirational leadership techniques

As we said at the beginning of this article, being an inspirational leader is a skill. And like any skill, it will require practice if you want to improve.

If you’re unsure where to start, try:

• Be present – rather than always distracted
• Tell stories – help people feel something and they’re far more likely to remember it
• Use the right language – talk about possibility, progress, purpose
• Stay curious – make your team feel interesting, not just useful
• Be encouraging – CEO can also stand for Chief Encouragement Officer
• Lead with positivity – catch people doing the right things and reinforce them
• Stay authentic – inspiration without credibility is simply performance
• Be consistent – what you do repeatedly matters far more than the occasional inspirational speech

Don’t be inspirational – inspire.

There’s an important distinction here. If you’re actively trying to be inspirational, chances are you’ll be more focused on performing for the right people and building a personality people notice.

Instead, focus on helping people to feel inspired. Create a feeling they’ll remember. That puts the focus back where it belongs.

This is because inspirational leadership isn’t about creating more attention around the leader, but creating more belief, hope and energy in the people you’re privileged enough to lead.

Ready to start inspiring?

At Drew Povey Consultancy, we offer tailored 1:1 and team coaching, and keynote delivery leadership support to help leaders and their teams drive forward.

To learn more about the relationship between leadership and inspiration or our bespoke leadership coaching services, please don’t hesitate to speak to a member of our team today.

 

 

When we think about ‘soft skills’, we can sometimes think pink, fluffy and perhaps not quite as serious as the ‘real’ business stuff.

But, the reality is it’s often the soft skills that get the hard results – and for good reason.

Yes, strategy, systems, and technical competence all matter. But ultimately, leaders are the driving force behind getting things done, and they do that through people.

And people require something very different from a spreadsheet or strategic document.

They require leaders with soft skills.

So, what are soft skills in leadership and how do you develop them?

What are the soft skills of leadership?

Let’s start by answering the key question, ‘What are leadership soft skills?’

There are plenty, but here are some that we believe matter most.

Human connection

At Drew Povey Consultancy, one of our fundamental beliefs is simple.

Business is about people. People are about relationships. And relationships are about emotions.

Leadership isn’t just an intellectual or technical exercise, it’s a deeply human one. Effective leaders can form a human connection that make people feel seen, heard, understood, valued, and connected.

The ability to understand and work with those human needs is therefore central to driving performance. It isn’t an optional extra or something that sits around the edge of leadership.

It’s at the very heart of it.

Communication

Communication is much more than being a good speaker, it’s the ability to make the complex clear.

Great leaders listen, question, explain, simplify and adapt their message to different people. Because communication isn’t simply about what you say- it’s about what the other person hears and understands

When people connect with what they’re hearing, they gain the clarity and confidence they need to move forwards productively.

Listening deeply

Listening is perhaps one of the most underrated leadership skills.

We often associate leaders with having all the answers. But sometimes leadership is about asking the right questions and then taking the time to listen to the answers.

To become a great listener, leaders need to speak as if they’re right, and listen as if they’re wrong. There’s a big difference between listening to understand and simply waiting for your turn to speak. When people know you’re genuinely listening, they know their contribution matters.

Emotional intelligence

Many people mistakenly believe that emotional intelligence is simply about being able to ‘read the room’

But before you can ever read the room accurately, you need to be able to read yourself.

Leaders need to be able to ask themselves a series of essential questions such as: What am I feeling? How is this going to affect my behaviour? and What impact is my behaviour having on everyone else’

Taking a moment to identify and understand those emotions allows leaders to connect how they’re feeling with how they might behave. And this creates the opportunity to respond rather than react. That small difference can make an enormous difference.

Empathy

Sometimes, showing empathy can be confused with leaders being too soft or lowering their standards but in reality, it’s neither.

Some of the best leaders combine empathy alongside accountability to help them understand someone else’s point of view without necessarily agreeing with it.

In fact, properly understanding another person’s perspective often gives leaders a much better chance of influencing them more effectively. Empathy does not mean removing accountability.

Great leadership often requires both.

Adaptability

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to leadership because no two people are the same. Leaders need adaptability (or lots of tools in their toolbox) to ensure they can support people in the right way.

Sometimes people need a challenge. Sometimes they need encouragement. At other times they might require space, supoort or clear direction. Truly great leaders develop the flexibility to recognise what an individual needs in that moment.

Relationship building

If strong leadership depends on strong relationships, then the ability to build positive and sustainable relationships is essential.

Great leaders understand that relationships run on trust, which is why they focus on building these connections through consistency, honesty, reliability, vulnerability and by simply ensuring their actions align with their words.

Investing time and effort into relationship building also gives leaders greater freedom to have more honest conversations with their partners, investors, customers and colleagues.

Because when trust is high, conversations can be more open.

This freedom to speak frankly is particularly vital during times of crisis.

How can soft skills be developed to make you a better leader?

Unsure how to develop soft skills in leadership? Start with honing your ability to influence others because many of those soft skills are ultimately influencing skills.

Listening helps us understand. Empathy builds connection. Communication creates clarity. Emotional intelligence helps us to respond appropriately. Relationship building creates trust and gives people a reason to follow.

Combining these soft skills creates the ideal conditions for strengthening your influence and therefore supports far more effective leadership.

Rebranding soft skills

There are many more so-called soft skills that we haven’t touched on here, including curiosity, storytelling, negotiation and collaboration, to name just a few.

But there’s something important to remember about all of them.

They are skills.

That means they can be learnt, practised, coached, and – crucially – improved upon.

And, despite the slightly misleading name (there’s really nothing soft about navigating conflict, giving difficult feedback, or understanding another human being), they certainly all require practice.

Rather than sitting around the edges of leadership, soft skills are at the very heart of it. Because when leadership gets hard, they’re the skills we need most.

Start your journey to becoming a better leader

Unsure where to start when it comes to building leadership soft skills? Or maybe you’re a high-performing executive looking to grow your success even further.

Drew Povey Consultancy provides tailored leadership coaching – either on a 1:1, team, or keynote delivery basis.

To discuss your specific leadership coaching requirements in more detail, please don’t hesitate to get in touch using our convenient online contact form.