Positive Influence

I visited one of my relatives last year as he spent his last few days in a hospice home. The home was a peaceful and quiet place for its guests and visitors. Except for the neighbors. I'll never forget how upset I was the first time I heard the neighbors next door. How dare they, I thought to myself. Carrying on and laughing loudly and not even being concerned with what's going on over here. It was a Montessori school, and within earshot was their large and busy playground. The children were noisy and laughed and screamed when they played on the slides, swings, and the jungle gym. Didn't they know that people are grieving? Couldn't the teachers show some courtesy by making the children be quiet?

I was surprised at how all of the doors and windows of the hospice home were open, those that were facing the playground. And then I saw that those guests who could get up and move around were sitting outside, listening to the laughing children.
And then it hit me. The sound of the laughing children wasn't disruptive but healing. Either through bad zoning or divine intervention, the relationship between these two facilities grew into a harmonious and beneficial one, with the Montessori school obliviously giving power and health to the guests in the hospice home.

All of us affect others in ways that are surprising. Everyday each of us brings with us to work a symbiotic and synergistic relationship with all of our coworkers, even though we might not exactly understand the power of our own influence. And sometimes the things that you do or say to your co-workers profoundly moves them in ways in which you do not even know.

Recently I was visiting with a woman who had just left her large employer. She told me stories of how her manager never said anything positive to his staff, except on rare occasions in private in his office. Most of his time on the floor of the facility was spent criticizing and complaining with his employees, publicly condemning their performance. "I was devastated," she said. "He never knew how much he influenced all of us, and never understood how damaging his influence was. And now he wonders why morale is so bad over there."

If you manage at least one or two other people, then you have been given a weighty responsibility, and the morale of your team, no matter how large or small, sits firmly on your shoulders. Here are three ways to shape the mood of your staff through your power of influence:

1) Take to heart the phrase "Praise in public." Always catch people doing something right. Either through formal awards or informal spontaneity, use the power of social influence to shape the power of what is right and what is to be rewarded to the rest of the group. If you work for a large organization, put their stories in a newsletter or some sort of regular communication. Have those team members who are being rewarded speak for themselves, sharing exactly what they did in their work that was praised.

2) Stay positive as a manager. Everyone is looking to you to gage their mood, and you are the thermostat of the team's attitude. Even if you face a grave circumstance such as the dissolution of an enterprise, stay encouraging and hopeful. There is always some hope in everything. It's up to you to find it and share it with the group.

3) Understand how powerful your authority really is. A careless comment, an arrogant jeer, and a crass remark can shape the entire culture of your organization. You are being observed all the time, so be sensitive to this fact.

By knowing how much power you bring to work everyday as a leader, you can positively influence the attitudes of all of your co-workers and shape the entire culture of your organization.

Scott Love shows managers and sales people how to manage their risk and win the game of business. He is a professional speaker and can be reached at 828-225-7700 or on his website at www.nolimitachievement.com