You’re Contagious, So Make the Most of It

The key to effective leadership is influence, not authority

By Rodger Dean Duncan

You’re contagious. And you’re surrounded by people who are also contagious.

I’m not referring to a flu bug or a case of measles. I’m talking about how you view your environment, how you respond to personalities and issues, how you live your life.

Have you ever been around someone who brings a dark cloud into the room and rains on everyone’s day?

Have you ever known someone who always manages to ask the right questions, always finds a way to lift and encourage, always finds a way to help people focus and collaborate to serve the common cause with purpose and even joy?

Then you understand contagion.

The good news is that you can control the contagion. You can deliberately choose what you “catch” and what you pass along to others.

That’s the theme of Anese Cavanaugh’s Contagious Culture: Show Up, Set the Tone, and Intentionally Create an Organization That Thrives.

Anese’s approach to self-management and interpersonal relations can make a big difference in how you choose to influence and be influenced.