Life is complicated enough without us making it more so.
While I strongly advocate simplicity, it frequently eludes me in my own work. Except, when I’m coaching.
Yesterday was a prime example of this. My client all-but slapped his forehead as yet another simple concept landed. Concepts that he already knew and accepted, but had been buried in the maelstrom of confusion, distraction and stress.
Which is why I love my work as a coach so much. Being that independent outsider ready, willing, and able, to reflect back the blindingly obvious to help people make significant and effortless shifts in their thinking and progress.
So, stimulated by the last few coaching calls, here are nine simple ideas that can help you to become more influential without too much effort or energy.
- Always be thinking, “What does my stakeholder what to achieve here?” They may indeed wish to help and support you, but they will usually look after their own interests first.
- When attempting to influence, always translate it into your stakeholder’s language and agenda. Talk their jargon and you’ll connect more easily with their decision-making processes.
- Build relationships first, agreement second. Until you have a good level of trust, they will always seek to verify what you are telling them from alternative sources.
- If you want to get attention, go and stand where they are looking right now. This means understanding your stakeholder’s agenda and re-positioning so that you can be instantly recognised as adding value to what they are most concerned with today.
- Developing a clear idea of where you wish to go makes day-to-day decision making far easier. How does what you are about to do contribute to where you want to go? What could you do next to move faster towards your goal?
- The easiest way to gain influence is to demonstrate how your idea will increase the influence of other people. The easiest way to gain opposition is to threaten their source of power and influence.
- A simple way to fail at influence is to talk yourself out of the attempt. Your imagination and assumptions can easily convince you it is never going to happen.
- To gain a promotion, or a new role, start imagining yourself already doing that work. What decisions would you be taking? What strategies would you implement? How would you change the current procedures or approaches?
- Find ways to enjoy what you have to do, and that includes engaging in the politics around your role. Making things fun increases your willingness to do what needs to be done.
The most important point I want you to take from this is that influence doesn’t need to be difficult or hard work. Once you get your thinking straight, adopt some of these simple concepts, it will start to flow. Indeed, you will start to flow as you move quickly towards your goals.
As with all my writing (and coaching), a key driver for me is to find the smallest idea that will make the biggest difference – for you.
To learn more about how I work with people, start at the Influence to Thrive Model and go on, book a call and let’s talk!
The Influence to Thrive Model
Colin Gautrey
Provocative Coach/Mentor | Specialism: Impact and Influence
Ready to take the next step? Discover how personalised coaching can ignite your full potential and accelerate your success. When you’re ready, let’s talk about how we can work together to turn your vision into a reality.
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