This was my opening message to the board of director's from our Les Olson Board Meeting held in August.

 

Positive Influence:

For me, this year has been filled with many exciting milestones and extreme challenges. I have learned many lessons from these experiences. We cannot call back time that is past… we cannot stop time that now is… and we cannot experience the future in our present state…

Time is a gift… a treasure not to be put aside for the future but to be used wisely in the present.

Things go wrong… We suffer… Misfortune can cripple our bodies, frazzle our emotions or fog our intellects. Sometimes life looks so bleak to us that we think we may never recover our former health and happiness. At times like these, empathy and support from others can be not only a comfort but a stimulus toward healing.  

I witnessed first-hand the power and importance of being a positive influence and the impact it had in my recovery. Positive influence can be likened to a liquid that flows into and out of all of us. The character of what flows into us directly affects our internal state and affects what flows out of us, inevitably impacting what gets into others around us.

People, places and experiences that provide positive influence are those that help us move nearer to our desired results and help us to be better today than we were yesterday. Many if not all of us can recall times of positive change in our thinking that enabled us to move well beyond what we initially anticipated.

In working to immerse ourselves in positive environments and become good influences for others, we must continually be on the lookout for these four inputs that will:                                                                                    One- Inspire… by expanding our vision to encompass a better future than previously thought possible.

Two- Challenge… by creating a demand to be, do and have greater than what presently exists.

Three- Encourage… by providing an external “You Can Do This!” such that it becomes the recipient’s permanent internal “I Can Do This!”                    

and Four- Motivate… by instilling or helping to discover a sense of purpose and “Why” that becomes a driving force for achievement.

Organizations are relatively simple systems. What makes them complex is that they are also intricate webs of human relationships. We need to be able to work well with our boss, our colleagues and our subordinates to accomplish the results we want. This is not an option but rather a basic requirement.

Influencing skills are about working successfully with others. They are a range of behaviors that you can utilize to get the job done and at the same time build or maintain good relationships.  Sometimes it’s easier to get the job done by walking all over others, but this destroys the relationship for the next time. Sometimes it’s easier to give way to other’s demands and maintain the relationship, but you don’t achieve the outcome you want.

Being an effective leader means being able to positively influence others.  Here are some examples of behavior that has a positive impact on others:

·       Being supportive.

·       Challenging others to be the best they can be.

·       Modeling positive behavior for others.

·       Noticing and promoting skills that motivate others.

·       Acknowledging and appreciating individuals’ skills and talents.

·       Listening to others.

·       Giving time to others.

·       Setting an example by continuing to work on yourself.

Broadening and developing your range of influencing skills will help you:

·       Build trust.

·       Bring people together around a common vision.

·       Be assertive without being aggressive.

·       Learn to listen without being perceived as passive.

·       Manage conflict to achieve positive outcomes.

·       Get things done with difficult people.

·       Know when to be strategic and when to be tactical in your influence attempts.

·       Understand the difference between compliance and commitment and have the skill to achieve both.

·       Give helpful feedback.

·       Match your impact with intention.

·       Build good, long-lasting working relationships.

You never know who’s watching you... And someone always is… whether your child, your co-worker, your spouse, your friend, a customer, or even a stranger in another car on the road. Emotions and inner life states are transmitted like viruses along the vectors of our words and actions, even from the quietest and smallest.

Nothing can encourage us like someone else’s good example. They are sometimes few and far between- but they’re there if you look for them.

Want to create value with your life? Become a good, positive influence.

~With respect and admiration for all of the positive influences in my life! 

                                       JAMES