If people are watching you, you’re teaching them something, whether you meant to or not.

Influence does not wait for permission or intention. Younger siblings, teammates and newer colleagues take their reading from what you do rather than what you recommend, and they absorb the unguarded moments most of all. You are demonstrating a way of handling things constantly, and it lands whether or not you approve of it.

Pick one behavior you would be content to see copied and make it consistent. How you speak about people who are not in the room is a good place to start. It costs nothing and is noticed far more than you would guess.