Have you ever spoken to an audience and at one point in the talk you knew you were speaking to their hearts?
I had that exact scenario happen the other day. I was talking to an audience on Leadership, Recognition and Motivation, and at some point I said,
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Every one of us has a seed of greatness inside of us. It is the leader’s responsibility to find that within each of their team members.
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Immediately, I could see everyone’s head nod up and down and their eyes widened as if they received a jolt from some unexpected source.
I think that their hearts beat a little faster too.
You see, we all need and want someone to believe in us. Although some leaders are better than others at uncovering greatness in their team members, we all want to be that leader.
Many years ago, I worked my way up in Mary Kay Cosmetics (Yes, a lawyer who was selling cosmetics). To this day, it was the best career journey I took. For me, the best thing was working with women who overcame self-doubt, tried new things and often times flourished.
Witnessing them bloom was amazing. Feeling as though my belief in them helped a little felt good too.
I remember one consultant in particular who is still near and dear to my heart. She joined the company, because she believed in the message of financial freedom and helping other women grow into self-driven leaders. One may not automatically think of this wonderful lady as a “beauty”, but she had a huge heart.
She wanted to be successful as a brand new consultant. She wanted that pink Cadillac. Fundamentally, she longed for someone to believe in her. She wanted someone to invest in her to help her be her very best self. Coupled with her self-doubt, there were bits of confidence.
She was coming out of her cocoon. It was beautiful!
I still think of her to this day. Although she never “made it big” in Mary Kay. I always believed that she could. She didn’t win the Cadillac, or big awards, but she tried damn hard to. She gained a lot more confidence too.
She reminds me of so many team members and managers who really only need someone to believe in them.
If you have the desire to leave your permanent footprint at home, in your workplace, or in this world, I would highly recommend that you believe in others.
Yes. This can be dangerous, or even a huge let down if they fall short of meeting your image of them.
That’s alright. I promise you that you will remember those let downs much less when you continue to believe and see the positive impact you have on other’s lives. Look for that glimmer.
It won’t be easy, but commit to being that type of leader. Go out today and tell the people you believe in that you believe in them. Show it, too, by investing a little time in them. You will help their seeds of greatness shine through!
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Thank you for reading this post. This topic is a personal favorite. I would love to hear about a time you decided to believe in someone or someone believed in you and how you felt or how it impacted you. Leave a comment with your story.
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Cheers to Believing!