Ask yourself the following 3 questions to consider how you’re currently influencing people.
Are you clear on what you really want?
To influence other people effectively, you need absolute clarity on your outcomes and what is driving you towards getting the results you need. Being fully transparent around sharing your goals and outcomes enables you to engage at a far higher level of successful influencing.
If you’re not clear what you really want from the outset, then how can you expect to influence other people in supporting you?
Are you clear what the other person really needs?
Fully understanding the goals and key drivers that the other person is trying to achieve is just as important as understanding your own. Effective influence needs a solution focus whereby a direct link is made between the outcome you are trying to reach and how it will benefit others in reaching their own desired goals.
Bringing problems to the discussion creates a low level of influence; bringing collaborative solutions to that same discussion sets your level of influence up for a far greater chance of success.
Are you thinking Win-Win?
Focus on achieving an outcome that is beneficial for everyone and creates a collaborative pathway for the future. Influencing must be truly authentic; it needs to result in effective outcomes that deliver both for you and the other person. Your personal influence will grow more, the more you are seen to achieve your own results and become an enabler of other people achieving theirs.
Highly effective influential people create win-win outcomes, never win-lose.
To find out more about my approach to leadership development and talent culture, let’s continue the conversation by emailing me matt@twentyoneleadership.com with ALIGNED Talent in the subject to find out more.