Leadership Influencing is one of my Bitesize Leadership Techniques. They are exactly what the title suggests. Short snippets of leadership tips, tools, process and ideas for you to use on a just-in-time basis. Use them as an update and to refresh your leadership professionalism. You could call it leadership in a hurry! This article is an Executive Summary of my eBook of the same name – Leadership Influencing –published on Amazon Kindle. If you are a subscribers to Kindle Unlimited you can read the eBook for free.
What & Why
Leadership Influencing is about making things happen by getting commitment from other people. They could be your direct reports, peers, internal/external business partners or colleagues from across the organisation. You do this without using your position power to unduly influence to force people to go along with your plans. As an experienced leader you will already appreciate that simply telling people what you want to happen does not guarantee a positive response. The old ‘command & control’ approach becomes less relevant – especially as you become a more senior leader.
Quote on leadership from Dr Myles Monroe, Bahamian motivational speaker: “Leadership is the capacity to influence others through inspiration motivated by passion, generated by vision, produced by a conviction, ignited by a purpose.”
This competency is about using appropriate methods and interpersonal styles to persuade others to accept a point of view, adopt a plan or take a course of action that advances business goals.
How
Here are some practical principles you can follow for Leadership Influencing:
Validate the Concept. You start with an idea, a plan, a concept – something you need to get done that will add value to the business and can only be achieved with the co-operation of others. Before you air it in public you should rigorously scrutinise and challenge the concept.
Profile the People. Who do you need to influence? When you know this you will need to answer the question ‘HOW do I influence them?’ My eBook includes a Stakeholder Analysis tool.
Seize the Moment. When you have a burning issue that you believe will really add value to the business then you need to act speedily and systematically to engage and influence potential stakeholders. Prepare for interactions in which you need to gain commitment from others.
Make the Case. You will need to present your arguments at both a logical and an emotional level. Head and heart. Appeal to both ‘Task’ motives and ‘Personal’ motives.
Question for Understanding. Ask open ended questions to encourage stakeholders to get involved in your proposals. Ask for their ideas, suggestions and recommendations for resolving issues. Show appreciation for their contributions. See The Coaches Toolkit for these tools: ‘Purposeful Questions’ and ‘Levels of Listening’.
Handle Concerns. Listen carefully to what stakeholders are saying and encourage them to talk openly about their concerns. Listen for the facts and emotions behind their comments or arguments.
Make it Happen. It’s time to create and execute a plan: What are the roles of various stakeholders in your plans or ideas; What are the key actions and timelines? Who will be accountable for what?
Further Reading
The LARA Leadership Learning series consists of 10 short modules published as Kindle eBooks and Paperbacks on Amazon. They are organised against the Leader of Others leadership competencies. If you are a subscribers to Kindle Unlimited you can read these eBook for free.
More inspirational quotes from Dr Myles Munroe
Influence at Work Principles of Persuasion
On this Blog The Influencing Leader