This blog may read as trite at first, but I assure you it’s not. It’s an essential behavioral tool for your journey as a leader. That tool is this:
Smile!
Hear me out! Smiling breaks down more barriers and opens up more doors than any other tool in your toolbox. Unfortunately, too many people use it backwards–as a byproduct rather than a tool. Smiling, like happiness, isn’t just something you get FROM your circumstances and experiences–it’s something you bring TO your circumstances and experiences. Smile and you will feel better. Smile and people will respond more favorably to you. Smile, not because you are happy in that very moment based on what has happened to you, but because for that moment the person you are facing deserves your presence, not your past. Smile because THEY are worthy of it, even if your emotions say you are not.
Leaders recognize that they are NOT the center of the universe. They are merely one star, one SUN that has the opportunity to shine and brighten the world for those around them. Some of you will have others revolve around you. Some of you will not. But EVERYONE has the ability to be a SUN that illuminates, inspires, and brightens the lives of those around them just by being there–regardless of their title or role.
And beware: some people can only see themselves as moons. They don’t believe they’re capable of producing real light. When you encounter those people, you may not possess the power to convert them into a star, but you can still illuminate them and from their surface they can reflect the power, light and warmth of your leadership. You can build them up in that light.
Smile, because everyone deserves the kindest version of you.
And it will make you feel better in the process–it’s a win-win. Embrace it. Share it. Smile!
Photo courtesy Ben Smith via flickr, used under the Creative Commons License.
