Want to become an influencer?

Apparently being an “influencer” is an actual title now… Just have a look at LinkedIn and search “Influencer” and you’ll be amazed at how many people include that in their title or bio.

You can have a whole career now in influencer marketing. You just need a few thousand or million followers on Social Media and Coca-Cola will pay you to be in one of their ads. Because you’re an influencer.

I’m into my second weekend of John Maxwell month and so I picked up his book “Becoming a person of influence.” When he first wrote the book back in 2006, social media was only just emerging. He must have had no idea that an “influencer” would become a term young people (and some of us oldies) would long to be known as for Instagram fame!

But does having hundreds of followers make you an influencer? According to John Maxwell:

If your life in any way connects with other people, you are an influencer.

and

To make a positive Impact on the world you need to become a person of influence.

I loved this book because John goes on to explain HOW you can become an influencer. And not so you can get asked to do a Coke ad (Fiji holiday more my style!) but so that you can impact the lives of others. Influence shouldn’t be about what you can get – I think that’s called manipulation. Rather influence is about how to create change in the world around us.

At the beginning, he refers to the levels of influence and he builds each of his theories or definitions into four levels…  

1. Modelling – My daughter is currently learning to drive. Not sure I’m modelling right behaviours or that I want to influence her driving technique!
2. Motivating – I can influence her through understanding and listening when she tells me she doesn't want to learn in a manual, but would be better motivated in an automatic, like my car.
3. Mentoring – I can help her navigate through the difficulties of learning and empower her to embrace this new skill, but not freaking out from the passenger seat.
4. Multiplying – Hmmm, when she gets that license I imagine she’ll be multiplying my expenses! (not sure that’s where Maxwell was headed, better read on!)

John goes on to define an Influencer:

·      Modelling Integrity with everyone you come into contact with. Integrity is the quality most needed to succeed in business. The benefit of integrity is trust which leads to influence. 

·      Nurturing the people in your life to make them feel valued. Show genuine concern with a goal of growth and independence for them.

·      Showing Faith in others so that they believe in themselves. Faith in yourself and other people 

“ Difficulties seldom defeat people; lack of faith in themselves does”

“ To help people believe they can achieve victory, put them in a position to experience small successes”

·      Listening to them so that you can build your relationship with them.

·      Understanding them so that you can help them achieve their dreams. If you can understand them, and their point of view, you can influence them and impact their lives on a positive way. 

·      Enlarging them in order to increase their potential. Offering people the opportunity to turn their potential into reality, their dreams into destiny. Mentors impact eternity because there is no telling where their influence will stop.

·      Navigating them through life’s difficulties until they can do it themselves. Take them under your wing and help them through the challenging times and life’s difficulties. 

·      Connecting with them so that you can move them to a higher level. Find out where they are, move toward them to make contact and connect. “No one ever achieves alone what he can do when partnering with others”

·      Empowering them to become the person they were created to be. “Rule 1: use your good judgement in all situations. There will be no additional rules” - Nordstrom “When you empower people, you’re not influencing just them; you’re influencing all the people they influence.”

·      Reproducing other leaders so that your influence continues to grow through others.

- lead yourself well

- look continually for potential leaders

- put the team first 

- commit yourself to developing leaders, not followers

It is one of my strongest desires to make an impact in this world, to be a world changer. Even in my little space on the globe I can be an influence to others. I don’t need a million followers or my name up in lights to be an influencer. I do need to put others first.

That’s why I love being a mentor. Encouraging others on the leadership journey and helping them find their way. I am committed to developing leaders around me.

If you feel that you need some help or mentoring on your leadership journey, then please get in touch.

And get the book! It’s a great read with some fantastic stories of influence.

Michelle Blicavs is Speaker, Mentor, CEO and Director. Download her latest e-book and find the 4 keys to freedom