Imagine your place of influence is like a bathtub full of water. A strange analogy, I know, but bear with me. Now imagine taking a syringe or an eyedropper full of blue ink and adding one droplet of ink to the bathtub of water every day. At first the blue ink will have almost no effect; it will simply disperse quickly and be absorbed by the abundance of water. Over a prolonged period of time, however, and with each additional drop of ink, the water will take on a slight hue or tinge of blueness. Slowly but surely over time the water will turn light blue in colour, then a darker blue and then darker still until eventually the entire bathtub of water will become the same colour as the ink that you are putting into it. Such is the power of the “drip factor.” Similarly, tiny droplets of water over time can bore through solid rock, and your influence as a leader has much the same effect (be it a positive or negative). If you, as a leader, maintain an upbeat, positive and enthusiastic attitude, day in day out, this will become highly contagious to the people around you because, as the saying goes, “a rising tide lifts all ships.”

R. Ian Seymour