Are you a person of influence? Do you help people see things in new ways? Do you inspire others to do great things? If not, would you like to?
Influence is the ability to impact someone else’s beliefs, attitudes and actions — that’s a lot of power. Tremendous good can come from this power, and throughout history, many people have been inspired by others to do great things. Unfortunately, that power can cut both ways, and many have used their influence to convince others to do bad things, sometimes really bad — think Adolf Hitler or Charles Manson.
I assume you want to use your influence for good, so let’s examine some ways to increase it. First, be a good listener. One of Stephen Covey’s seven habits, from his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, is to seek first to understand before seeking to be understood. Even in Hitler’s case, a megalomaniac if there ever was one, he had a deep understanding of the economic frustrations and loss of national pride the German people were experiencing. This understanding helped him develop influential rhetoric that inspired otherwise good folks to commit atrocities. Influencers understand what is important to those whom they are trying to influence.
Second, being relational and inclusive is essential for influence. It’s hard to be influential if you are not treating people well or are alienating them with unnecessarily dogmatic positions; you will never influence someone who is moving away from you. Use terms like “you” and “us” and try to avoid saying “I.” Be genuinely interested in what others share. If you are inauthentic, faking your interest, people will see through that. President Theodore Roosevelt’s quote has become cliché, but it’s true: “People don’t care what you know until they know how much you care.”
Finally, and this is really important, you won’t change someone’s mind by telling them they are wrong; you change a person’s mind by changing their perspective. Please read that previous sentence again. It’s a powerful idea, and
embracing it can significantly increase your influence.
Have you ever been part of an argument with two or more people trying to convince the others they are wrong? If so, how often do you or one of the other parties stop during the argument and admit they were wrong? Never, right? That’s because people are almost always right from their own perspective; it’s nearly impossible to convince them they are wrong. However, if you can get them to see the situation from another perspective, that can change everything.
Helping someone see something from a different perspective is sometimes called framing. I came to appreciate the power of framing several years ago when I did a deep-dive study of behavioral economics, including a class at Harvard on the topic. Framing is at the foundation of behavioral economics and a potent tool in any leader’s arsenal.
I recently was in a meeting with executives from one of our companies. They were genuinely concerned about a decision we had made, and they were adamant. After listening for a while, I asked them to see the situation from another perspective, and it helped them a lot — in fact, they changed their position. They even became supporters of the idea they had been arguing against.
As a freshman in college, I wanted to study business but dreaded the required accounting classes. Those classes include numbers and a focus on detail that did not interest me. However, a professor, John Peterson, changed my perspective. He took an interest in me, explaining that graduating with an accounting degree would help me understand all aspects of business better than other majors and give me access to decision-making in whatever organization I might later join. Perhaps most important, as an accountant, I would never have trouble finding a job. He changed my perspective, and I ended up earning an accounting degree, becoming a certified public accountant and getting a job at what was then the world’s largest CPA firm. I am glad my professor helped me see the situation differently.
Unfortunately, most leaders ignore these ideas and lean on their positional power to influence behavior. This is poor leadership and does everyone and the organization a disservice. The best leaders may have positional power, but they rarely use it. Instead, they inspire folks on and off their team to do great things.
Correct Craft, the organization I lead as CEO, comprises 46 companies, many of them operating entities. I have a lot of positional authority, but I rarely need to use it if I am doing my job well. I often tell our Correct Craft executives that while we have the authority to tell our companies what to do, that’s not the best way to energize folks and get the best performance. We need to “sell, not tell.”
There are many examples of people using influence to drive significant change. Martin Luther King Jr., a Baptist pastor in the white-dominated South, led non-violent protests that awakened the country to civil rights. King understood the problem, was authentic and framed the challenges Black people faced in a new and compelling way. His movement became the catalyst for a civil rights bill, a voting rights bill and a fair housing bill, all passed into law during the Lyndon B. Johnson Administration. Along the way, King won the Nobel Peace Prize.
If you are a leader who relies on positional authority to get things done, closely consider what you’ve just read here. Sure, positional authority works in the short run, but you can do so much better. Positional authority only works with people below you in the organization. Real influence impacts much more.
If you want to influence, follow these recommendations. Work hard to understand the needs of the people you want to impact. Genuinely care about them. And frame your points in a way that helps people see things from a new perspective. If you are willing to do this, you may be surprised at the influence you will develop.
This article was originally published in the September 2024 issue.
