Leadership Building Skills for Business Owners and Executives: Skill Four
Skill four: Request participation as an invitation not an expectation.
I am sure you have experienced at some point a salesperson that will not leave you alone. Try as you might, they do not go away. Finally you decide to leave and not even bother with a purchase because the salesperson was just impossible. If you have been through this, you have had great lesson when trying to influence people yourself. The best sell is when a person fully believes they have made the choice themselves.
When one feels they have not made the choice themselves they feel a loss of power. This is not what a good sales person or leader wants.
Giving your audience permission to say “no” without any loss in power of relationship is an indication that you have power and you acknowledge that they have a choice. Acting like you have an expectation for them, indicates your agenda not theirs. Integrity must remain after skills one through three have been established.
When one is aware of this and comes at a proposal to others with this understanding, it occurs to them as being even more powerful as they perceive the presenter as gaining more power from their goal.
When one masters these skills one has the ability to do as much as one is committed to take on. In some cases people like Dr. King, Mahatma Gandhi, and other great leaders have been able to change the course of their nations and in some cases large portions of humanity. Scale this back to whatever you want to accomplish insuring people have a choice to be involved. When they do choose they will be powerfully committed and nothing is more powerful than fully committed people.
If you have further questions or would like coaching to master this and the other three skills. you can contact me at the number below.
I began coaching people in 1996 for an international non-profit organization. Previously, I worked as a mechanical engineer and physics teacher but found through my work in the non-profit, I was much more passionate about empowering people. So I decided to make coaching my occupation. My education includes: a bachelors of science in mechanical engineering from Oregon Institute of Technology, A master in education from Portland State University, counselor training through GSM International, three years of living curriculum and coach training through Landmark Education, and coach training through The Tony Robbins Institute.