Leading in the Now: Influence, Awareness and Connection in Business
This post is adapted from our free ebook, 97 Ways to Achieve Success in Business. The book offers practical insights and reflections to help business owners and leaders strengthen their mindset, enhance their communication, and build success that lasts. In this piece, we explore how your influence, your presence, and your ability to connect with others all play a vital role in shaping your business.
Influence Is Inevitable — Make It Positive
As a business owner or leader, you influence everyone around you. Whether you intend to or not, your behaviour, attitude, and energy set the tone for your entire organisation. Your team takes cues from you — in how you handle challenges, celebrate wins, and treat others. Your influence extends far beyond what you say; it’s reflected in what you do every day.
That’s a powerful responsibility. But it’s also a tremendous opportunity. When you lead with authenticity, optimism, and fairness, you create a ripple effect. You encourage initiative, trust, and collaboration. When you let stress or negativity take over, that too spreads quickly.
The question isn’t whether you influence others — it’s how. Every conversation, every decision, every moment of patience or frustration leaves an imprint. The most effective leaders understand this and choose to make that influence consistently positive, encouraging and grounded in purpose.
The Power of the Present
It’s tempting in business to dwell on the past — on mistakes, missed chances, or what could have been done differently. It’s equally tempting to live in the future — planning the next strategy, forecasting the next quarter, thinking of what’s next. But the only time that truly exists is now.
You can’t change what’s already happened. You can’t control what hasn’t arrived yet. You can only act — and influence — in this moment. That’s where all progress begins.
Living and leading in the present means being aware. It means noticing what’s working today, appreciating what your team is doing right now, and responding thoughtfully to the situation in front of you. When you’re present, you make better decisions and connect more genuinely with others. You also reduce anxiety, because your focus shifts from “what if” to “what is.”
By grounding yourself in the now, you create the conditions for a better future — not through wishful thinking, but through consistent, intentional action.
Finding the Right Wavelength
Even the strongest leaders struggle to communicate if they’re not on the same wavelength as their team, customers, or suppliers. True communication isn’t about speaking more — it’s about connecting better.
Being on the same wavelength doesn’t mean agreeing on everything or thinking alike. It means understanding others’ perspectives, motivations, and priorities. It’s about empathy and curiosity — being willing to step into someone else’s world for a moment to see how they view the situation.
When you communicate from that place, your message lands. Your customers feel understood. Your staff feel valued. Your suppliers feel respected. And that builds trust — the foundation of every lasting business relationship.
Good communication is a two-way process. It involves not only speaking clearly but listening actively, noticing what isn’t being said, and adapting your message to suit the audience. When you make that effort, you create alignment, and alignment creates progress.
Leading Through Awareness
These three ideas — influence, presence, and connection — work together. When you become more conscious of the effect you have on others, when you focus your energy on the present moment, and when you learn to communicate with genuine understanding, you naturally become a more effective leader.
This is what great leadership looks like in practice: not control, but awareness; not perfection, but consistency; not authority, but influence used well.
As a business owner, you are always leading — through your example, your mindset, and the way you engage with others. Lead in the now, lead with awareness, and you’ll create the future you want — one decision, one conversation, one moment at a time.
These are just three of the 97 reflections shared in our ebook, 97 Ways to Achieve Success in Business. To explore them all — and find practical inspiration to strengthen your business and your leadership — download your free copy today.
