“If you can learn to pinpoint how those around you experience the world, and really try to experience the same world they do, you’ll be amazed at how effective your communication will become.” – Terry Felber, Am I Making Myself Clear?
How well do you find common ground with people? Do you ask insightful questions that allow you to learn about others? Do you “seek first to understand, then to be understood” as Stephen R. Covey wrote about in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People?
If you want to increase your leadership effectiveness, seek common ground with those you wish to lead. Find out what makes them tick. John Maxwell recommends the following questions to consider:
- What do they dream about?
- What makes them sing?
- What makes them cry?
If you pay attention to your people, you will find common ground to connect on.You will know how to communicate with them better. You will know how to lead each person as an individual better. You will build trust and rapport.
Think about the people you are leading or wish to lead. What do you know about them? What do you have in common with them? Do you even know?
If you can answer these questions confidently you are well on your way to leading people more effectively. If you don’t know the answers, then it’s time to shift the focus from yourself and your task lists to start understanding your people better. Finding common ground takes work. But in the end, you will be glad you invested the effort. Your people will respect you and trust you more. You will be able to lead from a more solid foundation of trust.
If you realize you have a significant gap in this part of your leadership, contact me and we can discuss ways that I can help you grow as a leader that truly connects with your people.
Be Intentionally Great Today!
