How Do You Inspire iGen Team Members?

Today's teenagers (specifically those born after 1995) are the most technically sophisticated generation the world has ever seen. These young people grew up with internet connected mobile devices in their hands. They have tremendous gifts and incredible potential.

The challenge is how do we inspire team of performers in this age group to excel? It is not an easy task as many some leaders will admit. Finding the answer is crucial for leaders in all fields (e.g. sports, business, military).

Your young team members face some serious obstacles. Psychologists will point to home issues, but they're not always divorce or drug dependent parents. Regrettably, some parents put an enormous amount of pressure on their children, pushing them to work harder to get full-ride scholarships to prominent universities. It is no surprise that some of these talented individuals become demoralized. Once you understands these obstacles, you can then begin to work on inspiring them.

Motivation and inspiration often appear interchangeable. The best way to distinguish them is to think of motivation as what you would do in the short-term, such as a competitive period (i.e. peak sales season), and inspiration is what you would do with your team in a longer period. You inspire using the following strategies:

You as a leader can inspire team members to a higher level by the way you conduct yourself. It means being cool under pressure and treating everybody fairly. Listening is one of the best skills a leader can cultivate. Become an active listener, not just hearing the words but comprehending what your athlete is trying to say to you.

It should be something very easy for a leader to do. You can let a member of your team know you believe in them and then encourage that person to go one step beyond the comfort zone.

Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand emotions in yourself and others as well. You must work on self-awareness, social awareness, self-management and relationship management to be successful with emotional intelligence. You need to be more than just a cheerleader to inspire somebody. You should understand relationships to get positive results.

Listening and working on emotional intelligence requires thinking of the other person more than yourself. Every leader wants to be successful and has dreams of having a winning team. Yet, inspiring people means you are concerned more about their welfare and their success than your own. Humility is a trademark of some of the most successful leaders in sports. John Wooden of UCLA is a textbook example of a modest person.

You do not have to lecture or speak harshly to your team to get your point across. It is more important to have a positive atmosphere settle on the team. Of course, you must be realistic and not act naïve about challenges. Yet being overcritical is not the best way to inspire anyone.

If your team knows you are fair, they respect you more and will be better listeners to your message.

If you say you're going to do something, then do it! Being deceitful or playing games with anyone is going to go nowhere. Your team should know that you mean what you say and that if you are going to do something such as reward them, you will do it.

You are the source of inspiration for your team, and you need to keep that in mind. Young members of your team look at you as an authority figure and will perform above average with your encouragement. Understand that integrity matters. The most direct way to inspire these young individuals is to walk the talk. If you as a leader have certain values and expectations, then exhibit them every day. By your example, you can make a serious difference. Treating people fairly and honestly is a recipe for success. All you need to do is put it into practice and wait for the results, which will come soon.