Don’t be delusional. Do you consider yourself moody? Perhaps not, but as a boss, your team may perceive you differently. Employees are keenly attuned to your every movement, tone, body language and expression, constantly evaluating your mood to gauge whether it's a good time to approach you with work-related matters. Your ability to mask emotions or maintain equilibrium amidst challenges significantly influences the workplace atmosphere.

As the leader, your mood sets the tone for the day. A positive attitude can uplift the team, while a negative one can drag them down. The challenge lies in maintaining this positivity consistently, regardless of personal troubles or external factors like the weather or how you are feeling. Leaders must avoid expressing judgments about uncontrollable elements, like a rainy day or a sunny morning, which might signal to others that emotions can be swayed by such minor elements.

Beyond weather, procrastination is another mood indicator leaders should watch. When faced with daunting or unpleasant tasks, it’s easy to divert attention elsewhere—emails, calls, or minor administrivia—rather than tackle the priority head-on. This avoidance can diminish motivation and affect the team’s perception of your leadership. Similarly, setbacks like low revenues, missed deadlines or subpar performance from team members can derail your positive mindset. However, as a leader, you cannot blow your stack. You need to respond very carefully and thoughtfully.

Effective leadership demands discipline and emotional control. It’s about engaging both intellect and empathy to guide decisions and maintain team morale, even under pressure. Leaders cannot indulge in visible frustration or unchecked emotion. Instead, they must project confidence and resilience, serving as a stabilizing force for the team. While perfection is unattainable, the image of a steady and composed leader is crucial.

Ultimately, being a “sunny boss” isn’t about feigned cheerfulness but about demonstrating consistent emotional stability. Leaders must resist letting external factors or internal fears dictate their behavior. By cultivating self-discipline, they can positively influence their team’s mood and productivity, ensuring the workplace remains a place of progress and collaboration, no matter the challenges.

Stop wrecking your presentations. When delivering talks, many speakers separate their personal identities from the content, focusing solely on facts, data, and evidence. This approach, often favored by technical individuals, misses the opportunity to create deeper engagement with the audience. As an introvert, I understand the hesitation to share personal stories. However, keeping oneself out of the narrative is a significant mistake. Injecting personal experiences and insights into a presentation transforms it from theoretical to practical, resonating more deeply with the audience.

Audiences crave authenticity and reality. Like seeking honest consumer product reviews, they value real-life stories that reflect genuine experiences. Personal anecdotes not only enhance our credibility but also foster a stronger bond with listeners. Sharing struggles, mistakes, and lessons learned, even when they don’t portray us in a perfect light, builds trust. Audiences find overly polished speakers unrelatable and prefer those who reveal their human side, including their flaws and vulnerabilities.

Self-deprecating humor is particularly effective in this context. For example, sales master Zig Ziglar shared humorous anecdotes about his early career struggles, which endeared him to his audience. Such humor, focused on the speaker’s own missteps rather than targeting others, is both relatable and disarming. It demonstrates humility and reinforces the authenticity of the speaker’s message.

It took me a long time to go from being a highly private person, reluctant to share personal stories, to embracing a more open approach in presentations. I discovered that audiences appreciated honesty and authenticity, resonating more strongly with talks that included my personal insights. This realization underscores the value of incorporating elements of oneself into public speaking. By doing so, we can create a genuine connection with their audience, increasing the acceptance and impact of our message.

Our presentation is not merely a delivery of facts; it is an opportunity to engage and connect. Sharing personal stories, struggles, and even humorous anecdotes helps bridge the gap between ourselves and the audience. This human touch makes the presentation more compelling and memorable, leaving a lasting impression that resonates far beyond the immediate event.

Salespeople are ignorant. When interacting with Japanese buyers, personality differences play a more critical role than cultural differences. Understanding personality styles can help improve communication and sales success. A two-axis framework categorizes personality types: a horizontal axis measures from low assertion on the left across to high assertion on the right, and a vertical axis measuring people orientation at the top vs. outcome focus down below.

Bottom right, the Driver type is highly assertive and outcome-driven. Often business founders, they value results over relationships, preferring direct and efficient communication. They make decisions quickly and dislike time-wasting, and their decisiveness can be final. To engage Drivers, use high energy and provide concise, results-oriented arguments – no fluff allowed.

In the opposite diagonal, at top left is the Amiable. Low in assertiveness but highly people-focused. They prioritize relationships and team harmony. Amiables prefer a slower pace, avoiding conflict, and ensuring group consensus before making decisions. Communicating effectively with them involves lowering energy, soft voice and body language, emphasizing empathy, and building trust over time.

The Expressive in top right is assertive and people-oriented. They thrive on enthusiasm, big-picture ideas, and social interactions. Often found in sales, training or creative fields, Expressives dislike details and data, but enjoy vision and brainstorming. Engaging them requires matching their energy, discussing future possibilities, but don’t bog them down in the weeds.

In contrast, at opposite diagonal in the bottom left, the Analytical is low in assertiveness and focused on data, lots of data. Detail-oriented and logical, they value evidence, precision, proof, testimonials, and clarity. Common in technical roles, they require extensive proof before making decisions. To connect with them, bring detailed data, avoid emotional appeals, and give them time to process.

To maximize sales success in Japan, sellers must adapt their preferred communication style to that of each buyer's personality. Sticking to one’s natural style works for only one in four interactions, but tailoring communication ensures we can hit all the bases. Adjusting tone, energy, and message focus to align with these personality types—Driver, Amiable, Expressive, or Analytical—enhances engagement, connection and gets results.