How to Become an Executive Influencer – Part 3

This multipart series is designed to show you how to become a leader whose personal authority and reputation can shift an entire industry. For this type of leader, we have coined the term Executive Influencer.

In Part I of this series, we defined, “What is an executive influencer?”. In Part II, we covered the next step — defining your brand as an executive. Now, it’s time to discover The 3 Pillars of Authority as an Executive Influencer.

Unlike social influencers, executive influence is accomplished by earning respect. To do so, a person must be more right than wrong in their decisions and actions. It also requires a balance of compassion and the ability to correct. If you look at the Greats, you will find a careful blend of rightness and force with compassion.

The Executive Influencer must build upon three pillars: Rightness, Compassion, and Force:

1. Rightness

There is a simple process to determine whether one’s actions have resulted in the betterment of others. For an executive, implementing a specific mindset, culture, program, activity, training, methodology, science, or technology into their workday or management methods offers a path toward “rightness.” Take note when your positive actions result in an improved environment. 

Examples of Rightness:

• Implementing company-wide training & team building
• Monthly virtual webinars
• Transparent management
• Hiring using the “XYZ” method
• Religiously using CRM’s & drip marketing
• Operating on goals, not just tasks

Acts of “rightness” in one’s career should be many, but they will be unique to every executive. Each of these can be converted into an article, blog, video, podcast, social post, interview, or whitepaper — further building an executive’s thought leadership.

2. Compassion

Compassion is simply understanding another's viewpoint and sympathizing with it while staying true to one's integrity.

In executive influence, this is a key quality that attracts. The French Revolution started because the Royals considered themselves far above the “average person.” This eventually led to their death — and an overthrow of the entire monarchy. When communicating, one must do so with compassion.

The Exercise: Look around at the people you have influence over. Find something you like about them. It’s that simple. Then, you will have the ability to rapidly identify what you want to say to them.

3. Force

Force only works when there is compassion, affinity, and the desire to help another. “Get off the couch and paint that picture” is only effective if your goal is to make the couch potato better in some way, rather than to antagonize them. 

Good force is not abuse. Bad force will find the same fate as the French Royals. Everyone has their slumps, but a good executive influencer will use just the right amount of force to drive everybody upward — never inward or down.

Much like in physics, force is simply the strength of the impulse that carries a message. That message can be good or bad. For the executive influencer, this force will be used to carry your “acts of rightness” listed above.

The Best Executives Make the Best Influencers

Influencing means genuinely leading — not just showing off. Exhibiting that you have the ability to lead by applying positive management skills is a step toward Executive Influencing. Interested in learning more about defining your Executive Brand? Reach out to Massive's Executive Leadership Branding team to develop your leadership portfolio and position yourself as an industry thought leader. 

The Executive Influencer Series:

How to Become an Executive Influencer: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Tom Popomaronis is Executive Vice President of Innovation at Massive Alliance, a global service agency providing reputation management, internet monitoring, and data & security threat surveillance. Tom co-founded Massive's Executive Leadership Branding service, which is a pioneering program that empowers executives to become a leading authority in their industry.

Tom is also a leadership columnist at CNBC Make It and Entrepreneur Magazine and has published over 650 articles with Inc. Magazine & Forbes.