Many times, we as leaders, as spouses, and as parents, we just start giving other people advice, telling them what they should do, and how they should do it differently. Consider this, most times when we just take it upon ourselves to dictate to others, is the other party really listening? Are they taking it all in? Or are they closed and just waiting for you to shut up and go away? I think when we all slow down and ponder these questions, we actually know the answer.
The power of asking permission. When you’re in a conversation and you feel like something needs to be said, always ask, “Do I have your permission to speak freely?” By asking this question their guard will come down, they will give you permission, they will open up and give you the opportunity to speak freely. If we go into a conversation without asking that question, that person may be guarded, they may be resistant, they may be taking these things personally and we don’t even know it, and their resistance is up before we even start talking.
However, if we go into the conversation and first praise them, we let them know how grateful we are to have them, whether they’re our child or our spouse or someone on our team, and we then ask for permission, “Is it okay for me to speak freely? Do I have your permission to make a couple of observations?” And when they say yes, they are open to whatever you say, and then the information will be received and embraced, and then they can make a shift.
Remember, simple thing, the power of asking for permission takes conversations to such a deeper level that the other party will now be open to what you have to say versus be resistant because you never asked them if it’s okay.
Success is never about one thing. It’s about all the little things that we consistently tweak and adjust to get better. The compounded effect of all these little adjustments slowly adds up to success.
COACH MICHAEL DILL is an Award-Winning Certified Business Coach, global speaker, and published author. He is a proud Action Coach Franchise partner as well as the President of Power & Ice Wealth Creation a strategic leadership company that works with business owners, leaders, teams, and entrepreneurs to both develop a systematized and structured organization while accelerating their mindset, efficiencies, and effectiveness to grow both personally and professionally to achieve extraordinary results. He brings more than 40 years of business and entrepreneurial experience in his leadership, team training, and mentoring practice. Businesscoachmichaeldill.com