7 Ways to Increase Your Influence with Your Boss (Leader)

If you've been following me for any length of time you know two things: 1) I believe every person can, and should, take ownership for learning timeless principles that will, when applied, help them be successful personally and professionally. These principles aren't something I created but I have learned them, applied them, and work to get better at applying them every day. 2) I believe in sharing these concepts with others in a way that makes sense, is real, relatable, practical, and easy to understand. I don't believe leadership or success "secrets" should be a secret. That being said, this month's newsletters will be focused on some of those real, relatable, and practical concepts from two perspectives:

One perspective of increasing influence with your boss/leader/manager, and one perspective of increasing influence with the people YOU lead.

I include these and other examples in my book, The Ladder of Influence: 5 Steps for Climbing to the Next Level and Beyond. Find the book HERE. Find the online training course HERE.

Now, let's dig in to 7 Ways to Increase Your Influence with Your Leader:

1) Make things happen instead of making excuses

When I think back on my career, one thing always stands out that helped me climb The Ladder of Influence? with my leader - I made things happen. One example of this was when I was asked to take on the responsibly of our CME (Continuing Medical Education) Program at the hospital where I worked. We had just had a state survey and our program needed some changes and updates in order to maintain our accreditation and continue to provide CME hours to our providers. Two years later, we not only passed the next survey with flying colors, the state CME accrediting organization asked me to speak at their annual conference about the new and innovative ways our program was offering continuing education. Don't get me wrong - this was a TREMENDOUS amount of work. I could have made many excuses - lack of knowledge, lack of time due to other projects, lack of support from the accrediting body, confusing regulations etc. Here's the point: You can make it happen or you can make an excuse but you can't make it happen while you are making an excuse. If you want more influence with your leader, make it happen.

2) Stay positive

Being able to control your emotions and keeping "control of self" at work is one of the CRITICAL things you need to be able to do in order to build trust and increase influence with your leader. Your leader is likely dealing with many more problems and issues than you even know of and the one thing they don't need is someone who whines and complains. Even if you get the work done, you will never have as much influence as someone who gets the work done but doesn't complain about having to do it. Sure, there are times you need to share with your leader about obstacles and challenges - but do it in a positive way. Maintain control of yourself with customers. Don't lose your temper at your co-worker just because they "made you mad." You can address problems in a positive and proactive way in spite of the normal emotions that come with problems. The emotions are there but don't let them dictate your behavior. (More on this in The Ladder of Influence? book and you can download a sample here)

3) Become more valuable

Simply stated, you NEED to continue to grow, learn, and develop yourself at every opportunity. Because, the more knowledge, experience, and insight you have, the more valuable you become to your leader and the organization. Of course, everyone has inherent value as a person but I'm talking about value you can deliver. When you can deliver more value, you become more valuable in terms of what you can do for the organization. You can solve more problems if you have more knowledge. You can take on responsibility if you have more insight. Be intentional with your growth. JUMP at opportunities to learn, attend courses, read books, and if your organization doesn't provide these things, go find them yourself. You don't have to wait on someone else to develop you. In fact, you SHOULD NOT wait for someone else - why would anyone else develop you if YOU won't develop you?

4) Add more value

Becoming more valuable in terms of what you can do for an organization is only helpful when you are willing to share what you have learned. Be the "River" that passes on knowledge learned, insights, wisdom, and watch your influence increase. Train someone else or help them learn. Beyond that, make sure you are going the extra "inch" and the extra "mile." When someone asks you for something - over deliver. Give them more than they asked for, before they asked for it. Anticipate needs. One example of this is when I worked in compliance. Many times, I was asked to research regulations and state laws on a topic. I would find the research they asked for, but I would summarize it in a bullet point of what they needed to know - and I would provide the link to the source, and even the page number of the document to save the person time if they wanted to read it themselves. Add more value to others and your influence will skyrocket.

5) Embrace change

Change is almost never fun or easy. Most of us don't like change unless it's our idea. But businesses (and individuals) must change in order to stay relevant. Think about a business that still markets their product only in newspapers. Odds are, that business would be missing out on a HUGE chunk of opportunity by not utilizing online advertising. The world has moved on - having an online presence is important. But, imagine an employee in that business who realizes they need an online presence and imagine that employee refuses to learn to use a computer. Do you think that employee will be a rock star for the company in six months? Most likely not. That person better get on board the train because the train is leaving the station.....My point here: when Change Happens, shine instead of whine. Embrace the change, leverage change, and look for opportunities in the change. If this is a struggle for you, download a sample of my book, "Change Happens: Leading Yourself an Others through Change."

6) Solve problems

High impact leaders LOVE it when someone comes to them with SOLUTIONS instead of just problems. A lot of people come to them with problems - that's easy. But if you also offer some solutions, you will find you have more influence and likely you will be asked more often for your input in the future. Volunteer to find the answers and the solutions to challenging issues because this will take some of the load off of your leader's shoulders. If you have a low impact leader who doesn't value you MORE when you bring them solutions, it's time to find another leader. There are a few leaders who feel threatened when someone solves problems in the organization and if that's the case - that's a big red flag that tells you it's time to find a high impact leader instead of a low impact leader. High impact leaders love it when you make their job easier.

7) Do things your boss doesn’t want to do

Last but certainly not least, make sure you are taking ownership of the things your leader doesn't really want to do. Sometimes these are the "tough" jobs, the not so glamorous duties, and maybe you don't want to do them either. But remember, your leader is YOUR number one customer - because they are the one "hiring" you each day for the work you do. You should be clear on what they expect and what you can do to make their job easier. Volunteer. Ask for responsibility. I remember working as a waitress and when my shift was slow, I would go to the manager and ask what I could be doing with my time. Or, I just would see something that needed taking care of and do it. Like the time I had a slow shift and instead of standing around talking with everyone else, I started washing the walls. The walls in a restaurant kitchen are often caked with grease from the cooking and need cleaning. I grabbed a sponge and a bucket and got to work. Fun? Nope. Yucky? Yep. Effective? You bet. Not only did we have cleaner walls, I had more influence than everyone else who stood around chatting instead of working. Guess who got offered promotion to shift manager? Me. Other employees had been there longer but I had demonstrated a willingness to do what no one else would do - take care of a dirty project my leader didn't want to do.

There you have it - 7 ways to maximize your influence with your leader. And, you will maximize your results when you do so.

Keep climbing!

Learn more about Ria's leadership programs, speaking, training, books, and resources: RiaStory.com