Do your people lack inner drive and initiative? Would you like to train them how to have a greater quantity of self-motivation by surrounding themselves with the greatest quality of inspiration? A self-starter, Dick has completed seven marathons and stills runs 15-20 miles every week. His highly contagious empowerment sessions have enabled thousands of people to go further than ever in their personal growth and professional development.

Dick Biggs was asked recently to share his thoughts on people empowerment. Here’s what he had to say on this important topic with a prospective client:

When you say people empowerment, exactly what do you mean?

Empowerment means “giving power or official authority to” someone. Strong leaders do just that--they empower the people around them to be self-starters. Empowered people take the initiative and don’t make excuses. They execute through a strong sense of self-motivation and inner drive, but expect to be held accountable by leadership.

Speaking of motivation, isn’t that a leader’s job?

Actually, the leader’s job is to inspire people to be self-motivated. Inspiration is about thinking. It’s mental stimulation by external forces, which includes your response to leadership. Motivation is about doing. It means you have the internal drive and physical energy necessary to make something happen. It’s called self-motivation for a good reason. If a leader is trying to motivate adults through force and fear, it’s not going to be very effective over the long haul. Adults respond better to inspiration. Now, when it comes to kids and young people, a certain amount of motivation by force and fear is often needed. When my father spanked me, he was motivating by force. When my mother promised to put me on restriction if my grades didn’t improve, she was motivating by fear. When I went off to Marine Corps boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina, the drill instructors or DIs motivated us by force and fear while molding a bunch of immature teenagers into the world’s most elite fighting force.

Isn’t there a fine line between inspiration and motivation?

Yes, but there is a line. I receive calls constantly from organizations wanting me to come “motivate” their people. I usually ask: After I speak, how long do you want your people to be motivated? The typical answer is: Every day! My next question is: Are you prepared to hire me every day for the near year? And the usual answer is: We can’t spend that much money, or we don’t have enough time to hire you every day for the next year. You see, a great motivational speech can generate an incredible short-term high, but it’s unlikely to produce long-term results unless it’s tied to proven, practical programs of personal growth and professional development. Webster’s defines an inspirer as an “agent that provokes or speeds significant behavioral change or action.” It’s up to each person to turn external inspiration into internal motivation every day.

Are you saying that people need to be highly self-motivated because speakers won’t be around every day to be a source of inspiration?

Exactly. What I hope to do in my one-hour keynote, half-day seminar, or full-day workshop is inspire people by sharing a variety of ongoing ways to stimulate their thinking and be more self-motivated every day. In other words, if you want a greater quantity of self-motivation, you must surround yourself with the greatest quality of inspiration.

And how do people do that?

You must be very careful about your sources of inspiration. Are you reading from a good book every day for at least 15 minutes? Are you listening to upbeat, educational CDs every week? Are you meeting monthly with a reputable mentor who holds you accountable? Are you attending a worthwhile seminar every quarter? Are you involved with a stimulating mastermind group semi-annually? Are you setting bold short-term and long-term goals every year? These are just some of the positive ways to be more inspired and self-motivated.

Are you saying that a leader should empower people, but it’s up to each person to execute?

Yes. Effective leaders inspire others to greatness because they’re secure about who they are and why they’re leading. Ineffective leaders are often insecure and attempt to motivate by force and fear. If a leader is trying to control results through micromanaging, everyone will be frustrated. The leader will think that no one can do the job as well as he or she can, and productivity suffers. And the people will be poorly self-motivated because their leader is more irksome than inspirational. Everyone loses.

You mentioned several ways for people to be inspired, but doesn’t it start with the leader setting the right example?

Absolutely. Leaders should not only have definite plans for their personal growth and professional development, but they should also encourage their people to get on a similar path. At its very core, leadership is about influence. If you aren’t having a positive influence on the people around you, you aren’t leading anyone. You’re simply a leader in title only.

Since you’re talking about influence, why do we hear the term motivational speaker a lot more often than inspirational speaker?

Obviously, organizations want results and rightly so. The term motivational has a more active connotation than inspirational. Remember, inspiration is about thinking, but motivation is about doing. Yet, action without thought is a recipe for disaster, so it stands to reason that positive self-motivation must be preceded by purposeful inspiration. Organizations hire speakers to be external inspirers. They expect their people to internalize the message, apply the material, and be more self-motivated. The better the inspirational speaker, the more self-motivated the listeners will be—and the more productive and profitable the organization will be.

Speaking of application, what you do you say to people in your audiences who call or write after your program and share specific ways that you inspired them to action?

First, I thank them for taking the time to contact me. Second, I congratulate them on turning inspiration into self-motivation and results. Third, I challenge them to keep growing. When it comes to the privilege of the platform—and it is a privilege--there’s nothing more gratifying than hearing from people who’ve acted on something I said. Standing ovations are always appreciated but fleeting. Stirring testimonial letters are desired but become dated. Changed lives are more lasting, and it’s the primary reason I do what I do. It’s truly an awesome responsibility and a rewarding opportunity to inspire others to be the best they can be through a deeper level of self-motivation. That’s people empowerment at its highest level!