How Do You Operate With People?

September 30, 2019

When you go through your average day, you encounter more people than you probably realize. If you can make it a habit to be more aware of all people, then you can improve how you “operate” with people.

One of the great benefits of vision is it acts like a magnet when it comes to people. Your vision is what attracts people, challenges people and unites people. This is also how you can recognize leaders that you think have great potential.

Some of these people you already know. Others you are just meeting for the first time.

People like to joke that doctors “practice” medicine. They will poke at you, suggest medicine and, hopefully, they get it right. The truth is they are human and rely heavily, in a lot of cases, on the patient to help pinpoint the problem. It’s the same deal with recruiting and working with people. You take the info (what you see and hear from a person) and decide what you think they can potentially do. You don’t always get it right. That’s why you have to find more people, and find better people.

What you see in people is important. What you can motivate people to do is even more important. A lot of people don’t know what they are capable of doing. With encouragement, they tend to do more than they thought was possible. When that happens, a person can raise his/her own expectation level.

An English artist named William Wolcott had an urge to sketch one morning back in 1924. He asked a friend for some paper, but it was not sketching paper. It was ordinary wrapping paper.

Wolcott decided nothing is ordinary if you know how to use it. He made two sketches. His work went on to sell for up to $1 million.

People under the influence of an empowering person are like paper in the hands of a talented artist. No matter what they are made of, they can become great treasures to the world.

When you are working with people think about the following 10 questions:

Do I believe in people and feel that they are my organization’s most appreciable asset?

Do I believe that empowering others can accomplish more than individual achievements?

Do I actively search for potential leaders to empower?

Would I be willing to raise others to a level higher than my own level of leadership?

Would I be willing to invest time developing people who have leadership potential?

Would I be willing to let others get credit for what I taught them?

Do I allow others freedom of personality and process, or do I have to be in control?

Would I be willing to give my authority and influence to potential leaders?

Would I be willing to let others work me out of a job?

Would I be willing to hand the leadership baton to the people I empower and truly root for them?

Take some time to answer those questions. Write it down on paper so you can come back to it at a later date to see if your answers have changed.

This is all about attitude. It’s about your belief in people. It’s also about believing in you.

One of the most important traits you can possess is humility. It’s big. Too many people know it all. Those that accept and embrace that they do not know it all are powerful.

Being broke and arrogant is not a good look. It’s an outfit that looks bad on anybody. People can be weak or strong. Weak people tend to get something too quickly and mess it up even faster. Strong people rise up slowly and don’t make as bad of a mess. The good news? People can change if they want to change.

Working with people is a process. It takes time, emotion, etc. How do you evaluate people? There are a few areas where you do this when working with people.

Evaluate

What is a person’s knowledge level? What is their history? Do they see the big picture? Do they know their “why?” Can you help explain these things to them based on how they answer your questions? Knowledge is about having power and giving others power too.

Skill

In this area, I like to call it T.L.C. Are you able to effectively teach, listen and correct people? There’s a reason why Coach Mike Krzyzewski of Duke has won more than 1,000 college basketball games since 1980. He didn’t win five NCAA championships by accident. I promise you that he is a master at T.L.C.

There’s no amount of skill or knowledge that comes without desire. Jean de La Fontaine said, “Man is so made that whenever anything fires his soul, impossibilities vanish.”

Model

Are you the example you seek in other people? If you are not, why would they listen to you or follow you?

If you are a great example, are you willing to take others with you and teach them what you do?

Attitude and work ethic matter so much. Those two things will take you far.

Believe

If you believe you can that is great. Can you help others believe too? You can and you need to because people expect it, they can sense it and they can see your attitude visually and audibly. Don’t be afraid to verbalize it. People will hear you saying it. Tell them you believe in them. Say it often!

Don’t Fear Failure

Are you afraid to fail? Are you willing to let other people fail? It’s OK to fail. How you respond is what matters more than the failures. Encourage people to act. Let them act. Be OK with the results. It won’t be perfect, but it can be fixed.

Confidence

When you interact with people, do you do so with confidence? Go out of your way to show confidence in them. Say it often. Do this at meetings and in day-to-day interactions. Words matter so much.

Feedback

Become the coach you always wanted to have in your life. Coach people all the time. Coach people when they make mistakes. Coach them when they have miscues. Coach them when their judgement is a little off. Give people what they need and not what they deserve. People tend to do what gets attention.

Win

Set people up for success. Let them win. Let them take credit for winning. Even if you played a key role in the win, let them enjoy it.

Find more winners!

Don’t make people feel small. If you don’t have a genuine belief in people, you will hurt them. Assuming they can’t instead of thinking they can hurts people. Think people will do something rather than thinking they won’t do something. See the potential in people and not the problems. We all have problems, but we need to focus on the power of the potential in people.

I want you to reach a level where you see people as assets and not liabilities. That’s when you can set people up to be successful.