Moving from Inspiration to Action
- Deborah (Ellen) Wildish
- Mar 21, 2023
- 3 min read
Updated: Apr 6
I’ve shared my personal photo collage to construct a mental image that depicts “action”. My most memorable activities were preceded by an inspiring thought that was nurtured before taking action (such as climbing the vines wrapped around a tree in the Amazon rainforest where the nature guide reassured me that there were no bullet ants, tarantulas or venomous vipers).
Inspiration is described as a process of being mentally stimulated and is associated with an urge to engage in creative thinking and be innovative. We will frame inspiration as an idea and focus on the challenge of moving toward action.
During 25 years as a manager, I participated in many inspirational discussions that yielded null results. Conference attendance provides a venue for sharing inspirational ideas between professionals, through its roster of topics (often organized into conference themes), presenters (agents of inspiration) and the networking throughout the event that begins to add-the-meat-to-the-bones of inspirational ideas.
Have you shared this observation? People returning from conferences, feeling energized and bursting with ideas. But then work life settles into its familiar routine and the calm of the status quo. I wonder how many dollars are spent annually at professional conferences (all costs factored into attendance) and how it compares to the payback in terms of implementing inspirational ideas and producing measurable results?
I’ll share the first step of a strategy - to move from inspiration to action - that I initiated with my former health care team. Conference attendance needs to be tied to a potential deliverable. At minimum, one inspirational idea that can “add value” for client service. The conference attendee describes the inspirational idea in a few paragraphs to begin team discussion (e.g. relevance, feasibility and impact).
An intriguing conversation with a university professor confirms the challenge of moving from inspiration to action. The professor described countless hours spent in academic meetings energetically discussing inspirational ideas. To the professor’s dismay, time was wasted because many inspirational ideas went no where (despite their collective intellect and positive intent).
In my view, it’s not a lack of desire to carry an inspirational idea forward but rather insufficient empowerment through the existing corporate culture. Multiple facets of a healthy corporate culture fuel the process that moves an inspirational idea toward action. This requires a strategic approach that engages individuals, teams and leadership within the context of their work environment. Remote and hybrid work arrangements can present challenges because the onsite presence of team members provides natural opportunities to bounce ideas back and forth.
Cinder to Flame helps Corporations solve complex challenges with strategic services that energize people, fuel a healthy corporate culture and ignite major innovation.
A healthy corporate culture is nimble to build upon enablers and overcome barriers. It nourishes inspirational ideas through expansive networking and partnerships, and connects silos of expertise to enable cross-functional collaboration.
My uncle worked in public service as a professional engineer for over 30 years. I asked him to distill his learning experience and he said there are two camps: “the talkers and the doers”. – In which camp, do you belong?
Cinder to Flame’s strategic services include metrics to help Corporations move from cinder (inspiration) to flame (action).
Check out Cinder to Flame's service options: https://www.cindertoflame.ca/services
© Deborah (Ellen) Wildish, Cinder to Flame 2022-Present. All Rights Reserved.
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