Influence comes when you care about people -- and they know you care about them.
On the June 15th episode of the Lykken on Lending radio show I host, one of my colleagues made an interesting observation that I just can't get out of my head. We do what we do with the program for the purpose of "helping our listeners." The idea of "helping" really resonated with me, because I think it's the foundation for the making of a truly influential leader.
Leading is serving. Influence comes when you care about your people -- and they know that you care about them. What better way show that you care than by simply asking them what you can do to help them? If you want people to invest themselves wholeheartedly in your success, the greatest way to get them to do it is show them that you are also invested in their success.
The principle of helping, of course, employees to your employees. But it also applies to anyone in the mortgage industry with whom you have a relationship. It applies to vendors. You have expectations of your vendors, but how about asking them how you can help them meet those expectations? It applies to media contacts. You may expect certain members of the media to cover news releases about your organization, but how about asking them what would help them tell the best story?
Customers, investors, regulators, political figures, community leaders -- the list goes on and on. It doesn't matter who it is. Be helpful, and you will be a leader that people actually want to follow.
