Action Step: My team and I developed a charisma quiz based on the charisma research. See where you fall on our charisma spectrum.

Be an Influential Leader

You do not have to be leading a company or be the president of an organization to be considered a leader. Leaders in both work life and social life are able to get buy-in, rally teams and generate camaraderie. I do not believe the opposite of a leader is a follower. In fact, sometimes it’s great to be a follower – when you are learning something new or want to be taken on an adventure. It’s almost impossible to be a leader if you struggle with the 3 A’s.

• Apathy: Do you love your life? Do you wake up to the day excited? Apathy is when we have a lack of enthusiasm or interest in our lives or the things we do. Leaders fight apathy by choosing to be around people or do activities that truly excite them.
• Ambivalence kills relationships. If you are ambivalent about the people in your life or the activities in your life, you will never be able to be a leader. I believe that ambivalence is the root cause of frenemies.
• Aimlessness: Leaders have direction. They have goals, plans, and strategic paths. This guides their actions – making them more purposeful, AND it helps others follow.

• Leaders harness and build on excitement. They save their energy for people and tasks that matter to them.
• Leaders know who is on their team and who isn’t. They pick people to have in their lives.
• Leaders make plans. Leaders are driven in their thought and action, and encourage others to follow.

Action Step: Begin to fight the 3 A’s in your life online payday loans in CO. Start with the one that most resonates with you. Do you need to get rid of some ambivalent relationships? Do you need to set a plan for yourself? Do you need to find activities that truly excite you? This is how you can become a leader.

Bonus: Be Productive

I have one bonus people skill for you. I simply had to include this skill because it has come up for our students over and over again. When our students join People School, we ask them a simple question:

Over and over again, our students give us specific interpersonal skills like the ones above – charisma, communication, confidence. But our third most popular answer? Productivity. Specifically, our students say:

• finding determination
• championing follow-through
• battling distraction

I realize this is a bonus people skill because interpersonal intelligence takes determination, motivation, and follow-through to hone. Developing your PQ, or people skills, is just as important as your IQ. We need a systematic way to practice our people skills to be more successful and achieve our goals.

People School is an intensive 12-step program to advance your people skills. This virtual training is geared towards high-achieving professionals who want to level up their career success.

About Science of People

Our mission is to help you achieve your social and professional goals faster using science-backed, practical advice. Our team curates the best communication, relationship, and social skills research; turning into actionable and relatable life skills. Science of People was founded by Vanessa Van Edwards, bestselling author of Captivate: The Science of Succeeding with People. As a recovering awkward person, Vanessa helps millions find their inner charisma.

Hi Vanessa, I really love your work. Very practical, easy to follow and addresses the key areas in helping others connect, communication and accomplish things together. I teach professional skills at a University and reference your work a lot. Thanks for what you have created.