Extract from Influential Leadership: A Leader’s Guide to Getting Things Done
The underlying traits, values and beliefs which shape your behaviour.
It is difficult to estimate how influential strength of character is, but it is big. It compliments credibility well and if you have generous amounts of both, you’re well on your way to becoming very powerful and influential.
In effect, this is concerned with your internal world and how it manifests in observable behaviour. The old phrase character building seems to have been forgotten in leadership development, but many years ago it was top of the agenda for all those concerned with developing leaders.
This source splits down into the effect created, the behaviours which create them and the underlying core values which drive those behaviours.
Consistency: the effect
People with strong and robust characters are generally a pretty stable bunch of individuals. They are known for their clear sense of integrity (whichever you wish to define it). The fact that people can rely upon them creates a high level of trust – people know what to expect and what is driving them.
For instance, if you are known for being tough but fair, those presenting proposals to you will know that they will get a strong challenge combined with support and help. This will raise their confidence and encourage them to stretch the boundaries of their competence – which is just what you want as an Influential Leader. However, if you are a soft touch, or fail to support them, their confidence will take a knock and they will be more cautious with their ideas and proposals.
Personality: the behaviours
Personality is usually regarded as the observable aspects of character. I will cover personality in much more detail in Chapter 11: Understanding Influencing Styles. The main point I want to make clear now is that to have a strong personality if you want to become highly influential. This makes you more noticeable and more likely to be listened to. Weak personalities seldom influence to any great extent.
And don’t think for a minute that I am only talking about the positive here. Negative personalities can be equally influential, albeit the aftertaste is unpleasant. That they are sources of influence cannot be disputed, nor should it be ignored. I am not suggesting that you should develop and display nasty behaviours in order to gain your influence. That flies in the face of leadership and does not create the long term potential that a truly Influential Leader needs in order to reach their full purpose. However, you do need to understand and contend with these strong negative characters so that you can win through.
Personality traits which often get mentioned in workshops as being powerful and influential include:
- Warm, engaging and charismatic (even charming).
- Inspirational and naturally enthusiastic communicators.
- Energetic and passionate drivers.
- Demanding, challenging, tough and formidable.
The reason why these traits are influential is because of their effect on others. Some excite and motivate while others evoke fear and apprehension. Some do both at the same time. Others are sexy and attractive, and people love to be around interesting people – so much that they will move heaven and earth to get in their good books and be invited onto their projects. In effect, interesting people easily get people to go that extra mile.
Values and beliefs: the hidden drivers
Values are the deeply held beliefs and attitudes which govern the decisions people make and which in turn give rise to their behaviours or personality. The extent to which they are consistently applied generates their level of consistency.
From a power and influence perspective, the important thing to note is that if a leader does not have well-developed values, behaviour is going to vary depending on how they feel on a given day. Put another way, if there are two conflicting values the one which wins on any given day may produce a radically different behaviour. Let me give you a simple health sector example:
Patients come first vs. Costs need to be tightly controlled
Both are important and each individual will vary in terms of how strong each is within their overall value-set. To achieve consistency in behaviour there needs to be a marked difference in the importance of each in the mind of the individual. If they are too close they will conflict at times.
Both of these values can drive through different behaviours and personalities. In this example, you would expect to see a more caring individual on the one hand, or a more insensitive and demanding personality on the other. Holding both of these contrary values at a high level will confuse followers and put them on edge.
Overall, strength of character requires a robust and strong set of personal values which are consistently applied. Then people will take notice, particularly if you can sparkle with it too.
Pause for a moment and consider:
- Who do you know with a strong personality?
- What is it about their personality which makes you say that?
- To what extent are they consistent?
- Can you list their top five values?
Strengthening and Demonstrating Your Character
- Know what your values are and how they interact with each other.
- Monitor your behaviour to ensure that they align with your values.
- Don’t be shy; trumpet your values and let others know what to expect.
- When making decisions, explicitly connect them to your values.
- Ask others to challenge you if they think you have stepped out of line with your core values.
- Be bold, be strong, and act with conviction and certainty.
Powerful people know what they stand for and are prepared to demonstrate the courage of their convictions. This helps Influential Leaders as they generate clarity about what their vision and purpose is. This is real leadership!
Colin Gautrey
Provocative Coach/Mentor | Specialism: Impact and Influence
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