Are others rolling their eyes when you talk? Do you find people are avoiding you? Ignoring you? Feeling like people don’t love working with you?

If yes, you might be the wrong kind of infectious!

Help is here.

Gallup released an article at the end of January with the 7 People Management Skills You Need to Succeed This Year.

The strain and drain on your team are real. But recognizing others and generating positivity is even more important now, even if it requires new tools and a new commitment.

Remember: Meaningful recognition occurs when you have intimate knowledge of someone’s work. Go beyond resourcing. Understand what it takes to accomplish their work and what makes it meaningful for them. That perspective can help you communicate that every individual is seen and valued — and in turn, create a work environment where employees recognize one another’s efforts too.

I was not surprised to see inspire others on the list. Why? When I did my own research, I found that one of the eight reasons someone wants to work with you is because you can inspire others and you are infectious (in a good way). It’s called Generate G Factor, and here are two strategies to get more of it.

Strategy 1. WILLPOWER YOUR SUPERPOWER

Evaluate. A 2016 study conducted by Bain & Company found “even one distinguishing strength nearly doubles your chances of being inspiring.” You’ve got to know what makes you special … you’ve got to know your superpower. If you already know, skip ahead to the solution. If you don’t, try this:

  • Ask 2-3 people who respect you WHY they respect you.
  • Ask 2-3 people who like to be around you WHY they like to be around you.
  • Ask 2-3 people who like to work with you WHY they like to work with you.
  • Look for patterns in the answers (if there aren’t any, keeping asking)!

Solution. The patterns you see are your superpowers! Put on your superhero cape and let your superpower be known. Don’t hide it. Use it to inspire and be infectious.

Strategy 2. ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR ASSETS

Evaluate. Rejecting a compliment or blowing it off is insensitive. It’s like this – someone says to you, “You’re so smart”, and you say, “No smarter than anyone here”. Or they say, “I appreciate your support when other departments push back on what we ask them to do”, and you respond, “No big deal, I’m just doing my job”. The response may be well intentioned, but it doesn’t inspire. Instead of blowing off a compliment try one of these:

Example: “You’re so smart.”

Thank you.

Thank you because I did a lot of research to figure that out.

Thank you, and so-and-so taught me the tool I used to figure it out.

Example: “I appreciate your support when other departments push back on what we ask them to do.”

Thank you.

Thank you, because it affirms that I am giving the team what you need.

Thank you, and so-and-so was very willing to talk with their team about it.

Now, go out – inspire – and be infectious (in a good way)!