LIFT: A Leadership Mindset For Interactions

I love Rishad Tobaccowala’s leadership mindset acronym for meetings: LIFT. It’s a simple framework to make sure there’s humanity in every interaction. It gives whoever is across the table (or Zoom call, or conference line, or…) a chance to be authentic and feel validated. If we want to be creating value, impactful interactions are a great place to start.

Listen – hear the other person outInteract – ask questions and probe deeperFeel – empathize with their perspectiveTransform – respond with a collective step forward

When someone comes to the table with a comment, question, or problem, we can listen to what they have to say, interact to gain a better understanding of the issue, put ourselves in their shoes, and use our role to suggest a path forward.

Reverse any of these and you can immediately sense where the issues form. We’ve all not been listened to. We’ve all been able to talk but then brushed aside without interaction. We’ve all felt like, “oh no, they really don’t get it.” We’ve all had a great interaction and then been left with no progress in the period ahead. Here’s a framework to not do that.

It’s simple. It’s positive. It’s uplifting (sorry, not sorry). Most importantly, it builds community and it drives progress.