As a leader you are trying to
build something - a vision, a business, a group - and it takes a lot of hard
work. Your Day Planner is chock full of
appointments, To Do lists, and goals you are trying to accomplish. You have people under you that you want to
see achieve certain things in order to get your goals fulfilled. However, with all of that constructing going
on the most important thing you could build is a positive relationship with
those under and around you.
Part of your job as a leader is
to influence people, to motivate them to follow you down a course you have chosen. You cannot do that without having a strong,
caring relationship with them. Now,
while you can do this without going out for drinks or seeing a movie together
and finding yourself in trouble with Human Resources, you cannot do it without
communication. In order to influence
people, you must invest in their lives.
You will not be able to guide them if you know nothing about them. Take the time to ask questions. Find out something about them and their goals
for their own future. What is happening
in their lives with family or friends?
Outside chaos can bring the drama to your plans and then distractions
derail the vision.
If you take an interest in your
people, they will take an interest in you.
People tend to help those who help them.
I know I’m that way. While I like
to help everyone, I tend to put more energy into helping those people reach their
dreams who have invested time into mine.
Take the social media site, Twitter, for example. As I reach out and help promote other people,
the majority have taken a hand in getting my stuff out there, as well. Soon everyone is helping each other and
seeing things happen they couldn’t do as quickly, if at all, alone. The same goes for those under you. Show the people in your group - your
employees, friends, family, group members - that you truly care about what’s
important to them and soon they are going out of their way to assist in your
vision as their leader.
One of the keys, however, is the
word “positive.” Get rid of the negative
people in the varying areas of your life.
Negativity is a distraction to your dreams. You need to build relationships that are
going to encourage you to press on when you most feel like calling it
quits. Someone who is constantly filling
the air with their negative thoughts is a time bomb waiting to bring your
vision to ruin. They are a hindrance not
only to themselves, but to everyone around them.
The girls and I use this
philosophy in our lives. We refuse to
have someone in our life that only sees the glass half empty. They worry about every nitpicking thing and
see catastrophe around every corner. They
make Eeyore seem like an optimist and they don’t trust people to do anything
but screw them over. Such a mindset is a
weight around the neck of productivity keeping everyone from a bright future of
success. Eradicate those people and
instead blanket your life with the uplifting warmth of positive people.
It may seem that taking time out
of your crammed Day Planner is a set back to your day’s schedule, but I assure
you, in the long run the rewards will save you precious time. Building positive relationships is an
investment that will forever bring positive dividends. Don’t waste time by ignoring those around
you. You’ll only hurt your vision.
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