The Use of Influence as a Source of Power

In my last column, I reflected upon visionary leadership and how leaders can build a vision that could inspire and positively impact the team. Still, even though you can have or develop a great ability to envision the future, as a visionary leader, you share a vision that excites and motivates others to pursue goals and make the vision a reality.

Therefore, without influence skills, you will not be able to inspire and mobilize your team towards the vision. As a consequence, alone, you will not achieve anything.

In this modern and digital world, influence is an incredible but unbalanced source of power. Unbalanced, because it can change from day to night in this volatile and ambiguous landscape. 

If you look for a definition of power, you will find different perspectives and concepts. Linda A. Hill, professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, defines power as “the potential of an individual (or group) to influence another individual or group”. In her view, through your influence, you can change someone’s behavior, attitudes and values.

People use social skills as a way to influence communicate and interact with others, both verbally and non-verbally. As a social skill, you can improve your ability to influence others with a range of persuasion techniques. Among them, here are three main pillars that will support you along the way.

Expertise and Competency

You cannot influence others on a topic that you do not know anything about. People will not listen to you if they realize that you are “guessing” around something or if you do not demonstrate confidence in what you are saying. Although some people try to influence based on their impressions around a topic, without knowledge they are not able to go deeper into anything.

Likewise, you do not need to be recognized as an expert in the topic to influence others, even though it will be of much help. Undoubtedly, it will be easier to influence an audience if people trust you. Many times, the reputation will precede you and people will have already an opinion before they have met you.

READ MORE: The Human in HR: How Soft Skills Win the Marketplace

However, even with a great reputation, you must demonstrate competency in the topic. You should be prepared to focus on what is relevant and be updated around the new trends when presenting an idea or selling a project.

Therefore, much more than an individual competency, it is also a collective and collaborative intelligence. In this sense, how you get knowledge from people and vice-versa, building on your competency faster than others, is what could give you a competitive advantage in the complex environment we’re living in.

Collective and collaborative intelligence reminds me of the multiple intelligence concepts of Howard Gardner. In his research, the key element is that we all have different kinds of intelligence, divided into nine types: visual-spatial, linguistic-verbal, interpersonal, intrapersonal, logical-mathematical, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, and naturalistic. Following this principle, we have multiple possibilities and opportunities in life and should not limit our experience in just one dimension.

“Anything that is worth teaching can be presented in many different ways. These multiple ways can make use of our multiple intelligences.” – Howard Gardner

Build on the Narrative

You can be very competent in your area of expertise. But to influence others, it is important to develop the narrative and elaborate on your speech. Communicating effectively is a basic principle that will help you to set the scene and impact positively your listeners.

For some, to build a good narrative we must develop good storytelling that engages and keeps the attention of the audience around the topic. But for others, it is about emotion and how you demonstrate passion when presenting an idea.

At this point, you are probably asking yourself: “What would be the easiest way to build a good narrative?” In my view, there is no easy way, all paths will require from you good planning and dedication. I would suggest choosing the one that could reduce your learning curve, using techniques that you could learn faster.

Storytelling is an art. It is how to create and tell a fantastic history, captivating the people around you. Besides, it is an essential skill that you can learn and develop during your lifetime.

In the end, we are competing for attention and want to be heard, but in an environment full of distractions and where people have tons of available information at their disposal, that can be hard. In this regard, the question you should reply to is: Why should people listen?

Developing Networks

The last missing piece for being a great influencer is your networking ability. You can be competent, develop expertise and build a great narrative, but through a good network, you will be able to influence others more frequently and without difficulty.

When you have a strong network, your network can endorse you, which will make people trust in you and your capacity easier. They could open doors and assist you to achieve the final goal.

However, as many authors have already discussed, a network is a two-way road. It is not only about what you can get from others, but also what you can give. And do not underestimate your capacity, you will always have something to share and offer to people around you.

Finally, with influence comes a lot of responsibility. Be influential, but use your voice with serenity and for fighting for the right things.

“Leadership is influence. It is the ability to obtain followers. When the leaders lack confidence, the followers have no commitment. A leader is great not because of his power, but because his ability to empower others.” John C. Maxwell

Photo Courtesy of Stock Photo Secrets