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Secrets to Success
Deborah Cole Micek |
Team leaders
customize motivationAre you a leader? You bet you are!
In today's business world, leaders are no longer just the owners of Fortune 500 companies. Small-business owners from every industry imaginable are leaders in their own right. If you expect to make it big and leave a lasting positive impact on your employees, customers and community, you must be a motivational leader.
Leaders come in many different packages -- different combinations of communication styles, attitudes, values and driving passions. The leaders and achievers who seem to slice through challenges like a hot knife through butter are the leaders who keep people around them motivated and focused on results by using an "influencing" approach.
The real achievers who are going to get noticed will always motivate the people they're working with the way those individuals want to be motivated, not the way they themselves might prefer to be motivated. There is a distinct difference between these two strategies. Do you notice the difference?
Some business leaders call this "people skills." We like to call it your "Motivational Influence Quotient" (or your "Motivational IQ").
Are you looking to succeed in today's fast-paced marketplace?
If you are, you know it's not just technical skills, keeping up with technology or even being the smartest owner in your industry that ensures success. You must maximize the performance of your team, create a customer-driven service system and create an aura of positive impact that radiates from your organization like the warm rays of the sun. This is what will attract quality clients and earn their loyalty and trust.
Top leaders (no matter what positions they are in) know how to accurately identify the preferred communication and motivational style of each person they interact with. They know how to communicate with optimal effectiveness because they communicate based on the preferred style of the person they're working with.
Ask yourself these questions to assess your current situation:
>> Do you understand your own natural communication style and know how others perceive you in all situations?Having a high Motivational IQ does not mean you coddle or patronize people who have no interest in being part of the team. In fact, these practices are counterproductive to your success.
>> How quickly can you identify the preferred communication styles of others?
>> Are you satisfied with how well you adapt your own style to match others to obtain win-win communication results?On the other hand, having a high Motivational IQ does mean that as a leader you start by "mining" the natural talents and skills of each member of the team (beginning with yourself).
To read an unabridged version of this article, including your own Motivational IQ Quiz, visit the free article section at www.GetCoachedForFree.com.
John-Paul Micek
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
John-Paul Micek is the lead business coach at RPM Success Group Inc. Reach him at JPM@RPMsuccess.com or toll-free at (888) 334-8151.
Deborah Cole Micek, chief executive officer of RPM Success Group, is a business success coach and life strategist. Reach her at DCM@RPMsuccess.com or toll-free at (888) 334-8151.
Access an expanded version of this article at www.GetCoachedforFree.com.