If you've been following our series on whether an achievement mindset can be trained, you might be convinced it's impossible—or perhaps you're starting to see our perspective: YES, it can be trained!

This week, we’re focusing on the entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs ask questions, take risks, are self-motivated, identify business opportunities, and love to learn. While there are five core competencies in this realm, I want to highlight one of the most challenging: influencing others.

Influencing Others

Influencing others involves personally affecting their actions, decisions, opinions, or thinking. It requires:

- Understanding the needs, wants, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors of others to promote a concept, product, or service.

- Building trust and credibility before attempting to promote any ideas.

- Recognizing and utilizing the behaviors of others to influence outcomes.

- Using logic and reason to craft rational arguments that challenge existing assumptions.

- Identifying and addressing barriers that prevent others from seeing the benefits of a concept.

- Adapting techniques to meet the needs and wants of those being influenced.

- Recognizing the role of self-awareness in influencing others.

- Leveraging relationships in indirect but impactful ways.

- Effecting change in the actions, behaviors, and opinions of others.

- Guiding others to see your perspective without force or coercion.

My favorite point here is the emphasis on self-understanding. However, I've noticed a significant gap in leadership meetings around the question: "Do I trust and believe you?"

Often, team harmony suffers because leaders fail to build trust and credibility before promoting new concepts or changes. Stephen Covey refers to this as "building an emotional bank account." I recently listened to a podcast that likened this to filling a pitcher. Regardless of the analogy, the key takeaway is that we must first address our own needs before we can effectively meet the needs of our team members.

Understanding Individual Values

Recognizing that everyone on your team has different values is essential. Generally, people tend to value:

- Experience

- Security

- Information

- Results/Efficiency

Within these categories, there are nuances that you must understand for each team member before you can confidently answer, "Do I trust and believe you?"

Where to Start

Begin by reflecting on your own values. What would be the benefit of investing time to fill your team’s emotional bank account? This process takes effort and consistent engagement. Is it worth it to you?

If your answer is yes, start by identifying what each of your team members values. This could be as straightforward as asking them directly. The next critical step is tracking your progress. Create a list of each staff member’s name and note how you plan to fill their emotional bank account each week.

And remember: implementation should happen within 48 hours!

By prioritizing trust and understanding within your team, you can enhance your ability to influence others and foster a more cohesive work environment.