What Skill Influences up to 40% of a leader’s Job Performance?

Impalas at three-feet tall can jump 10 feet vertically, and when running can jump 30 feet horizontally. They have all the instincts and ability to be free, stay free, and thrive in spite of the many predators they face daily.

 Yet, with all of these skills and instincts, the impala does not know how to overcome the walls in their lives. You see, with all of that capacity to jump, flee, and escape, if an impala is faced with a 3-foot solid wall they will not try to jump it. Why, because they can’t see what is on the other side.

Imagine the conversation that is going on in the impala’s head. Now, I am taking some liberty here since I have not been in the mind of an impala. However, over the years I have been in my own mind a great deal and have talked with many others who share their mind with me, so I guess, I can speak for the impala.

When the impala first sees the wall, it begins to focus on what it can’t see and panics because its mind is creating images of the terrible predators and
catastrophes that might be on the other side. These images then release chemicals and hormones (cortisol, fear dendrites, and others) that create feelings of fear, stress, worry, anxiety, and procrastination. Sound familiar? Fight or Flight.

The size of the wall has nothing to do with the ability of the impala to escape. Its failure to move forward comes from the mind creating a “what if” scenario that for the most part, does not exist—“What if a Cheetah is on the
other side, it chases me, I’m lunch. Better to stay right where I am and settle for a life of captivity. It is the wall’s fault.”

Sounds crazy, right. Yet, how many of us create our own walls of resistance by the mental chatter that is going on, and the “tint” of our glasses that comes from past experiences. How does that block your connection with others?

Over the next four weeks, I am going to focus on the skill set that is in greatest demand today, and how the “mindset of the impala” can sabotage the development and use of this skill in creating powerful connections and building bridges of trust.

It is a skill set that:

According to Dr. Travis Bradberry, a recent study by George Washington University stated that this skill influences up to 40% of a leader’s job performance.
When used effectively, can exponentially increase the quality of our personal and professional lives.

When not understood and applied, drives people away, burns bridges of trust, sinks productivity and profitability.

Build connection and relationship bridges faster than anything else does.
This skill set is Effective Listening.

Note: It is NOT called effective hearing, talking, or telling.

Many years ago I thought I was an effective listener, as most of us think we are, and then we had two of our six children put up some very high walls and for nine years they totally shut us out. I don’t know of anything so painful as losing a relationship with a child.

What I am going to share with you in the upcoming weeks is what built the bridges of trust, connection, and understanding that brought the walls down and created amazing relationships with these children, and totally transformed my relationships and connections with others of all walks of life.

What I learned has also led to hundreds of thousands of dollars in increased revenue, and a dramatic reduction in rejection and frustration.