Strengthen Your Leadership by Honing Your Influence Skills

John Maxwell said, ‘Leadership is influence’. He explains that leadership is a verb and not a noun. It is not a position, rather the act of leading to grow and develop others. If you cannot influence others the ability to lead them will be lost. Those are powerful words. It ups the ante for every leader to be able to develop their skills for influencing others. What steps can you take to hone this all-important action?

Influence is the process of two emotional states coming together. - Dr. Karen Keller from - What is Influence

Listen, then act

Listening is at the top of many lists when looking for critical leadership skills. There is no doubt that listening is among the most important things you can do. However, there is a follow-up step that is equally important and that is to take action on what you have heard. Your team will appreciate that you listen to their needs, concerns, and ideas, but if there is never any action that comes from that, the benefit is lost. Go beyond restating what they have told you and show them through your actions you heard and understood what they were asking for.

Seek feedback from others

You cannot hope that everyone will come to you with their ideas and thoughts. You need to proactively seek them out. Ask often, even if they do not have anything to suggest today. Demonstrate that you are interested in their feedback about any subject. Keep the door open - literally and figuratively so they can come to you on their terms if they are not ready when you ask. Word will spread that you are genuinely interested in their feedback as others share ideas and see action taken on them.

Be predictable and transparent

When you take action, the team needs to see it coming, especially if it involves significant changes. You want to avoid the idea of knee-jerk reactions that may cause people to stop talking or suggesting because it leads to wide-ranging unexpected reactions. Being transparent in your thought process and how you plan to act can be a great way to show the team you have heard them but also understand that bigger changes will be needed in order to get to the new outcomes. When other people can anticipate your reactions they are more likely to share and be open to what you have to offer in return. This alone can build a level of trust that will significantly improve your ability to influence others.

Know your facts

Few people are truly influenced by people that do not know their subject and how it affects others. If you want to be an influential leader, you will need to know the details, the risks, the obstacles, as well as the potential outcomes from what you are suggesting as a path forward. When you are seen as not only trustworthy but knowledgeable, the ability to move others in a desired direction increases multi-fold.

Practice empathy

Connecting with those you lead has been a common theme in these past articles. Empathy is a skill that takes practice as well but will strengthen your ability to influence others. I have written previously about how important empathy is as a leadership skill and it clearly plays a role here as well. Empathy creates engagement and that will open the door to influence at a higher level.Think about those that have influenced you, what made you want to connect with them? Why did you believe what they believed? Take those things that matter most to you and put them into practice with people around you and those you seek to influence. People who want to be a part of what you are establishing will likely be looking for many of the same things you do in those they are following. Successfully implementing your influence skills can ensure that you help make the difference for others that you seek as a leader.What steps will you take to further develop your influencing skills? Share your thoughts in the comment section.Photo by Jonathan Bean on Unsplash