This is just going to be a shameless plug for my favorite of my father’s books. LEMON Leadership.  Second only to ‘The 5 Love Languages’ this book has helped me better understand and communicate with those I work and live with.

The primary audience of LEMON Leadership are business professionals seeking to better understand leadership styles and their implication on the operations and management of a company.  I too use this model to determine how various supervisors, colleagues and staff understand information and how they see themselves.

Recently I had a conversation with a professional acquaintance who was explaining a potential opportunity to me.  This person used the word “we” a lot when detailing the situation.  After asking a few questions, I realized that the speaker was a N: Networker. For N’s all situations are view by who makes up the “we”  (even if none of these people actually have a formal established relationship with the project).   It was important for me to understand that, as far as this person saw things, the details would work themselves out if the right people were around the table.  I am not an N- so I don’t think people solve problems (although I really need N’s in my life).

This can apply to your romantic relationships, too. (Watch for LEMON for Lovers, coming soon).  What someone values and protects is usually how they want others to perceive their value.  Similar to The 5 Love Languages, knowing how your partner ticks will help you communicate more effectively.  I am relatively high on the L scale – which means I value ideas and feel loved when someone recognizes them and expresses appreciation for how I think.  I have family members who are great at the ‘When/What’ of situations- on a bad day, if you don’t complement them on what a great job they did pulling off the logistics of an event or travel plans – they can feel unappreciated.  My father says in one of the chapters, that if he had become a student of my mother much sooner, he would have understood how to love her much more effectively based on the questions she asks and what she values.

What Question Do You Ask?

L  = Why? E = What & When? M = How? O= When & What? N= Who?

Check out the video below to see my awesome father, Brett Johnson, speak about Radically Fresh Leadership at Google Headquarters.

I prefer to write in my books, but if you’re in to Kindle & ebooks, you can buy LEMON here.