Emotions Determine Everything

Remember that everyone is primarily emotional. Everything that people does, or refrains from doing, is triggered by their deeper emotions. Your job is to connect with their higher and more positive emotions so they feel so good about you they want to help you and please you in some way.

Action Exercises

Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.

First, get out of your office and go among your friends and coworkers. Ask them about their personal lives and concerns, and then listen carefully to answer.

Second, resolve to be a genuinely positive person under all circumstances. Be kind of person people feel happy being around and working for.

This may seem like a non sequitur. After all, leaders know that things change. But many leaders whom I have encountered don't make connection and fail to realize that results are limitless.

But there is a connection -- a profound connection. And leaders who don't make that connection, don't live that connection, are giving short shrift to their leadership and people they lead.

Living by results-are-limitless credo can set you apart as a leader who consistently gets results, no matter what challenge you face.

Start to take a small but well-defined step to manifest results-are-limitless leadership.

(1) Identify. Identify one thing you think is NOT BEING QUESTIONED. Make sure it is something people believe has "reached limit of its development." It may be a product or features of a product. It may be way your organization is structured. It may be a successful engineering program.

(2) Question. Treat it as if it's fundamental premise were false. Can you shoot holes in logical reasons for its existence? If it ain't broke, see what would happen if you break (change) it — with one end in mind, achieving more results.

(3) Change. See if you can come up with answers that will lead either to replacing what you're questioning or improving it.

(4) Continue. Don't look at this as an academic assignment. It's not homework. It's beginning of making credo part of DNA of your leadership.

Repeat: This as a leadership endeavor. Determine who are cause leaders you need to make change happen. Talk to them about how they would take leadership to affect that change. You should not only have "What if ... " discussions but more importantly, "Why not ... "discussions.

2005 © The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. All rights reserved.