Category: Influence

It Is Easy to Give

When we think about generosity, usually our first thought is money. Our second thought is time. But there are many ways to be generous. Try one of these today.

1. Smile. A smile can brighten someone’s day. And it can lighten yours if it is returned. It is the simplest way to give.

2. Give assistance. If you are like me, you can be so busy you miss opportunities to extend a hand to someone else. Pause a moment to hold open a door, or if you are sweeping the sidewalk, sweep your neighbors also. When I was twelve and thirteen, I mowed yards to earn money. I remember instances when I mowed some for free, because I had the time and it was always appreciated. There are many ways to help that take very little time. We can raise our awareness of the needs that exist around us throughout our day.

3. Bring a positive attitude. Carrying a positive attitude with you throughout your day can positively impact everyone you meet.

4. Pay attention. When someone is talking with you, give them your attention. Too often we try to multitask. Stop looking at your phone and look at the person speaking. It makes a difference.

5. Provide a kind word. Encouragement feels good. Sometimes we just need to provide a kind word to change someone’s day.

We can be generous every day.

Carrying Your Attitude

Have you ever noticed how the energy in a room can change when a person  enters? A person carries their attitude wherever they go. It is inescapable, and it affects everyone it contacts. When you enter a room, you bring your attitude along. How often do you pause to assess your attitude? Being aware of your attitude, especially when you are under stress, can help you make adjusts when needed. What is the impact of an attitude?

1. Positive. You can lift the energy of the entire room. You can bring smiles to faces. You can create hope and happiness. You can display confidence.

2. Negative. You can destroy a team. You cause rumors to persist. You plant the seeds of despair and hopelessness. You cause others to leave or ignore you. You change the attitudes of others to negative.

3. Neutral. Neutral is better than negative, but you limit your impact. You wield no influence. What benefit are you to the team? Are you living your purpose to the best of your ability?

Eleanor Roosevelt said, “You can often change your circumstances by changing your attitude.” It is true that we impact ourselves, and those around us when we take the time to choose and adjust our attitude.

Is it possible to always be positive? No. But we can get better at adjusting our attitude. We can get better at recognizing how our attitude affects others. We can get better at carrying our attitude.

Be Sincere in Your Praise and Feedback

We can tell when someone is using flattery to make us feel better. With friends it can be harmless fun, but within a business it can be disastrous.

To lead a growing organization, you must provide honest and helpful feedback. Too often we provide only critical opinions on how we perceive performance or we compensate for negative comments by adding flattery. To be effective, performance reviews need to be honest. They need ton consist of two-way discussion. For an employee to improve in your eyes they need to understand your perspective (or change your perspective). Effective feedback can include examples of behavior, discussion of alternative actions, or revision of goals.

If you are able observe without judging, you will be able to increase your capability for compelling evaluation. It takes practice.

To show you really care about a person, always be open and sincere. This applies to both praise and constructive criticism. This quote from Dale Carnegie puts it into perspective.  “The difference between appreciation and flattery? That is simple. One is sincere and the other insincere. One comes from the heart out; the other from the teeth out. One is unselfish; the other selfish. One is universally admired; the other universally condemned.”

Open and Authentic

There are times in my life when I have felt hurt or betrayed. Those feelings can come from situations where I was not told the truth, and then blindsided by something for which I was not prepared.

As I spent some time reflecting this week, I realized another benefit for being open and authentic with others. You enable yourself to tell the truth and prevent those types of hurt feelings.

Leading an organization and being open can be difficult if you are dealing with confidential data. Here are a couple of practices that can help you be authentic in these situations.

When an organization makes personnel changes, rumors have a tendency to propagate  because of information leaks. The best policy is to announce changes immediately. Once the change is decided and approved, just make the announcement. It is the simplest way to minimize the time for rumors. It also reflects openness.

Secondly, if someone asks me about a rumor of an upcoming change, I would be honest and tell them I could not answer. But I would always be able to tell them that changes are being considered, and that as soon as they are approved, I would announce them. This too is being open.

For me, these two practices help create trust and authenticity with the organization. What has helped you be more open when faced with difficult questions?