When I finally met the person, we had a good conversation that resulted in an interesting discovery. The more we talked, the more obvious it became that the person needed me more than I did. Instead of pulling back, I switched gears to my purpose in life which is to help others be their best selves.
Over a couple months, when I could, I was available as a mentor and a life coach. It was amazing all that I learned from this experience. Summing it up, to empower another person, you need to care.
To empower another person, it is important to make a Connection.
Making a real connection starts from your inside out. Over the years, I've found that my heart, head and hands have to be connected and aligned when relating to others. And the more connected they are, the more mutually-beneficial those relationships have been.
For external connection to exist, one has to be Approachable. Synonyms include: frank, accessible, communicative and easy to talk to. To be effective, you need to be a friendly face who is available, ready and easy to talk to. There's no value in being available to talk to if you are not ready or easy to talk to etc.
The connection and approachability need to be unpinned by the Real you. Another and more common synonym for "real" is "authenticity" and all about being yourself. I like the way Edwin Elliot put the importance of authenticity: "By being yourself, you put something wonderful in the world that was not there before." When you do that, you empower others to do the same.
Leaders have been encouraged to develop Emotional Intelligence as a way to better connect with others. Whether or not you accept it, we are all first emotional beings before we are intellectual beings. It's just that some family upbringing and societal norms suppress our emotional side and highlight our intellectual side. Everyone, not just leaders, has to be emotionally intelligence. It is amazing how you can show true are with it.
Looking back, these 4 attributes helped me in relating with and empowering very many people.
If you or someone you know needs CARE or needs to develop CARE, contact me for coaching via LinkedIn or email - 1st ½ hour will be free...
