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 Summary

Listen when people speak. Really teach yourself to listen at a level that you never have before. Many people can claim to be listening and it may even appear that they are. But are they mentally engaged with the conversation or are they thinking of the next thing that they should say, or worse yet thinking about something or someone entirely separate from what is happening in front of them or on the other end of the phone? Being an influencer means caring and caring means listening and interacting. A challenge for you would be to replay a conversation that took place during your day and put yourself in the other person's shoes…how do you think that they felt when that conversation ended? Did they feel that you were an advocate for them, that you helped them or were you just a warm body that stood there and nodded? We have all been on both sides of those “courtesy” conversations and know that you walk away with...

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Summary

Leadership is a big piece of a successful business and a bazillion books have been written on what makes a great leader. Leadership has changed drastically throughout the years.  As different generations have learned through the practice of different leadership styles, what was successful and acceptable 30 years ago doesn’t fly today. 

The days of the dictatorship are just not as well received as they once were.  You may remember your parents or your grandparents if they worked a job where they were the “employee”.  They likely went to work, were told what to do, were told what the expected outcome was and they were paid for doing that job.  If the result was not as expected they may have been demoted or worse yet fired. If they did perform as expected they never heard a word about it. You typically had one leader or maybe management teams that were in charge of leading the troops and the...

Full Transcript

You mention the word influence and many things come to mind to different people.  I have heard people say, “role model” or “mentor”.  On the opposite end, I have heard, “manipulate” or “force”. Those are quite different feelings that one word can generate depending on the life lessons that someone has experienced. How you choose to use influence can be a major factor in the results that it produces.  Let’s jump in.

I am Leigh Wilson and this is Focus Forward Business Design

I really was amazed at how many people look at influence as a negative thing.  It made me step back with fresh eyes and take a look at what people were perceiving influence to be.  What I found out is that a large majority of the population truly felt that the definition of influence was parallel with manipulation.

What we do know and what I have always believed is that high performers have the ability and the gift to...