I am actually quite a good connector, but there is always room to improve and working with Peter has shown me how to improve that. The science around connecting I have now been able to comprehensively detail and articulate how the theoretical science of it fits in with what I already understood intuitively. That makes my intuition much more powerful.
I understand connection strategies intuitively. Connecting is one of my fortés – I know how to connect. I am actually quite a good connector, but there is always room to improve and working with Peter has shown me where I need to. Regarding the science around connecting – I have now been able to comprehensively detail and articulate how the theoretical science of it fits in with what I already understood intuitively. That makes my intuition much more powerful. It’s now like having a whole bunch of tools at my disposal and knowing how and when best to use them. That means a greater output and a greater effectiveness of my connections.
Connecting effectively helps build my influence not just in professional circumstances but in personal relationships as well.
Knowing a persons Love Languages enables you to more readily, quickly and accurately assesses what the other person needs from me and how to affirm and strengthen a connection. It also gives me a tool where if I am puzzled by a person’s behaviours or actions I am able to use that tool to assess and compute why they are behaving or doing certain things. I am still not perfect at it but I’m definitely getting better at it.
You can call it whatever you want but at the end of the day, connecting and influence really starts with interpersonal relationships – the transference of the knowledge has application to every single sphere of interaction. Team building, the sporting field, in a business, at home with the kids, your partners, parents and grandparents, with your mates it has universal application which is why I am fascinated by it.
Over the months of working with Peter, I could just feel the strength and confidence building. He also pushed me really hard into this influence space. I think he knew quite well at the time that I didn’t have it. There was a void there and the biggest void was my lack of influence.
Today, I am just far more aware. I am aware of how I’m managing relationships and making decisions. My control is a lot better. I don’t have the anxiety I used to have. I don’t sweat the small stuff. There is a resilience of being confident; being positive, not losing your cool and not letting your empathy go.
It was a very interesting time for me personally when I met Peter. I was probably on the border of being clinically depressed because my boss of a decade died suddenly. Anyway, right at that time I was just sinking you know? I wasn’t performing, I certainly was getting pushed around in the organisation, I didn’t want to be there, all sorts of shit was going on and then Peter came into my life. I wasn’t at my peak. I got into this zone of just feeling I was a serving person, I served rather than led
I was in the same role but the company was very different as I said. We just lost our CEO. We were in turmoil, we just got a new CEO, my business had a number of strains on it, I just lost a big customer. I was very unhappy. I got sick; I got really overweight, got fat. I didn’t exercise, I was very moody. It was almost like I couldn’t turn it on, I couldn’t get the engine to turn over like I used to. I was in a very senior position really, I was earning a lot of money and I had people around me that were very competitive.
It was a very political time. I had a peer that was highly political and Peter and I would talk about him often because he was the guy that was sort of running a few agendas that weren’t in my favour and I was feeling sort of cowered by that and thinking I’ll just go quiet. Peter said “No!, we are coming out – and I’m right behind you.”
Over the months of working with Peter, I could just feel the strength and confidence building. Another really key thing that Peter sort of gave to me is that I was out of whack with work/life balance and I was sort of coming through that period. Peter turned that around for me.
He also pushed me really hard into this influence space. I think he knew quite well at the time that I didn’t have it. There was a void there and the biggest void was my lack of influence
Today, I am just far more aware. I am aware of how I’m managing relationships and making decisions. My control is a lot better. I don’t have the anxiety I used to have. I don’t sweat the small stuff. There is a resilience of being confident; being positive, not losing your cool and not letting your empathy go.
