As I complete this series, I’d like to share with you some vital points to bear in mind as you move forward, continuing to become more influential. These ideas are based on my observations over the last ten years working exclusively in the field of power and influence.
If you take each of these points on board, and build them into your way of working, they will serve you very well indeed. They will help you to move faster, get bigger results, and have more fun in the process. Influence isn’t hard when you apply yourself diligently to each and every one of these points.
Here they are then, seven critically important points to apply when becoming more influential:
- Maintain a positive attitude at all times. As soon as you decide to give up, your influence will fail. Yes, you will have setbacks and failures. This is inevitable. With time, these will become less frequent and less significant. Meanwhile, remain alert to the positive, recognise the negative as temporary learning opportunities and have some fun while you’re learning to exercise your influence more effectively.
- Strive to have absolute clarity on what you want to influence. What is it that you want people to do differently? How do you want their attitude to change? Clarity alone can help you move closer, and it will definitely make it easier to identify what you need to do to get there.
- Focus diligently on learning to understand the other person’s agenda. I cannot stress this enough. If you want to influence someone, they have to see how it serves their agenda and goals. When you know exactly what they want, it is easy to adapt your approach to appeal to their interests.
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- Become more strategic. Once you are clear about what you want to influence, you can think effectively about all the different ways to achieve your goal. Sometimes you need to go direct, but often the indirect routes are more effective. Influencing the influencers makes a big difference.
- Stay alert and be prepared to adapt and do things differently. This means you have to focus on the people you need to influence and notice what will work with them. Then you need to adapt your behaviour, style and approach to match their preferences. Don’t make it harder for yourself by doing what you’ve always done.
- Ethical influence is so important. While ardent fans of Machiavelli may disagree, I think it is vitally important that you go about your work as an influencer with high levels of integrity. Martyrdom may suit some people, but I’d suggest you apply these principles in a pragmatic way, suited to your values, environment and goals. The standards you choose to adopt remain your choice — at the end of the day you have to live with yourself until the day you die.
The seventh and final point I’d like to make is that learning to become more influential is an ongoing pursuit. That you have made your way to the end of this series is fantastic, and I hope in the process you have started to really move forward in your capability to influence. Yet this is just a stage, there is so much more to learn. So, my advice is to remain curious about this skill area and strive to always do better.
The Gautrey Influence Blog
Ever felt overlooked, unheard, or stuck in office politics? You’re not alone. The Gautrey Influence Blog breaks down the real-world strategies behind leadership, influence, and power—giving you the tools to be heard, respected, and successful. Join 35,000+ professionals getting ahead the smart way—subscribe now..
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