Charismatic Magic

Do you wish you could command more attention and have your opinions eagerly sought after? Would you like others to enthusiastically welcome opportunities to support you? University of Texas professor and author of Bring Your Brain to Work, Art Markman, offers guidance to help kitchen and bath showroom owners and managers enhance their leadership abilities by becoming more affable. 

Markman points out that you don't need to drastically change your personality to improve your leadership skills. Instead, learn how to engage with team members, suppliers, and others in a way that makes you more approachable. Simple things like your tone of voice and body language can speak volumes. Leaning in towards those you're conversing with, maintaining eye contact, and displaying an interested expression signals that you want to engage with others. 

Focus more on positive opportunities than negative obstacles, and discuss what's possible rather than dwelling on what can't be done. When addressing problems, explain how you can use them as learning experiences to solve future challenges instead of fixating on past failures. 

Conversations should be interactive exchanges. Actively solicit team members' opinions and ideas. Even if their suggestions seem unconventional, find something positive you can build upon. The goal is to engage with people in a way that makes them want to collaborate with you repeatedly. 

Avoid undermining your ability to be a positive influence by consistently criticizing, blaming others for problems, or denigrating successful competitors. Most people want to follow those who offer a better future. 

The most charismatic leaders, claims Markman, are those who create a sense of shared purpose. This involves crafting a path to guide the organization from its current state to where it needs to go. This path "should be focused on the opportunity that shared work can create," writes Markman. He adds that it's crucial to solicit input from others to identify how their unique skill sets can be leveraged to help achieve the goal.