If you do not consider yourself to be approachable, do you consider this to be an asset or liability? For me personally, I consider it to be an asset, but appreciably not everyone thinks the same way I do. Some people would consider being highly approachable as a distraction, or something they do not have time for. Looking at this from the inverse, if you are the type who is highly approachable as a person, you potentially have more positive opportunities to consider pursuing based on more people interacting with you.
What makes someone approachable? Is it their body or actual verbal language? Are they more outgoing and upbeat than those who are not considered approachable? Do you think they have always been an approachable person, or is this a trait they have been working on? Can someone learn to be more approachable if they want to be so? I think they can, and here are some ways you can work towards adopting a more approachable persona, providing you want to do this.
- Sincerely engage with everyone you interact with. Go beyond the cursory hello and onto one or two more sentences of engagement.
- Ask people how they are doing, and truly listen to their response. If they are having a bad day, or give you a neutral response, tell them you hope their day continues to improve from this point on. Sometimes a small dose of positivity can go a long way.
- Think about who you know that you would consider to be an approachable person. Do you have traits in common with them? Which ones don’t you have in common? How could you work on developing the ones you do not have in common? Hint: You might not need all of these traits to become more approachable.
- Pay attention to your body language. Do people often ask if you are mad or upset about something? You might not realize that you appear to be coming across this way, when in fact you are not.
- Do you consider yourself to be overly critical of yourself and others? If you are, this is an area you can work on decreasing your level of criticality, which will help towards making you more approachable. No one enjoys interacting with someone who they believe is going to only give them criticism, even it is considered constructive.
- Give out compliments, or start to give them out more liberally. It doesn’t cost you anything to do this, and as long as they are sincere and within the acceptable boundaries of what is politically and socially correct, this will serve you well.
If you are in a leadership role, or considering going into one, increasing your approachability rating will be something you want to strive to do. Leaders who are approachable gain the benefit of having more engaged and happier employees, less attrition in their organization and a better pulse on what is really happening in their organization. Having access to information about the realities of your business is invaluable information, and you need to be an approachable person to earn having access to this difficult to come by feedback.
Kathleen E. R. Murphy is the Founder, Chief Performance Strategist and CEO of Market Me Too. Market Me Too has expertise in bridging teams and providing organizations techniques to accelerate their market growth and revenue numbers, regardless of the industry they are in, or the business stage they are presently at. She is also the author of a newly published business book called Wisdom Whisperer which is available via Amazon.
Market Me Too also works with individuals from students to C-level executives. The individuals, business and sports teams we work with are coached on how to leverage and apply their peak performance talents on a daily basis, which produces repeatable, measurable and amazing results.
If you want different, or better results, let’s talk. We know how to help you get them. Contact Kathleen at kathymurphy@me.com or (339) 987-0195.