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Top Tips For Becoming A More Influential Person
This week sees the return of ‘Move Up A Gear’ – an annual conference that Podiem manages in partnership with the Institute of the Motor Industry. One of the business disciplines in the spotlight this year is Persuasion & Influencing – both in the management and sales context. Drawing on writings in The Podiem Academy we thought we would set out some tips for becoming a more influential person. 1. Be a Source of Accurate and Timely Information in at least One Key Area Study the trends in your organisation and set out to become knowledgeable, if not expert, in a field of business or management practice that is likely to help managers make decisions and progress plans in the near to medium term. It doesn’t matter what the discipline is, so long as it has value and importance to staff and the company. 2. Be Emotionally Intelligent Emotional intelligence is not about being generous or nice, rather, it is about understanding methods of making people feel accepted, valued and appreciated in one to one situations. Put simply it is about being careful about what you say and how you say it. Communicating tactfully is a skill worth developing if it does not come naturally to you. 3. Develop as a Negotiator Ideally negotiation should be about identifying common purposes or acceptable compromises. It should not result in a situation in which one party is ‘caving in’ as this will lead to ongoing resentment and potential future conflict. 4. Develop as a Delegator According to Helen Kelly a key aspect of delegation is learning to identify a person’s strengths and talents, planning the reporting process, and calculating when to intervene once you’ve delegated. The art is in keeping the tasks for which you are a rare resource (rather than those you particularly like to do), and in turning over the remaining tasks to the right people. Part of delegation is also recognising when someone is underemployed. The ability to delegate well lends itself to effective influencing. 5. Be clear and Confident About Saying Yes and No “Always do what you say you are going to do” – this was an early and important lesson in my career. ‘Yes Men (or women)’ often say yes to everything, believing they will be perceived as cooperative and helpful. The reality is that saying ‘Yes’ and not delivering (or delivering poor quality) gains you a reputation that is hard to shift. Responding based on what you know you can achieve can be difficult but people should come to value your candour and you will gain a reputation for reliability and quality (these perceptions will carry much weight when you set out to influence). 6. Be Articulate in all your Communication Communicate in a simple and direct manner with a very clear focus on the key point you want to make. Clear thinking earns respect. The ability to communicate in a simple and clear fashion separates outstanding managers from the rest. 7. Accept Responsibility When You’ve Made a Mistake If you take responsibility for a decision or action people will respect you and also will be more likely to help you put it right. Owning up can also create a personal sense of integrity and allowing you to learn from mistakes. 8. Become a Skilled Listener We all receive information through filters. These filters (of background, perceptions etc) often result in us missing the point of someone whose background and viewpoints are very different from your own. Skilled listeners have the ability to set their own perceptions aside temporarily in order to give full attention to what another person has said. That doesn’t mean you accept or agree; it means you try to see things as the other does and to assess based on that fuller understanding. 9. Focus on Situations, Never on Blame Try to avoid jumping to a motive from a behaviour e.g. “he’s late for a meeting…..he does not respect”. Rather than jumping to motive and blame try to focus attention on the dynamics and ways to move ahead. 10. Take the Initiative and Keep Learning Similar to Tip One - keep alert to what’s coming up. Be proactive; take initiative, and keep learning. You will gain a reputation as someone who is willing and ready to undertake what is largely unfamiliar yet what may give the organisation a competitive edge. Kevin Kelly is a Director of Podiem Ltd. You can contact Kevin on 028 9076 1030, online at www.podiem.com or by email. Content of this article is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute professional or other advice.
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