As a business leader, one way you can influence how other people think is to step back and observe the other person in action and then share your observations with that person in a private one-to-one conversation. When you reference actual behaviors and then discuss those with the other person, you remove yourself from theoretical discussions and move toward practical discussions that can be applied in upcoming situations.

This approach does require an investment of time. You have to set aside several hours just to sit and observe the other person. You have to then set aside time to share your observations with that person and to discuss those observations. You then need to set up follow-up times to further discuss how the other person is implementing any changes in his or her approach and how those changes are working out. You might even set up another time to observe the person in action.

However, the investment can have a tremendous payoff if the other person performs more effectively in the future.