Jeremy Ho is this week's guest writer. Jeremy is a committed and skilled L&OD professional, husband, son and father. He brings a wealth of practical insight into the leadership space founded on his experiences in a plethora of industries.
Have you ever considered how you want to be perceived when interacting with others?
High performers are clear about who they want to be and how they interact with people. They do not go on autopilot mode. Rather, they are intentional about creating a consistent experience.
While this may sound like common sense, to what extent is this common practice in your daily life? For example:
Before going into your last meeting, did you plan for what you wanted the client to do, think, feel, and say as a result of meeting with you?
In your regular one-on-one catch up with a team member, do you take a moment to set your intention for how he / she will feel after the conversation?
When giving feedback to someone on how he / she can be more effective, do you think about how the pitch, tone, volume, and speed of your voice will impact your message?
What are the 3 qualities / words you would like people to associate you with? To illustrate, PPU guides all my interactions:
Perspective: Anyone who interacts with me will gain a different point of view.
Possibilities: The other person can visualize how his / her situation can be improved in future.
Uplifting: In every conversation, I always have the choice of speaking words of death (which will tear down the other person) or words of life (which will build up another person). I consciously choose to use words of life to energize and uplift another human being.
Here is an activity you can immediately do:
Write down the name of each person in your team.
Imagine it is twenty years later and you are at your retirement party. What 3 qualities / words would you like people to say about their interactions with you?
The 3 qualities / words you write must resonate so deeply that you feel it in your bones. If you do not feel that deep resonance, choose a different quality / word.
Do a Google search and find the 3 perfect qualities / words for yourself. This website contains examples of qualities / words you could use https://positiveemotionlist.com/PositiveList.pdf
3.The next time you are with each of these people, begin demonstrating your 3 qualities / words.
When people start sharing about how they feel around you, you will know how closely aligned your intended 3 qualities / words are with their perception.
While this article was written from a professional perspective, the insights are also applicable to our personal life. How do you want to show up in the world? Life is a series of interactions. Your mood, words, and actions impact people around you. How you treat someone will directly influence the way they treat somebody else that same day. It is a domino effect. You have the power to live your 3 qualities / words every single day. Every interaction matters!