Power of Enthusiasm
Joy!….What is it good for….absolutely everything! Say it again!
Customer service people, sales people, leaders of people….those of us who work with others to achieve an outcome understands the power of enthusiasm.
Of bringing joy to a situation.
It’s infectious.
It’s influential.
It’s effective.
Whether it’s overt or a bit lower key, enthusiasm is quality many influential people have in common. Sometimes we call it passion, belief or energy, and we know when it’s there in another person, and we sure know when it’s not!
The difference is day and night.
For sales leaders examining their teams right now, you’ll know all too well which people in your team imbue their interactions with enthusiasm and those who don’t.
And I don’t need to remind you here that without it, our jobs become more around “pumping people up” week after week after week.
It’s exhausting.
And it’s unnecessary.
Skills you can train. Processes you can train. Experience will come. But enthusiasm? You can’t make someone have enthusiasm – it’s an inside job.
Our job is to find those people during the recruitment phase.
Who shows up to every interview beaming? Who looks like they’re genuinely delighted to be there?
Who’s presentation tells you they’ve given consideration to their first impression?
Who speaks with energy, certainty and purpose when providing examples of behaviour to questions?
Who comes to the interview with a level of positive intensity that you want around your customers and team members?
These are the people we want.
Enthusiastic people….
….Laugh easily and often
They can laugh at themselves, find humour in most situations but aren’t glib. They’re real. Their emotion is real. It’s their humanity that enables them to be gentle with themselves and others.
….Listen intently and ask lots of questions
Enthusiastic people are genuinely curious. They’re interested in others’ journeys, stories, what makes them tick and getting to the bottom of what matters to the other person. Their approach with conversation is to understand the other person, so their questions come naturally and uncover deeper levels of response. In doing so, the other person feels valued, understood.
….Connect easily
The goal for enthusiastic people is to understand what makes another person tick. They show up to conversations with their metaphoric arms extended, ready to embrace the other person. Their energy attracts rather than promotes. Others want to be around them and open up to them.
I….nspire action in others
When they speak, others listen. They communicate in a way that “speaks others’ language”. Enthusiastic people share their vision easily because of their own clarity; others respond to that certainty and want to be a part of it. It becomes easy to enlist volunteers to take on tasks to deliver that vision because they’re connected to delivering something beyond themselves.
So as we think about the teams we’re creating in 2020, align your recruitment, onboarding, leadership and engagement process to actively seek and nurture more enthusiasts. Life can be tough from time to time. Set it up so that in 2020 your enthusiastic team will bring the sunshine in.