People Managers Impact Lives
A pretty bold statement to make, but I’m guessing you’re nodding.
When you think back on the good times at work, the really good times, the ones that make you smile, can you associate it with who was your manager at the time?
I definitely can.
What about the negative experiences – how does it make you feel years later to look back on
those?
The power of positivity
I recently watched a TEDX talk by Emma Seppala PhD, author of The Happiness Track, Science Director at Stanford University, and Co-Director of Wellbeing at Yale University.
The video was from way back in 2014, but something in there struck a chord with me and it is definitely worth sharing.
I’m positive
I’ve often been told that I am a very positive person, in fact, people are sometimes astounded at how positive I can be during challenging times. I’m sure it’s annoying sometimes!
For me it just feels normal. It’s my survival mechanism. I feel it kicking into overdrive at the onset of trouble and I have noticed that it does rub off on others around me. During tough times the power of positivity brings us together, we put fear aside and stand strong to face whatever needs to be faced.
Emma Seppala
Social connection
In her TEDX talk Emma discusses the power of social connection. She explains that when we smile at someone we are triggering the micro-muscles in their face, and while we might not see them return that smile, perhaps they will smile at the next person they see.
This reminded me of a moment I won’t forget, I was about to walk onto a stage to give a talk in front of a fairly large audience. I had expected to be speaking to only maybe 20-30 people, however as they fixed me up with the microphone I watched people trickling in until the room was full, and it was standing room only.
Imposter syndrome kicking in
Over 150 people had come to hear me speak. As I apprehensively walked onto the stage, with nerves starting to pickle my brain, and my imposter syndrome kicking in, my eye zeroed in on a face I recognized sitting in the crowd. It was someone I had spoken to the evening before at a networking event.
What did she do?
She gave a little wave and smiled at me. In that moment, I threw off my nerves and they melted away, I smiled back, at her and at everyone. I took a deep breath, I began to speak with my usual authority, and relaxed into my rhythm.
That moment changed the course of the next hour for me, by giving me instant confidence. Following that it changed the rest of the conference, everyone wanted to talk to me, and it boosted my personal brand. I am still connected with people I talked to at that conference today, several years later.
One smile was all it took, one moment of positivity
In her speech Emma explained that science has proven that if you affect someone in a positive way such as this, it has a knock-on effect to the people around them.
A positive impact on one person impacts for three degrees of separation. One of Emma’s students decided that she would start to practice this, smiling at people, the worst that could happen would be that she would trigger someone’s micro-smiling muscles!
She decided to keep smiling at someone in her dorm who always seemed to be unhappy, and was isolated. At first nothing happened, the girl didn’t smile back. But after a few days, the girl approached her, she thanked her fellow student for noticing her. I got a bit of a lump in my throat at the end of the story!
Be the leader that people remember (for the right reasons…)
I believe emphatically in the power of thinking and acting positively. Leaders who behave this way have the power to not just attract and influence their own team members, but to impact those around them in all directions.
You can do this
You can change the world through the power of positivity. We all can.
If you’re struggling try these three actions to get you started:
- Breathe – take some slow deep breaths and remember a happy memory
- Smile – take a lesson from Emma’s TEDX talk, give people a warm smile, it will make you both feel good, the chances are that you’re already smiling after step one
- Relax – use positive and open body language, make eye contact
Let’s spread some positivity around the world today!
Let me know your thoughts on this, what are your people manager memories?
Watch Emma Seppala’s TEDX talk here: https://youtu.be/WZvUppaDfNs
Visit Emma’s website: https://emmaseppala.com
What Do You Think?
Let me know your thoughts on this in the comments below, I would love to hear from you.
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