Yesterday I read from the book 177 Mental toughness secrets that professional leaders know how to get people emotionally involved while amateurs only lead by logic. The exercise was to ask someone the question “Tell me what the most important thing to you?” and then follow up with questions that continue to involve the person. Examples include “Why is that important to you?” “What would that feel like when you get there?” “Why is that important to you?”
I tried it on my wife yesterday and she had a great “R” response “I just want everyone to get along.” Then she shared some negative emotions about some relational conflict in our lives. The book didn’t prepare me for that! It looks like being a good leader means you have to be able to handle negative emotion appropriately.
Last night I read in How to Win Friends about a guy named Jim Finely. He helped a president get elected because he knew 50,000 people by first name. During the campaign, he wrote letters to each individual. (I’m glad I remembered his name). Dale highlights how important someone’s name is to them. Pros focus on remembering people’s name. People do business with people who they know, like, and trust. If I don’t know their name, it means I don’t know them.