“The best is he who calls men to the best. And those who heed the call are also blessed. But worthless who call not, heed not, but rest.” – Hesiod, 8th Century BC Greek poet
According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, influence is the power to change or affect someone or something: the power to cause changes without directly forcing them to happen. Influence can be positive or negative. Most people who go into drugs are usually influenced by their peers, albeit in a negative manner, that leads to destruction of the individual.
How you influence people will determine how many, how long, and how effectively you influence them. You can influence people by:
- Force – No choice in the decision
- Intimidation – My way or the highway
- Manipulation – There is a winner and a loser
- Positional – We follow because we have to
- Exchange – We both win something
- Persuasion – We follow because we want to
- Respect – we follow because of the request and respect for the influencer
Influence is all about adding value to others. The true measure of Leadership is influence. You do not have to be in a position of authority, get a government appointment or the Managing Director of your company to be a person of influence. You can actually be a person of influence where you are. It is even interesting that you can be a business owner with employees, a senior executive and not be a person of influence, because you are simply not adding value to the lives of others that around you. The fact that you have a business skill does not guarantee that you will be a person of influence and therefore a good leader.
Being an entrepreneur does not automatically qualify you as someone with people skills and influence. Many are not good with people. Many entrepreneurs find it best to partner with someone skilled at working with people. If you can’t influence people, you are not a leader. Entrepreneurship does NOT equal Leadership. The good news is that you can learn to become a person of influence.
I realized several years back when I returned to Nigeria that I do not have to be given a government appointment before I can bring about some positive change in Nigeria. I can really become a person of influence and add value to the lives of people that I come in contact with. It may be those in my social circles, at work, the less privileged etc.
You can grow your influence through a number of ways. Some of them include:
- Trust – Trust is really the glue that holds people together. As a business owner, do you have good written company values? As an individual and a leader, are you accountable to others for your actions?
- Enlargement – Growing yourself, your people and and then your company (in that order). You cannot give something you do not have.
- Empowerment – As an employer, Determine not to know everything, not to know everything first, not to become the primary source of communication, to let someone else represent you, to stay with your strengths.
- Faith – You need to have faith in people. I sometimes wonder why many people this days just have lost faith with other people, and a lack of trust exists. People make things happen. The greatest gift a leader gives another person is to express belief in that person when that person doesn’t believe in himself
Question – How can you intentionally add value to the people around you, thereby growing your influence?