There’s no way around it: People judge us as soon as they meet us. Whether conscious or not, everyone we come into contact with forms an idea of us based on initial factors like our appearance, speech, energy, personality, and behavior. But judgment isn’t necessarily a bad thing, or even something that’s out of your control.
How can you use judgment in your favor? It’s all about utilizing authority, warmth, and energy.
To teach us this lesson, I’m joined by this episode's One Next Step guest, Steve Herz. As the president of the Montag Group, Steve helps clients refine how they show up on and off camera. He also recently shared his powerful insights in a book called Don't Take Yes for an Answer: Using Authority, Warmth, and Energy to Get Exceptional Results.
Here are a few of his top takeaways:
1. Fifteen percent of a person’s financial success is attributed to technical skills (hard skills), while 85 percent is attributed to soft skills like communication, negotiation, leadership, etc.
Going back to Kindergarten, we were once graded on our ability to “play nice with others” or “share well” and so on. But not long after that, those types of skills were mostly forgotten about. We grow in education and technical skills and move on through our careers without ever really focusing on relations skills and how we interact with others. As a result, many of us won’t reach our potential unless we begin really doing a self-assessment and becoming more self-aware of how we are perceived.
2. It’s hard to follow someone who lacks authority.
What kind of style do you bring to the table that makes people want to believe you’re the right person to lead them? Even though you may be competent and confident in your technical skills, do you project that same confidence and authority when you interact with others?
3. Trust is the foundation of everything.
If you don’t feel like the other person cares about you and is invested in you, then that relationship won’t work. That’s why communicating in a way that makes people feel connected and trusting of you is so important, whether it’s at home or in the workplace. Sometimes, poor communication can go back to a lack of warmth – something as simple as your tone of voice can affect how others view you.
4. You can be self-aware without being self-critical.
Nobody is perfect. We all have flaws. The goal is to be a better version of yourself tomorrow than you are today. Look at yourself from a positive, constructive eye. A lot of people are so hard on themselves and they tear themselves down all the time – that approach will never bring you to a point of growth.
These insights are just the tip of the iceberg, but you can unlock even more lessons with today’s resource, Steve Herz’s AWE-thority Prep Guide. To download this guide, text the phrase 3 1 9 9 6 or visit onenextsteppodcast.com.
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