In August of 1969, a brand new coach at the University of Michigan took charge of his football team. Players assembled expecting a tune up prior to the season. What they got were grueling workouts. Players quit in droves but the ones for whom football was a calling as well as a ticket to college remained. During that hot summer, a sign was posted in the locker room: “Those who stay will be champions.”

The 1969 team did win its championship by beating number one Ohio State in the last regular season game. Michigan’s coach was Bo Schembechler and in his 20 seasons, his teams captured 12 Big Ten titles. Schembechler did more than win: He tapped into the collective energy of his players. By doing so, he created expectations that could only have been fulfilled by aspirations to greatness, a total commitment to achieving a goal. This applies not to the gridiron, but to life itself.

The Human Condition
Aspiration is inherent to the human condition. We want to aspire to do something to make a positive difference. Leaders who tap into the aspirations of their followers are leaders who have the opportunity to achieve greatness.

Steve Jobs is an example of an aspirational leader. His canvas is the fusion of personal computing and entertainment. Under his leadership, Apple has emerged not only as a force in personal computing but today is pioneering the distribution of music personalized through downloads (iTunes) and playback (iPod). Jobs has created such high expectations that he has tapped into the collective aspirations of a legion of hardware and software engineers and end users.

Aspiration is a blend of hope tinged with optimism. "Aiming high" is the slogan of the Air Force and it is a mantra that leaders can emulate when seeking to move their organizations and their people forward. Fundamental to aspiration is good communications. Here are some ways to foster it.

Envision the outcome. In The 7 Habits of Successful People, Stephen Covey advises us to use achievement as a foundation for vision. Such forethought gives backbone to aspiration. For example, if you want to achieve market leadership in your field, you must think about what it will take to achieve that leadership and then consider what you must do to make it happen. It is a form of reverse engineering from a future perspective. You consider what products you must offer, how you will develop and market them and, most importantly, whom you will hire to help you achieve it.