Influence Archives - Her Business Directory™

Motivating Others Takes Practice

If motivating others were easy, everyone would do it. You can’t just read about a few techniques and implement them, expecting major changes to happen. It takes practice like anything else worthwhile.

Motivating others requires them to be willing. If someone is hard-set in not doing something, there will be little you can do to change that. You may be able to force someone, i.e., if you are a manager, etc. However, that is not the same as motivating them. If you were to leave the company, they would revert to their previous behavior.

Realize that trying a technique only when the mood strikes is not going to produce results. You must be dedicated to trying them out and continue doing so until you see results. You also need to determine when something isn’t working after several tries and seek an alternative approach. Unfortunately, there is no magic number as to when to make that determination.

Motivating others is about aligning their goals wit…

How to Develop the Courage to Lead

It takes courage to be a leader, but even if you have fears that have kept you from leadership roles so far doesn’t mean that you can’t overcome them and achieve positions of leadership.

Each decision you make in your personal and business life is a testament to your courage. Something as simple as refusing a rich dessert because you want to stay fit takes a certain amount of courage if you have gnawing cravings for sugar.

Other decisions you must make may be monumental and require the courage of a lion. A decision to quit a high-paying job to follow your life’s dream is a major decision that takes courage – and planning. And, some decisions may seem unimportant in the moment, but later you may see that they were life-changing.

Courage promotes confidence and self-esteem and builds a framework in which you can accomplish pretty much anything you set out to do. Think of the genius, Stephen Hawking, and how much he overcame to become one of the l…

Eight Inspirational Women in History Who Found Courage

Most people who inspire us due to their courage did not start out wanting to be an inspiration to the world. They simply wanted to fix one thing wrong in their world or show people how to make changes themselves. For others, it was just being in the right place at the right time.

1. Helen Keller – The first deaf and blind person to get a Bachelor of Arts degree, she was made famous initially due to the story she wrote in her book about the journey to learning. She’s been an outspoken supporter of women’s suffrage, labor rights, and other social issues without fear.

9. Irena Sendler – After Poland was invaded by the Nazis, Irena knew she had to do something - even if it meant death. She and her group were responsible for saving about 2500 children who were gotten out and sent to Christian orphanages and given new identities. That’s not all; after being caught and having both her legs broken and being imprisoned and tortured, she worked on reuniting the fa…

Learning What Makes People Tick

If you don’t get to know the people you are trying to motivate, you won’t motivate them. It is that simple. You can’t apply motivational techniques as if they are a recipe for cooking stew. Besides, even when you cook stew, you often deviate from the recipe.

You need to get at the heart of who each person is when motivating them. People are different, and you need to consider those differences. Some people are driven using high energy techniques whereas others like a laid-back and subtle approach.

To learn about others, you need to learn more about what they are like on a personal level. If you have been avoiding participation in after work activities, you may want to start. This doesn’t mean you need to do it every time. Your employees need to have time away from the boss on occasion. However, you do want to get to know your workers in a more relaxed and social environment.

It’s not likely that your workers will open up completely when you are…

6 Traits of a Great Leader in the Workplace

When we think of leadership, we sometimes think of epic moments like George Washington crossing the Delaware, or Martin Luther King Jr. speaking on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. But what makes a leader great in a less epic venue, like work?

Communication

A good leader at work is a good communicator and clearly spells out expectations. Not only that, they foster good communication between their team. A great leader goes above and beyond leveraging chats, emails, and texting groups to bring their team together around workplace issues. They don’t just offer tools for networking—they help develop a sense of how to communicate effectively.

Empathy

A good leader in the workplace cares about their employees and shows it. Remembering the details of their lives and asking follow up questions (in a non-invasive way) about spouses, children, parents, and life events shows that they care about their employees and view them as more than just human chattel.…

Want to Write Better? Write More…

... and other tips. Want to improve your writing skills but you’re not sure where to start? Here are five forward-thinking ways to develop your skills, increase your influence and your credibility whether you’re new to writing or have been writing for years. #1 Read industry publications. There are several excellent magazines devoted to helping writers improve upon and expand their skills. These magazines are often broad and appeal to freelance writers, fiction writers and non-fiction writers combined. Before you subscribe to one, because they can be expensive and the information often overlaps, visit their websites and either request a trial subscription or buy an issue or two at the bookstore first. Their websites and newsletters often contain great information as well. And they’re free, so signing up for them is a great way to access quality writing information. Additionally, there are some wonderful writing websites. Subscribe to their blogs, sign up for their …

The Secret Keys of Persuasion

There are the aspects of persuasion that we all like to acknowledge, such as charm, wit, likeability, and agreement. Then there are those that tickle the part of our minds that fears losing out on something.

Those methods fall under the category of “Secret Keys,” because they’re extremely valuable and highly effective, and when you use them well, you can create profoundly positive results for yourself, those you love, and everyone around you.

Here are 3 that you can use almost anytime. 1. Promise a Secret

People love to know what others don’t. We all love to hear secrets. If you promise to reveal something that was previously hidden, you will capture others’ attention quickly. Then when you give them the bit of secret information, you will have added value to their lives, which brings up our second point…

2. The Law of Reciprocity

There is something funny that…