Sun or Wind - Using Positivity to Lead

The Wind and The Sun were having a disagreement over the effectiveness of their chosen leadership styles so The Wind challenged the The Sun to a leadership duel....

"See that person with the winter jacket on?" .." I will make them take their jacket off". 

The Wind blew and the person drew their jacket closer to them to stay warm. 

The Wind blew harder and person crossed their arms to hold the jacket tighter

The Wind blew and blew even more and the person simply held the jacket even more tightly

So The Sun said "Let me try"

The Sun shone it's warm rays on the person and they soon took their jacket off.

The Point of this story is ................?

The Benefit of this story to you is .............. ?

Well the answer to the Point and Benefit of the situation are variable depending on who you are wishing to influence. I am writing this to you so I am going to say that...

The Point of this story is that The Sun was able create change easily and effectively using "positive benefits" whereas the The Wind used "force" and was so ineffective that the situation actually went backwards.

The Benefit for you is that artful Humanistic Encouraging leadership styles will create positive change swiftly.

Action

1) With whom are you using Wind and how could you use Sun to positively influence that person/team's behaviour?

With thanks to "Mrs Chips" from the film "Mr Chips" for the story which she used to influence the headmaster to change his method of dealing with bullies in the school.

Warmest Regards,

Adrian

PS The other point and benefit of this story is that using stories to influence is a highly effective leadership skill and should be used liberally - people love listening to stories! My next email will show exactly how to use stories effectively and the leadership situations they can be applied to.