A better way to build a connection may require a simpler approach. The simple act of placing ourselves at equal eye level helps in breaking down barriers.
Like sitting in the sand playing with my granddaughter we were equals.
I was reflecting about going to my doctor and how the staff would try and be at or below my eye level. Taking away the feelings that they were dominant helping me the patient relax opening up the line of communication.
Learn to tap into our self awareness
Feeling like you are in a battle with yourself? Have you been asked to mentor someone? Try for a moment to remember where you began? Our own history has laid the foundation upon which we've built our lives.
Our families and experiences shape our behaviors and the list of natural consequences the cause and effects of timing the good or bad fortune lifts one person up while holding another captive it seems.
So often when I receive a contact looking for assistance it is as if these calls are made as a last resort. A seemingly desperate attempt to reverse history. That quick fix just give me the pill I need to fix "it" Odds are even if the cure seems to have been found? Was the cause corrected?
Find a way to find the starting line
Again, think about how to come across as more equals.
I suggest to try and help yourself or someone it is necessary to start at the beginning of the story. Our tendency often is to dominatly (look down) and suggest "if you do what I'm doing, come work at the company I'm at, buy the brand name truck or tires or haul the freight I haul. You'll do great after all look at me and my success. But remember success's are not guaranteed. I've watched people working the same customer accounts side by side and one flourishes while another fails. And the reasons may never really be entirely known.
It can be very difficult to remember how it all began that first day we decided to begin something new be it a career or business. But like a child learning to walk or ride a bike there seems to be a window of opportunity to learn many of the basic skills needed for business decision making. And these can not be skipped over.
Listening to people's stories can be painful
Truck ownership wasn't supposed to be this hard! At least that's the story I was told.
I suggest without listening first possibly the most important pieces of the puzzle will be missed. It can be a natural desire to want to avoid the uncomfortable and just fix others but I warn against taking this approach as a plan. Think more about what may have been missed to begin with?
Goal - Plan - Action
In place of this desire to just fix the immediate problem build yourself a template that provides a way to recapture the starting line. Focus more on the little things that may seem insignificant at the moment. ReaIize some issues have to do with what's happening at home or ones personal behaviors. I have a theory that when we learn to solve a small problem we gain confidence in our problem solving abilities. Working backwards thru the timeline to find the source or cause of a problem this may seem more time consuming but putting away, eliminating a behavior or problem free's people up to take one more step forward.
Don't wait until your house is on fire to purchase a smoke detector
Get down within eye level with the issues. Realize it may take hiring someone to help hold ourselves accountable.
Good day
Gary
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