Independent Banker - May 2020 - 19

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The energy a leader
brings into a room can
have a significant eff ect
on how the meeting or
situation is handled.
Leadership at All Levels
By Lindsay LaNore, ICBA
Energy and
influence
ow you walk into a room full of people
may not, at fi rst glance, seem especially
important. But have you ever really thought about
how you do it? Walk in with a smile on your face,
and it can put everyone at ease. Do the opposite,
and the reverse may happen. As they say, your
energy introduces you before you even speak. In
other words, taking control of that fi rst moment
of contact, and the resulting energy it creates in
the room, can be a powerful leadership tool.
Academic studies have shown that making
yourself smile can actually boost your mood and
that a warm smile can help convince other people
of your competence. Smiling is also contagious.
Seeing people smile stimulates our mirror neurons
(brain cells that react when an animal sees
an action performed by another animal), and that
H
Lindsay LaNore
(lindsay.lanore@
icba.org) is group
executive vice
president and
chief learning
and experience
off icer
suppresses our facial muscle control. In other
words, you can't help smiling. And this creates a
positive feedback loop.
If you're the fi rst person to smile, make a lighthearted
comment or break an awkward silence,
this can help put others at ease and push the
whole group beyond any hurdles. That doesn't
mean you have to be the funniest person in the
room. If you've watched even one episode of
The Offi ce, you'll know how badly that can backfi
re. It's more subtle than that-and, in some
ways, easier.
Just because you can't see energy doesn't mean
it's not present. We are in charge of what we
bring to each and every situation, and the energy
a leader brings into a room can have a signifi cant
eff ect on how the meeting or situation is handled.
We've all had experiences where a leader's bad
attitude has put everyone in a bad mood from
the get-go or, worse still, prevented the situation
from being handled as eff ectively or effi ciently as
possible. To avoid that kind of bad outcome, it
may mean you have to put aside other issues that
are drawing you down, leaving them at the door.
You can get back to those other issues later, but
carrying that energy with you isn't productive.
Lackluster energy can also derail progress
and curtail productivity. Approaching a problem
with energy and enthusiasm sets an example for
others around you. It has a knock-on eff ect, generating
more action and better results, as well as
helping make your colleagues happier.
So walk in with a smile, consider leaning in
slightly to a handshake, make eye contact and
stay upbeat. Positive energy shows others than
you are interested in-and open to-what they
have to say. And it may also convince them that
you're worth listening to.
independentbanker.org Q 19
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Independent Banker - May 2020

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