The ability to influence others around you is one of the
most valuable personal skills at your disposal. So how do you effectively
increase your influence in the office?
Influence, when used ethically and effectively, can make all
the difference when getting your next proposal effortlessly past your boss,
uniting the team behind a project or even securing a pay rise. It helps to make
things happen and, as a consequence, managers need to be able to influence at
all levels: upwards, downwards and sideways.
Most of us are influencing people every day of our lives at
some level without even knowing it, but to be able to exert a positive
influence you must pay close attention to and become more attuned to your own
behaviours. Being aware of your own actions means that you can bring people
with you, rather than browbeating or railroading them into achieving your
desired outcome(s). Influencing is at its best when people are convinced that
yours is the best course of action to take based on the mutual respect,
commitment, loyalty and trust you've built up between you. It is a particularly
valuable skill when involved in a change management or transformation process.
Contrary to popular belief, it is not an inherent trait gifted to the few, but
a skill that can be learned and honed.
Know who
you want to influence
Be clear in your own
mind about your mission and then identify those you need to bring on side. What
are the benefits to them of agreeing with your idea and how high are the stakes
for them? It is imperative that you know not just who you are dealing with, but
also something of their motivations and priorities, so you can build a good
two-way relationship with them. Unless you thoroughly understand how they feel
it will be impossible to fully connect with them, nor will they want to align
with you. Ask open-ended questions, allow them to talk and use their responses
to build rapport and act as the basis for a targeted campaign.
If you try and influence someone with lots of theory, big picture descriptions and logic, but they prefer to understand how the project will impact on the practical concerns of the people involved and the impact on morale, it can be like trying to communicate using .two different languages
Ameet Thakkar, principal consultant, OPP
Be more
aware
A heightened sense of self-awareness and an awareness of the
individual differences of others are at the heart of strengthening your
influencing skills. Ameet Thakkar, principal consultant at international
business psychology consultancy OPP, says knowing what you do well and what you
do less well is essential. “How do you make decisions and communicate – what’s
good and what’s unhelpful about your current approach?” he says, stressing that
this is as significant as learning how to influence itself. “If all we learn is
influencing techniques and tools then we will be undermined by our
long-standing biases and blind spots which results in less than optimal
outcomes.
“Self-awareness relates to understanding how you like to be
influenced yourself – we usually give others what we like – whether it is right
for them or not.”
Consider your method and tone
Instilling trust and winning commitment for your initiative
demands that you have a firm grasp of group dynamics and that you choose a
communication method that is both appropriate and tailored to the audience.
Thakker also points out the value of being alert to ‘clues’ about the preferred
communication style of others which can allow you to tune in to different
communication frequencies, of which OPP has identified four global types.
“If you try and influence someone with lots of theory, big
picture descriptions and logic, but they prefer to understand how the project
will impact on the practical concerns of the people involved and the impact on
morale, it can be like trying to communicate using two different languages,” he
says. Remember that the more convincing you are when you present your case, the
more likely you are to win people over, so contemplate whether your public
speaking skills are in need of buffing up.
Change your behaviours
To have prolonged impact and influence calls for you to not
only be aware of how you present yourself and the messages you convey but to be
able to adapt and modify your personal style in response to how the individual
or group reacts. Having the sensitivity to read others in this way will not
only allow you to apply your strengths and natural preferences where most
appropriate, but also bring contrasting approaches into play when faced with
stronger personality traits such as high degrees of indifference or hostile
scepticism. “A change in your behaviour is the only thing you have control over
to create a change in the interaction,” says Thakkar, who points out that when
attempting to overcome barriers to their influencing many people often default
to “more of the same behaviour” which only ever leads to more of the same
outcome.
“Developing a broader behavioural repertoire creates the
ability to actively select different approaches when our typical approach hits
a brick wall,” he says.
Review your approaches
Make time to record your influencing experiences as this
will help you to reflect on and evaluate your effectiveness and plan for the
future. “What did you do well? What did not go to plan, what were the reactions
(verbal and non-verbal) of the people who you were trying to influence?” says
Thakkar. “Get feedback from those present if possible to provide more data for
you to work with.”
A well chosen mentor could also help to bolster your skills
by lending additional insight into the impact of different management styles
and approaches, particularly in the context of more testing situations.
