I’m doing a waving experiment while I walk and have made a surprising discovery.
We live in the country. Sometimes I don’t see any cars. But during “rush hour,” I wave several times.
4 waves:
I employ four waving techniques.
- No wave.
- Pump wave: jerking my hand skyward and yanking it down. It says, “I’m in a hurry.”
- Brief beauty queen wave: lifting my hand and gently turning my hand in the air, briefly.
- I’m glad to see you happy wave: lifting my hand and waving vigorously.
Facial expressions:
Not only am I using various waving techniques, my experiment includes three facial expressions.
- No smile.
- Grin, but no teeth.
- Smile and show teeth.
Results of wave research:
#1. No wave from me – fewer waves from drivers.
#2. The more vigorous my wave – the more vigorous their wave, generally speaking.
#3. Waves with smiles elicited more smiles.
Observation #1: The quality and extent of my influence depends on my vigor and vitality.
Observation #2: As the days pass, some drivers have seen me several times. They wave and smile before I wave and smile.
Drivers can be trained to wave and smile simply by example.
Exceptions:
One old fart wasn’t smiling before I smiled and waved. He didn’t smile after I smiled and waved. However, he lifted one finger off the steering wheel as he passed.
Observation: Some people are influence resistant. It doesn’t matter what you do, they won’t respond. It’s best to forget them and move on.
Surprise:
I experimented to see if I could influence others but ended up influencing myself.
Happiness is the result of physical action. The moment I wave and smile, the happier I feel.
Vigor and vitality multiply impact.
The more vigorously I wave and smile, the happier I feel.
Influence is about who you are and what YOU do.
What are the implications of this “research” for your leadership?