It’s not news that influence equals power, but negative influence is not the same as positive influence. The latter is far more constructive and effective in helping you achieve your professional goals.
To be effective in organizations today, you must be able to influence people. Your title alone isn’t always enough to sway others, nor do you always have a formal position. So, what’s the best way to position yourself as an informal leader? How do you motivate colleagues to support your initiatives and adopt your ideas? How can you become a go-to person that others look to for guidance and expert advice?
Aim to create a positive influence in your workplace, and you’ll build collaborative, lasting relationships that change how others perceive you and contribute to everyone’s success. Start by being a good listener; it may sound simple, but it’s a crucial part of positive influence. Take time to truly listen and understand others, then look for ways to support them and add value to their work. Remember, influence isn’t about getting others to see or do things your way, it’s about mutual respect, understanding, and shared success.
Positive influence employs curiosity about those around you and their work, and looking for ways you might be able to help.
How to Build Influence in Your Workplace
Influencing in your workplace has clear value. Most of us don’t realize how influential we have the potential to be. Here’s how to build influence in your workplace.
- Build Trust.
It’s much easier to influence those who trust you because they will choose to follow your lead or carry out your instructions, rather than feeling obliged or forced into it.
For example, as a manager ask yourself. If you assigned the same task to this employee but weren’t their manager, would they still listen to you and believe the task was necessary? If they trust you, the answer will be yes. Being trustworthy means you’re accessible to those around you and straightforward with information, opinions, and misgivings.
- Consult and Collaborate.
It may seem counterintuitive to ask for help when what you want to do is influence others, but when you consult with others it’s often because you know what you want to do but need advice and guidance about the best way to do it.
Collaboration switches things around. Instead of being on the receiving end of assistance you’re the one giving it. Helping someone with a challenging project or task is a positive way of influencing them to do something that is difficult or out of the ordinary. You are moving the project or task forward and gaining their buy-in at the same time.
- Acknowledge Good Work.
One of the quickest ways to create positive energy and atmosphere at the office is to acknowledge when someone, whether they work for you or with you has done their job well.
Be grateful and thank coworkers whose work makes your job easier, whether they are your peers, direct reports, or even your manager. Building a thankful attitude toward those you work with will change their attitude toward you and how they treat you.
- Improve Your Emotional Intelligence
This can help you avoid letting strong emotions cloud your judgment or affect your reasoning when making important decisions and handling conflict. When you can identify others’ emotions, this can help you influence and encourage them. For example, being aware of others’ emotions, such as anger or frustration, can help you resolve a conflict at work. You can improve your emotional intelligence in several ways, including practicing being an active listener and responding to conflicts rather than reacting to them.
Other ways to work on having better emotional intelligence include using an assertive communication style instead of an aggressive one, maintaining a positive attitude on the job, and practicing self-awareness. With this, you’ll be in a better position to influence others, whether you’re trying to resolve a conflict or persuade others to use your ideas for a project.
- Be an Optimist.
Positivity has been linked with faster recoveries from surgery and disease, lower stress, and a positive impact on the immune system. It’s also better for business.
Try to maintain a positive outlook at the office and avoid negative attitudes and behaviors, which create a vicious cycle.
If you’re always in a bad mood, complaining to others, making bad comments, and gossiping, you’ll end up influencing others negatively, and it’s a downward spiral for your career.
Remember, building influence at your workplace can help you advance in your career and gain a leadership position. Orienting your mindset toward influencing people positively will help change the behavior of those around you and yourself as well. You might already be good at influencing people, but keep in mind that there’s always room for improvement.