In a recent study, the most influential leaders, those top 5% who succeed consistently at influencing profound and essential behavior change, spent as much as half of their time thinking about and actively influencing the behaviors they know will lead to top performance. Influential and impactful leaders spend their time doing the following, they:
Focus on Relationships
While telling people what to do may have some short-term efficacy, history shows even the most powerful dictators loose influence eventually. In order to have sustained influence over other's behaviors, you must spend the time and effort to establish trust and credibility. This requires getting to know the people you want to influence, understanding their goals and motivations, knowing "what makes them tick."
Communicate Strategically
Communication is your most valuable tool and listening is the foundation of communication. Ask open-ended questions to better understand the needs and motivations of others. Be sure to provide clarity and consistency in any messages (written, verbal or behavioral) that you send. Think of your messages as an arrow designed to land in the most impactful place. That location has everything to do with the person and/or people you are communicating with. Your message, your arrow, should be shaped to land in just the right spot.
Be Intentional
We steer in whatever direction we are looking in or focusing on. We've all had the experience of steering slightly into the right hand lane while looking at or speaking excitedly to our front seat passenger. In our interactions with others, we direct our interaction toward whatever we imagine to be the outcome, even if that outcome is precisely what we don't want to happen. This is a variation on the expression, "a self-fulfilled prophecy." Educational research literature is filled with examples of how teachers play this out with their students. We do precisely the same thing in organizations, we create negative beliefs about others and we ensure the precise outcomes we hoped to avoid. If you have a particular outcome you are looking for with a person or in an organization, then steer in that direction. It is amazing how much more likely it is that you will arrive at your desired destination.
