Leadership and influence, more often than not, go hand in hand. To influence others, you generally possess leadership skills. Whereas a leader typically has acquired traits to help them be influential, right? In today’s post, we will share the ‘7 I’s’ that will help you influence others.
For us, the 7 I’s were first learned at a leadership conference a few years ago. The speaker mentioned he had come across this strategy through a friend of his who wrote for Forbes magazine on leadership topics. These seven things are among our favorites and something we refer to often for our growth.
Want to influence Others?
First of all, what is influence? What does it mean to be influential?
in·flu·ence/ˈinflo͝oəns/
noun
- the capacity to affect the character, development, or behavior of someone or something or the effect itself.
verb
- Influence on. “government regulations can influence behavior, but often without changing underlying values and motivations.”
What does it mean to you?
Identify the results you want.
A team or organization can only develop a great plan by first being clear on the results they/won’t need to achieve. When planning, first identify the main objective, then create a plan for executing that objective. You can add variables or modifications and then communicate the plan with your team. Finally, define the result and work backwards from there. Reverse engineering is a smart business.
Illustrate your credibility.
This can be achieved in several ways. First, to influence others, you must show some level of credibility. This way, your team (or prospects) are more likely to believe what you are saying. Whether it’s consistency in performance, the ability to stay calm and level-headed, a reputation for making good decisions, or accountability, credibility is critical for obtaining the buy-in needed for your success.
Invest the time in getting to know the people you wish to influence.
Making personal connections with prospects and team members is crucial for developing a business designed to win. Empathy as a leadership trait goes a long way because it ensures that your others know you care about their participation, what they bring to the table, and their development.
Invite them to share their ideas.
Without a team, there can be no leadership – otherwise, who are you leading? Part of the culture of any solid team is trust and transparent communication. With open communication, this is a time to leave status and emotion at the door. Because this is where you and others can speak openly and honestly with one another, mistakes can be put on the table, and improvement plans developed. The voice of others must be heard to create a healthy culture and continually improve performance.
Investigate options that lead you to common ground.
Similar to what we mentioned above, good leaders always find ways to achieve reliability between their audience and team members. Great teams will always have different ideas about accomplishing a specific goal. It is critical to take the best concepts from all thoughts and put them into a strategy with the highest potential for success. There is no ‘I’ in team.
Intend an outcome that meets everyone’s needs.
Defining the results and developing the plan for achieving those results is only part of leading a team and influencing others, and determining what winning looks like is also important when creating a team driven to succeed. What does the win mean for the team overall? What will happen afterwards? Helping others visualize the win allows them to develop a path to get there. This is equally as beneficial for those customers within your organization.
Improvise as needed.
Adaptation is a necessary part of moving towards the achievement of any goals. Planning is essential, but preparation and adaptation are even more critical. Here are the 5 P’s we talk about more inside our Facebook Community and with our coaching clients;
- Proper
- Preparation
- Prevents
- Poor
- Performance
Success is highly probable when a plan is appropriately communicated and the team has the tools to make necessary modifications. And that’s the ultimate goal when we are striving to influence others.
How effective do YOU feel incorporating these 7 I’s into your business will be?
