4 ways you can be more influential

I have been in leadership positions in some capacity for about fifteen years now. Early on in my leadership career being an influential leader wasn't always a top priority. No, the top priority was usually delivering results and better results.

Through these many years my leadership style has evolved from only delivering results to influencing and leading others to achieve their own results. In many cases I have no direct impact on the results of the people I seek to influence. Sure, I have a title within a company and I can lead and influence others, which I have successfully done for many years. However, this is the past, I am looking towards the future. The future is leading people where titles don't matter and it is purely by influence and example that I can influence.

If you are a leader within a company or a person who seeks to influence others in your church, community organization, potential customers, friends, family, etc. Then reading the following four things is crucial to your success.

Don't compliment yourself on another persons achievement: I see it all of the time and I hear it all of the time. A conversation where a person is talking about some success they are having and the someone uses it as an opportunity to bring up their achievements in that area or similar area. This doesn't do anything but remind the other person that it is more about you than it is them. With social media and the many people attempting to influence others through these channels, I see it frequently. Don't use others successes as a way to promote your success.

Be there: Influencing and leading others is not a role that you can just show up when things are right for you. Nope. You have to be there all of the time. You can't only be there when things are going well. You have to be there when things are going bad as well. Trust is established through time and effort. Trust leads to influence.

The power of examples: One of the most influential trainers I was blessed to be around said it this way. "The example teaches." Sure you can give some commentary and some jargon about a particular subject or concept, but never forget "The example teaches." To have influence you must give examples of how something works and how it has worked for others. This will show the person you seek to influence how it could possibly work for them.

To move others, it had to move you: There are certain things that I don't necessarily want the direct experience with it to understand it. For example, bankruptcy and a heart attack come to mind.

However, there are certain things that we must experience ourselves to influence others in participating in it as well. Things such as getting out of debt, losing weight, living a healthy lifestyle, being a staunch goal setter, climbing the corporate ladder, owning a business, investing in our own education to name a few. Why is it important for us to have been moved in the aforementioned areas? Because we know exactly what the person we seek to influence is going through. The questions they have. The concerns on their mind. We have been there before and we are now on the other side of it. The key to that influence is staying on the other side of it consistently.

If you seek to lead and influence others, you may want to take some inventory in the above four areas. Ask yourself, "Where am I excelling" and "Where can I improve?" Put a plan together and let's go out and influence others.

To your success and your future.