Care

Have you heard the expression, “Nobody cares what you say until they know how much you care?”

I had never heard this saying until recently, but I understood the concept long ago. As a young team leader, I always thought about ways to influence others. I wanted to know what words I needed to use and how to say certain things. Eventually, I had a realization. Every time I’d work with new people, it wasn’t until I had earned a person’s trust that I could influence them. That trust usually came from helping those individuals, often in situations where they didn’t expect anyone to have their back. My influence grew because they knew I cared. That’s when they started to care about what I was saying.

People aren’t robots, and we shouldn’t treat them like robots. They want to work with, be around, and follow those who care.

If you can’t get others to hear you out, maybe you need to show them you care. And remember, most people can tell when others genuinely care and when they are putting on a show for self-serving purposes.