A people-person like I’ve never known!

1. The Appetizer: He started by asking about me. Along the way, he could have inserted his story, but instead delved further into mine. Eventually I’d ask he share his story, and he shaped his response to highlight all our commonality – a great way to demonstrate being fully attentive.

I’m awestruck by a recent networking experience I had with a very accomplished executive – he demonstrated how to be #FullyPresent and even take it to another level! Here’s what I learned just by watching him during our initial meeting at a local restaurant:

2. The Main Course: While I am generally polite to restaurant servers, I interact very transactionally (“what are today’s specials?”; “check please”; etc.). In stark contrast, my new friend inquired about our server’s tenure with the restaurant, which led to a conversation about her school plans, which ended up inspiring us as much as her!

3. The Dessert: Normally, when exiting a restaurant, and a host says “thanks for coming in,” I say “good night” and promptly leave. He paused at the doorway to mention the great service we had received, called out our server by name, and asked that she be recognized with management.

On our own #leadership growth journeys, how might we be more fully attentive next time we’re at a “restaurant?!”