YOU wiLl LEARN
In this course, you’ll learn how to identify what level of influence you have and how to grow your influence at work.
We’ll cover:
What is ‘influence?’
What is your level of influence?
How do you grow your influence?
Three influencing strategies.
KEY CONCEPTS
What is ‘influence’?
Influence is your reputation at work.
When you have high amounts of influence, you have positive relationships with colleagues.
It’s clear to them how working with you benefits their career.
When you have low influence, it’s not clear how working with you benefits your colleagues.
As a result, you might find it more difficult to get work done.
If you want to grow your influence at work, you will increase the speed at which things get done, experience more positive collaboration and benefit from your colleagues' expertise.
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“What’s in it for me?”
If you want to grow your influence with others, it needs to be clear to them: what’s in it for me, working with you?
To identify the answer to that, consider:
What is in it for the other person working with me? Do they get to learn about a different industry, expertise or grow their network?
How does working with me help them achieve their goals?
If I’m not sure about their goals, could I learn what they are looking for?
What level of influence do you have?
When you work with colleagues …
How many resist your requests, or simply don’t answer your emails or calls?
How many comply with your requests?
How many go above and beyond?
The percentage of people who fall into each category tell you what level of influence you have with them.
For example, if your colleagues don’t answer your calls or return your emails, you have a low level of influence.
If your colleagues comply with your requests and do the minimum, you have a medium amount of influence.
If your colleagues deliver incredible work, above and beyond your expectations, you have a high level of influence.
Reflect on the table below. Which seems most like your work experience?
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Building your influence.
To build your influence, you need a foundation of trust with your colleagues.
In a study of 87,000 leaders, three factors influenced whether people saw leaders as trustworthy. These were, in this order:
A foundation of positive relationships.
Evidence of sound judgement / expertise.
Consistency.
To grow your influence with others, you need to demonstrate all three.
Which of the three will help you build influence?
Write down every person that influences your career eg. CEO, Director, colleagues.
What is the strength of each connection?
What is their most important priority?
How could you show your positive intent, sound judgement/expertise, or consistency?
Out of the three, which do you see making the most impact?
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Three influencing strategies.
In a study of 500+ influencing attempts, guess which ones worked best?
These three:
Tapping into someone's inspiration, or bigger picture.
Consulting with them as the expert.
Leaning on the relationship.
Why?
When you ask someone to contextualise your request into the bigger picture they have for their career, it gives it more meaning. By outlining how your inquiry or ‘ask’ helps them achieve a goal that is meaningful to them, they are more likely to consider your request.
When you consult with someone as an expert, you are showing humility and respect that they have expertise and insights to share. By putting your ego to the side, you can honour someone's expertise and lived experience. When someone feels you acknowledge what they have to offer, they are more likely to pay attention.
When you have the foundation of a positive relationship, and ask a favour, people are willing to go the extra mile. Why? When you have a relationship, helping a friend out seems like something you are not only willing to do, but inspired to do. Please note: do this sparingly as there is a limit to other people's generosity! If people feel you use your relationship all the time, they might be less likely to want to help you out in future.
Which of the three strategies seem most useful to your circumstance?