“Relationships are the glue that holds team members together.”
— John Maxwell

“When it comes to relationships, everything begins with respect and the desire to place value on other people.” — Steve Gutzler

• The least important word: I
• The most important word: we
• The two most important words: thank you
• The three most important words: All is forgiven
• The four most important words: What is your opinion?
• The five most important words: You did a good job.
• The six most important words: I want to understand you better

Things we need to understand about people:

1. Everyone on your team, every client, and every customer wants to be a somebody— to feel important and highly valued.
2. Nobody cares about how much you know, they do care that you care about their needs, wants, and desires.
3. Everybody needs somebody that believes in them—that believes their goals and passion matter. That they can be great and make a significant contribution.
4. Everybody can be a somebody of greatness when somebody takes time to understand their unique gifts and talents.

This week, choose to understand people. 

In the end, the ability to understand people on your team (and your clients) is a choice. Even if you are not instinctively a people person, you can improve your ability to work with others. Everyone is capable of having the ability to understand, motivate, and ultimately influence others.

Emotional intelligence is not a “soft skill,” it is a “hard-edge” leadership skill that can transform teams, leaders’ performance, and all-around success.