If You Lead, Will They Follow?

Good leaders inspire others to share a vision. They know how to get the job done and still maintain positive relationships. The first step is to be clear about your purpose; this will give you an underlying strength that others will sense. The next step is to be clear about your organization’s purpose. What needs to happen in order to overcome the obstacles to success? Once you have identified what needs to be done to achieve results, you are in a position to exert influence.

To be an effective influencer, you need to do more than just wait for opportunities to come to you. Putting yourself at the forefront of projects that are going forward and taking every chance to make contacts is central to influence. People who back away from challenges often see themselves as powerless to influence events. Become more proactive by acknowledging that you are responsible for what happens to you and always assume that life is what you make it. Interpret events positively and take the initiative to make things happen. Learn from your mistakes and ignore situations you cannot influence.

Establish what you want to achieve personally and within your organization. Make your vision more realistic by defining how you and others can work together to build a successful future.

• It’s ok to have high expectations of yourself but be realistic; don’t expect everyone to be just like you
• Establish what’s important for you but don’t assume that what you want is what others want
• After you define your intermediate and long-term goals, check with the rest of the team
• When you talk to other team members, really listen to what they say
• It’s ok to envision how things could be but don’t create a dream that interferes with reality
• Don’t play favorites - make everyone on the team feel valuable

People place trust in and are influenced by those whom they regard as reliable. People who do not keep their promises lose the trust of others quickly. Before you commit to new obligations, be sure that you can fulfill them. If you aren’t certain that you can, admit it -- it’s better to disappoint at this stage that later on. If, despite your best efforts, you and your team area likely to miss a deadline, call the other party and explain what happened. Before you agree to new obligations, be sure you have enough time and resources to get the job done, meet the milestone, honor the obligation, etc.

Describe your idea for team goals in general terms and then ask your team for their reactions. (If it’s a brainstorming session, remember that there are no bad suggestions!) Draw out their ideas by asking questions. Take a few minutes to think about it before you respond. Adapt your ideas to incorporate as much of the team’s input as possible rather than persisting in your own proposal alone. Respond with questions that will elicit information:

• Before we decide on the solution, let’s compare notes on what happened.
• After we’ve discussed this, we can call the customer to let them know what we intend to do.
• Any ideas on how we can resolve this problem and keep it from happening again?

• What do you need to get this done by next week?

Make sure your written and verbal communication is always clear and concise. Don’t make your team try to guess what you really wanted or have to hunt you down ten times a day for an explanation. Presenting a thorough and detailed request not only shows that you’re organized but also that you respect your team and that’s an important factor in being a successful influencer.

Influencing Your Superiors

You may not think you have any pull with upper management, but you won’t know until you try. This requires some finesse, but it’s a good lesson in learning how to communicate effectively. Work to demonstrate confidence and foresight, identify criteria that either meet management requirements or enable them to assess proposals (like yours!), adapt your influencing style and be care not to force the issue. Bullying upper management rarely works.

You can impress senior management with your ability to handle responsibility. Ideally, you should already have had some success in completing high-profile projects. The better your track record, the more likely that your ideas will get a respectful hearing.

People are generally promoted when they have shown that they can work at a level above the one they’re on currently. At the very least, try to build a reputation as someone who can be depended on to get results, troubleshoot problems, spot opportunities and successfully manage teams who like working for you.

• Be ready to take the lead.
• Take time to review how the team is working as a group
• Delays can occur so stay on top of that situation – don’t push too hard but don’t let yourself be sidetracked from finding out what’s really happening
• Listen to your team before offering your own thoughts
• Don’t hang on to projects when you can delegate
• Don’t create barriers within your team by playing favorites
• “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!” - don’t interfere if the team is working well.