Influence is a critical aspect of success in both personal and professional life. It enables you to get things done, build relationships and achieve your goals. In the workplace, influencing skills can be the difference between getting a promotion, closing a big deal or achieving your objectives. But what exactly are influencing skills, and how can you develop them to increase your leadership impact at work? Besides attending the leadership course in Singapore conducted by Raffles Leadership Centre, what else could you do to increase your influencing skills? Just read on.
Influencing skills refer to the ability to persuade, motivate and inspire others to support your ideas and goals. It is the ability to affect the actions, decisions and thinking of others. These skills can take many forms, including effective communication, building rapport, building connections, using listening skills, building trust, developing expertise and leveraging the power of networking.
Influencing skills are important in the workplace because they can help you achieve your team goals and advance your career. By having strong influence, you can:
- Build Relationships: Building strong relationships with peers, subordinates, customers and partners is critical to success in any field. Good relationships can make all the difference when it comes to getting things done, sharing ideas, working together and solving problems. Remember that a problem becomes bigger when you don’t have the relationships.
- Get Things Done: By influencing others, you can achieve your personal goals and get things done. Whether you’re trying to secure funding for a project, close a deal or get support for a new initiative, the ability to influence others can help you get the results you want.
- Lead Others: Strong influencing skills can help you lead others whether it’s as a manager or in any other role. By inspiring and motivating others, you can help them achieve their goals and contribute to the success of the team.
- Enhance Your Reputation: By demonstrating your influencing skills, you can enhance your reputation and credibility. People will recognize you as a leader and you’ll be seen as someone who can get things done and achieve results.
Here are six strategies you can use to increase your influence at work:
- Build Rapport: Building rapport with others is critical to building strong relationships and influencing others. To build rapport, try to connect with people on a personal level, show genuine interest in what they have to say and listen actively.
- Build Connections: Building connections with others is another important aspect of influencing skills. Networking can help you build relationships with colleagues, customers and partners and can open up new opportunities for you.
- Use Listening Skills: Listening is a critical aspect of influencing skills. By actively listening to others, you can understand their needs, wants and motivations and respond in a way that resonates with them.
- Build Trust: Trust is a critical component of influencing others. To build trust, be honest, transparent and dependable. Show that you care and be consistent in your behaviour and values.
- Develop Expertise: Developing expertise in your field is a key aspect of influencing skills. The more you know, the more credibility and authority you’ll have and the more others will be influenced by your credentials, ideas and opinions.
- Leverage the Power of Networking: Networking is a critical aspect of influencing skills. By widening your network of contacts and relationships, you can expand your reach, access more information and resources, become a mega hub and increase your influence with more stakeholders.
Learn how to be a strong leader influencer by attending our leadership course – The Effective Manager Program (EMP) conducted face-to-face at the Hilton Singapore. https://rafflesleadership.com/leadership-courses-singapore/