Building a positive reputation with colleagues is essential for your career success and satisfaction. It can help you gain trust, respect, and support from others, as well as increase your influence and impact in the workplace. But how can you use social influence to enhance your reputation and relationships with your peers? Here are some tips to guide you.
The first step to using social influence effectively is to understand your audience and their needs, preferences, and motivations. You can do this by observing, listening, and asking questions, as well as by doing some research on their background, role, and goals. By knowing your audience, you can tailor your communication, behavior, and actions to match their expectations and interests, and to avoid any potential conflicts or misunderstandings.
I’ve found that most professional colleagues want your content to be authentic. One of the best ways to achieve this is to post photos, videos and stories which include you and your team, not glossy stock images that anyone can buy off the internet. This demonstrates to your audience and colleagues that you have put more effort into your content which most users in social media appreciate.
Understand your audience helps you to formulate the right contents and thought you wish to share with them. How to make it "touch" their interest, their needs and anything they want to explore. Remember to also try to understand the "language they speak". It is not literally the language but more to the habits of typical discussions they are doing, their chosen words, accent, slang words etc. The more you "speak their language" the more they might be interest to you.
The second step to using social influence is to provide value and support to your colleagues. You can do this by sharing your knowledge, skills, and resources, by offering help and feedback, and by recognizing and appreciating their contributions. By providing value and support, you can demonstrate your competence, generosity, and reliability, and build rapport and reciprocity with your peers.
The third step to using social influence is to be consistent and authentic in your words and deeds. You can do this by aligning your actions with your values, by honoring your commitments and promises, and by being honest and respectful. By being consistent and authentic, you can show your integrity, credibility, and character, and earn the trust and respect of your colleagues.
The fourth step to using social influence is to seek feedback and improvement from your colleagues. You can do this by asking for their opinions, suggestions, and advice, by accepting and applying their criticism, and by showing gratitude and recognition. By seeking feedback and improvement, you can show your humility, openness, and willingness to learn, and enhance your skills and performance.
We don't know what we don't know. Heard a lot of people say this and I think this is represent the term of evaluation. Be open to feedback, listen to it and make improvement to yourself is mandatory to make you engaged more. Sometimes we might not happy with the feedback but, if there's critics, correction and suggestions, I believe that means people listening to us. Accept it, appreciate it and make your improvement plan.
The fifth step to using social influence is to engage and collaborate with your colleagues. You can do this by initiating and participating in conversations, by showing interest and curiosity, and by expressing your ideas and opinions. You can also do this by joining and contributing to teams, projects, and initiatives, by showing cooperation and flexibility, and by celebrating and sharing successes. By engaging and collaborating, you can show your enthusiasm, creativity, and teamwork, and expand your network and influence.
The sixth step to using social influence is to adapt and influence your colleagues. You can do this by understanding and leveraging the principles of persuasion, such as authority, scarcity, social proof, liking, commitment, and reciprocity. You can also do this by using effective strategies, such as framing, storytelling, emotion, and logic. By adapting and influencing, you can show your leadership, vision, and impact, and achieve your goals and objectives.