How to Have Influence at Work

 

To be convincing to others, you need to look inward and assess your strengths and mitigate your weaknesses.

10 Ways to Improve Your Professionalism

1.       Appearance matters – Present yourself in a professional, confident manner.

2.       Establish your goals – Determine where you want to be in two, five, or 10 years and how you will get there.

3.       Stick to your values – Always conduct yourself with integrity. If people don’t trust you, you won’t have much hope of influencing them.

4.       Be consistent – Execute tasks on time, accurately, every time. Deliver on your promises. People will learn that they can rely on you.

5.       Learn from your mistakes – We all make them, so don’t blame yours on anyone else. You will earn far greater respect if you own your errors and move forward.

6.       Find a mentor – Learn from the best people in your organization, no matter where they are in the hierarchy.

7.       Show appreciation – Nobody advances without a little help along the way. Show your gratitude to the people who support you.

8.       Be proactive – Just showing up and doing your job counts as the bare minimum. To have influence, you must be bold.

9.       Meet new people – Introduce yourself early on to new coworkers or clients and offer your support.

10.    Try new things – Volunteer for new projects so you never stop learning.

BUILD YOUR RELATIONSHIPS

 

It is far easier to sell an idea or win support for a project if you have a solid rapport with the people on your team.

7 Ways to Build Support

1.       Listen – Ask people for their perspectives and advice, and take those into consideration as you move forward.

2.       Empathize – Put yourself in their shoes and understand what motivates them. You can inform your own decisions and influence theirs.

3.       Engage – Encourage collaboration, cooperation, and communication between group members.

4.       Fix – If there is a problem to be solved, don’t waste time assigning blame. Your only focus should be finding a solution.

5.       Persuade – If you want to make a big change in the workplace, bring your coworkers along on the journey you went through to get to your idea. Show them step by step why it’s good for everyone.

6.       Praise – You aren’t the only one with good ideas. If a colleague offers up a game-changing perspective, embrace it. Then give credit where credit is due. Don’t hog all the glory for yourself.

7.       Socialize – Spending time with colleagues in a nonwork context is a great way to build bridges. This can be as simple as meeting for coffee before work, or inviting everyone over for a weekend barbecue.

 

BUILD YOUR STRATEGY

You’ve worked hard on a project or idea and are finally taking it to an audience of your colleagues and bosses.

7 Strategies for Making an Impact

1.       Keep it simple – Don’t bombard people with information. Keep your message short and simple, then repeat it often, in many different ways.

2.       Hype works – Start out by telling them it is a great project or idea, and their instinct will be to believe you.

3.       Paint a picture – Make your plan vivid and easy to visualize. Use as many pictures as you can.

4.       Eliminate surprises – Tell them what they are going to see before they see it.

5.       Scratch their back – Describe what’s in it for them.

6.       Manage expectations – Speak about the project as if the team is already on board: “We will do this. . . .”

7.       Coax, don’t lecture – Repeat your key message often and then let people review the data on their own. This shows them you have confidence in your own work.

 

BUILD YOUR STYLE

Do you know what type of style you typically use when trying to influence others? Recognizing your own style, and the styles of your colleagues, will help you identify which actions will be most effective as you work toward your goals.

5 Major Influencing Styles

1.       Rationalizing – Using facts, logic, and reasoning

2.       Asserting – Relying on laws, rules, and authority

3.       Negotiating – Looking for compromise

4.       Inspiring – Offering encouragement

5.       Bridging – Uniting people

 

Sources: firstround.com, getsmarter.com, Harvard Business Review, Houston Chronicle