The Berger Leadership Blog

Taking your success to the next level

Leaders know what it takes to be successful. In fact, our successes, at least on a professional level, can often be seen by others. A couple examples: a decision made that led to increased sales or a new hire excelling in his or her role.

Whether measurable by others or defined by ourselves, achieving success shouldn’t be the point at which we stop and pat ourselves on the backs. Inc.com contributing editor Jeff Haden says we should strive to be “incredibly successful.” While there is no “magic bullet” for achieving exceptional success, he says, “there are certain qualities that incredibly successful people share.”

Some of these qualities include:

- finding happiness in others’ successes;

- “relentlessly” seeking out new experiences;

- being “incredibly” empathetic;

- seeing money as a responsibility, not as a reward;

- being humble – not tooting your own horn; and

- clinging to dignity and respect, not success.

Haden reminds us that this kind of success isn’t a linear path pointing upward. It's a circle. He writes: “No matter how high your business – and your ego – soars, success still comes back to your employees.”

Becoming more likeable

Likability isn’t reserved for those who are outgoing, social or good looking.

“Being likable is under your control, it’s a matter of emotion intelligence,” writes author Travis Bradberry in an Entrepreneur article. I’ve written on emotional intelligence, or EQ, in the past. EQ is controlling your emotions and understanding others’.

It is a person’s EQ that makes them so likeable. Bradberry lists 13 behaviors that emotionally intelligent people do that lead to their likability. Here are a few that stood out for me:

• They ask questions. When you ask questions, you let the person who is talking know you are listening. Everyone likes a good listener.
• They put away their phones. A text message or an email can wait.
• They are consistent. When people approach you, they should know what they are going to get. Be reliable.
• They use positive body language. Tone, posture, facial expressions and gestures all relay a message to your listeners – sometimes more of a message than what you’re actually saying.
• They greet people by name. It feels good when someone calls you by name and refers to you by name in conversation. Do the same for others.

Likability is important for a leader. It can help promote a harmonious work environment and bring out the best in others.

Being a legendary leader starts on the inside

As much as I like quick lists and tips on improving skill sets and becoming a better person, achieving those ends also involves a journey of self-discovery that isn’t so black and white.

Leadership Coach David Roppo says in a LinkedIn article, “Leadership, especially the legendary type, requires a journey. There isn’t a shortcut, quick fix approach, or an effective method for micromanaging life and/or personal behavior.”

He explains that legendary leadership “is a product of internal development on both emotional and spiritual levels.” In other words, what you see is what you get: The characteristics you exhibit on the outside come from who you are on the inside.

To those seeking to become legendary leaders, Roppo says rid yourself of behaviors and characteristics that hinder growth, including fear and insecurity. He encourages leaders to examine their personal lives and how they react toward family and friends. “Do you control, manipulate, oppress, or intentionally sabotage the success of others in your personal life?” he asks. Because how you act at home is how you act professionally.

Once we identify and get rid of these restrictive patterns, we may well be on our way to becoming legendary leaders. 

How to be influential

Communications expert and author Stacey Hanke does presentations at various credit unions and trade associations nationwide. In fact, she has presented at NAFCU’s Management and Leadership Institute in the past. Much of her focus is teaching people how to be influential.

One of her main points is talking more to avoid moments of silence does nothing to make people seem more knowledgeable or influential. “The more we speak, the more we confuse. The more we speak, the more time we steal from our listeners, because it takes us longer to make our points,” she writes in one of her recent blog posts.

In her blog post, she gives three tips to help us communicate more with less:

1. Focus on your listeners, not your agenda. Sometimes, we need to adapt our messaging to our listeners.
2. Think and speak in bullet-point sentences. When you use short, concise sentences, you tend to pause naturally, and that gives your listeners a chance to catch up.
3. Be aware. Rambling usually leads to more rambling, she said, which quickly erodes any engagement you had with your listeners. Allow your listeners time to think and speak.

Also, please plan to listen in on NAFCU’s next member call-in at 4 p.m. Eastern March 18. I, along with other senior members of NAFCU’s government affairs team, will look at what’s ahead in Congress and the regulatory agencies for credit union regulatory relief, capital reform, field-of-membership issues and more.