Unleashing Your Remarkable Potential
Issue 6.27 - July 6, 2009 ISSN: 15516571

In Kevin's Own Words

Five Ways To Share Your Leadership Influence

The young leader might not recognize it, and the veteran may no longer think about it, but neither situation obscures the truth: leaders influence all the time.

At one level this makes complete sense. After all, as leaders we are trying to take people towards a desired destination, and since we can't force anyone to do anything (at least not successfully for any extended length of time), we must rely on our ability to influence others to move them towards the goals.

This sort of planned or intentional influence is important, and seldom forgotten, yet it isn't the only influence that matters, nor is it the most common.

The more "everyday" influence is what may be forgotten or ignored because we don't realize the subtle forms influence can take and how pervasive it is.

The reality is that as a leader everything we do is noticed, analyzed, and has meaning placed on it.

Let's look at the five ways all leaders share their influence, intentionally . . . or not.

The Five Influencers

We influence in each of these five ways all the time. The more aware of this we are, the more successful we will be.

Our words. The things we say - and don't say - have a huge impact on the thoughts and behaviors of others. This can take the form of the carefully planned and rehearsed comments of a politician (or of you before a big planning meeting), or the seemingly mundane way we say good morning (or if we say it at all). Everything leaders say plays a part in how successfully their influence moves people in the desired directions.

Our actions. The cliché is that actions speak louder than words. For a leader, this is more than cliché; it is truth. What do you do when someone shares a new idea? How do you we react to the news about a new Customer or a problem? Your team takes cues about the things you place a priority on simply by watching what you focus the most energy/time/attention on.

Our body language. Do you nod your head eagerly or roll your eyes? Do you smile broadly or are you continually wearing a frown? Do you sit alertly in meetings, or lean back in comfort? Those around you are picking up on these cues all day long. The biggest challenge here is that our body language may be misinterpreted - so we must be vigilant and aware of this risk.

Our attitude. Most everyone knows and believes that enthusiasm is contagious, unfortunately, the opposite is also so true. Our attitude is contagious regardless of what it is, especially as a leader. A participant in a workshop once told me, "I can tell if it is going to be a good day based on the supervisor's attitude when he walks in the door." Enough said.

Our decisions. Of course many of our decisions influence people's thoughts and behaviors, but I'm not taking about the overt decisions about actions and directions that we might share in a staff meeting. Rather, I'm talking about the subtle decisions we make that have a direct impact on the other four ways we share our influence.

If I had asked you to come up with the list after reading the title of this article, you likely would have come up with the first four ways. While they are all important, it is the fifth way - influencing through our decisions - that might be overlooked, but arguably is most important because our decisions and choices directly impact the other four influencers.

As a leader we influence, whether we like it not.

The best leaders make decisions to influence positively and constructively and realize that those decisions are the critical first step to making it happen.

Potential Pointer: Leaders are influencing others all the time, whether we are aware of it or not. Remarkable leaders are aware of the subtle ways they influence others and make conscious decisions to make sure they are sharing the influence they want, and need, to be most successful.

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Kevin's Recommends

Getting Your Money’s Worth From Training and Development
by Andrew McK. Jefferson, Roy V.H. Pollock, Calhoun W. Wick

This isn't a page-turning, read-on-the-beach book. That isn't an indictment, just a fact. This is a workbook designed to help you do exactly what the title promises: get more for your training and development dollars.

Actually, this isn't one book, it's two.

One cover is subtitled "A Guide to Breakthrough Learning for Managers." Flip the book over and the other cover is subtitled: "A Guide to Breakthrough Learning for Participants."

When you read the book from the perspective you are most interested in, you will find a surprise in the middle. It ends. And, the next page is upside down (which is the end of the book starting from the other cover)!

This unique and functional approach to creating the book is a telling sign of the usefulness of the content itself. As a workbook it contains specific tools, techniques and templates that you are encouraged to use. Sporting good learning approaches, solid and easy to follow examples are included to make both the concepts and the suggested tasks easy to follow and apply.

If you are a training professional, you will love this book. If you are a passionate learner who gets frustrated by your inability to apply what you learn in workshops, this book will help you. If you are a corporate leader who wants to know how to create a better return on your training investment, this book will give you practical clues as well (but be prepared to get involved and not just hand it off to someone else).

Beach reading? No.

Valuable and practical reading? Absolutely.

If you fit any of the descriptions shared above, this book deserves a spot on your desk - not just your bookshelf.

Learn More and Purchase from Amazon

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