So many people these days are saying that they need to improve their influencing skills. Many organisations are also saying they want to develop the influencing capability of their talented managers and leaders. But, what exactly are these influencing skills which need to be developed? Although it may sound a little obvious, unless you fully understand the skills you need to acquire, it is going to be pretty difficult to know how to develop them.
I asked myself this question quite a few years ago and in the end, completed a full dissertation to understand the exact skills which you need to develop to become an accomplished influencer. What I found was that they are not that complicated, nor difficult to acquire once you know what you’re looking for.
The research I did resulted in 42 different skills which were grouped as follows…
- Self-Awareness. The better we know ourselves, the more likely we are to be able to influence other people. This self-awareness helps us understand what we are capable of, what our limitations are and what we need to do to leverage the greatest influence.
- Understanding People. The ability to know what drives people, how they think, how they react is critical. This establishes a firm foundation upon which we can determine the most appropriate approach to influence.
- Understanding Groups. The workplace is a social organisation and comprises many different groups, both formal and informal. Understanding them, how they work, how they get results, can provide us with many opportunities to gain influence more quickly and thoroughly.
- Influencing People. This is the most talked about area of influence and cannot be avoided. We need to be able to influence people on a one-to-one basis first and foremost. From this base, we can then develop more sophisticated approaches to influence.
- Networking. Networking is often seen as the differentiator between the good and the great influencers. To be able to work the room and build a wide array of good personal contacts develops an extremely useful resource which we can call on when we need to, for support, information, and advice.
- Influencing Groups. Influencing groups of people is far more efficient than focusing just on individuals. With our understanding of how the different groups around us function, we can develop strategies to maximise our influence and speed up the results we get.
- Building Trust. Research has demonstrated that in the absence of trust, successful influence is unlikely. Therefore, the person skilled in influencing others will be able to act in a manner which builds trust with the people they are working with.
If you like you can pop over to The Gautrey Group and complete a self-assessment against the 42 skills. This is currently free (although if you want feedback you may be asked to pay a small amount).
Since creating this assessment the data has been very revealing. Of the seven dimensions, the ones most often in need of developing is understanding groups and then influencing groups. This represents a significant opportunity if you want to become more influential. If you can learn how to influence groups you can multiply your influence many times. In fact, if you want to get to senior levels you will have to learn these particular skills.
The Gautrey Influence Blog
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