“Leadership is lifting a person’s vision to higher sights, the raising of a person’s performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations.” — Peter Drucker
No matter what job you have or what industry you’re in, you’re in the people business! You may be a store or department manager, customer service representative, business owner, or non-profit leader. You could work in a variety of other roles for that matter. The bottom line is that how you interact with the people around you will make or break your leadership potential and level of success.
Many people want to be more successful in life, but they don’t get along with people. Bob Burg says that people do business with those they know, like, and trust. Can that be said of you? Do your team members know, like and trust you? Do you customers or clients?
If you want to win in business (and life for that matter), you need to work on your people skills. One key way of doing this is to be curious about people. Ask questions more than talking about yourself. Stephen Covey said that we should “Seek first to understand, then be understood.” Is that how you interact with people?
Today, spend some time reflecting on how you engage the people around you. Do a 360 degree assessment of yourself using the following questions:
- How do I interact with those I report to?
- How do I interact with my peers?
- How do I interact with those that report to me?
- How do I interact with friends and family?
Take steps to improve your people skills and watch your influence and success level rise.
Be Intentionally Great Today!
