How to Influence Others: Key Strategies for Effective Leadership

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Krisp Microphone (Krisp Audio)-10:

Good morning.

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My name is Bianca Cardinez and

welcome to next gen leaders.

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Today, I'm going to be talking

about something that's unspoken,

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but important and that is influence.

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How do you build influence

across the organization?

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Krisp Microphone (Krisp Audio)-11:

This is important as a manager, but

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once you start climbing up that ladder,

it's going to be even more important.

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You're going to want to learn how

to influence without trying way

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too hard . Today, I'll tell you

a story about my first attempt.

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Hopefully we can learn a thing

or two through my mistakes.

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Krisp Microphone (Krisp Audio)-13:

But before we get into that, let's

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define what influence actually is

because we've all heard this word.

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But what does it need?

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Basically influences your

ability to change the thoughts,

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behaviors, and actions of others.

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It involves guiding people to change

their thinking or take certain actions.

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Influence it's not about having

authority or control over people and

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manipulating them towards a certain end.

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It's all about persuasion, inspiration

and building relationships.

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Krisp Microphone (Krisp Audio)-25:

About six months ago, I noticed that we

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weren't having the impact that we wanted

to have after our coaching process.

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So I did a lot of research and figured

out an amazing idea that could help

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prove our value to our clients.

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Krisp Microphone (Krisp Audio)-27: I

took my idea to the CEO and she loved it.

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Krisp Microphone (Krisp Audio)-26: She

told me to prepare a very high level

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presentation so I can pitch it to the

executive team and the consultants.

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Krisp Microphone (Krisp Audio)-28:

That next week.

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I meet with everyone

and I pitched my idea.

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Krisp Microphone (Krisp Audio)-26:

Then towards the end, I hear crickets.

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I was so confused.

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I was thinking aren't they getting it?

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I presented the data and the

reasons why we should do this.

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But it wasn't clicking in their mind.

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Once that meeting ended, I felt.

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Crushed.

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Krisp Microphone (Krisp Audio)-14: I

spent so many hours researching this idea.

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I've built this very elaborate deck

along with actual demo of my idea.

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And it didn't land.

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Krisp Microphone (Krisp Audio)-30: If

anything, it made the executives even

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more skeptical about what I was offering.

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Krisp Microphone (Krisp Audio)-14:

What I did after that was I took

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the time to schedule one-on-ones

with each executive And I asked

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them, okay, what are your thoughts?

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And each told me a different version

based on their unique needs at the moment.

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It wasn't until then that

it clicked in my brain.

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I should have scheduled time

with each one individually asked

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about what their needs were.

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And then found a way to fit

my idea into their needs.

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So that way they naturally bought into it.

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Because us humans are very

much focused on ourselves.

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We're focused on how do

we get our needs met?

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Why is this important to me?

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And.

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How does this benefit me?

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As long as you understand that, You can

take steps to make sure that your tying

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what's in it for them, with your goal.

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Krisp Microphone (Krisp Audio)-15:

I'll tell you a story of a

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leader who did this beautifully.

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Krisp Microphone (Krisp Audio)-16:

This happened during one of my

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role plays and in this simulation.

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The leader was supposed to

convince me to stay because I

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was unhappy with the company and

I wanted more professional growth.

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Krisp Microphone (Krisp Audio)-15:

This leader came in and asked a lot of

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questions about what I really cared about.

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Where I saw myself in five

years and what I really wanted

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out of this role that I was in.

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With each of my answers, they

were building a business case

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of why I should buy into their

ideas, using my own answers.

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At the end of the meeting, He

actually influenced me to stay with

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the company because he highlighted.

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Why I should stay based on what I needed.

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Krisp Microphone (Krisp Audio)-17:

I noticed four key things

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that he did to influence me.

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The first was, he took time to

build a rapport before diving

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into the meeting by asking about

what I like to do on my free time.

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I remember this other leader

asked me a great icebreaker

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question that I'll never forget.

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He asked me.

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What is one thing that no one knows about.

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He went first just to break dyes.

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He said that he liked to go ballroom

dancing with his wife on the weekends.

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When it was my turn to go.

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I told him that I really

like little mammals.

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I used to have chinchillas.

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Rats.

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Krisp Microphone (Krisp Audio)-18: And

right now I have the little bunny..

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That's why you can sometimes hear her,

something around in the background

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every now and then, sorry about that.

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Krisp Microphone (Krisp Audio)-20:

The second thing that he did was he

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shifted the entire focus of the meeting

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Krisp Microphone (Krisp Audio)-19: Instead

of just driving his agenda, he took time

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to learn more about who I was as a person.

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Krisp Microphone (Krisp Audio)-21:

He asked questions to figure out

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what I really cared about and what

I hope to see in his leadership.

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he also asked what I cared about in

terms of professional development.

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Like, did I need a mentor?

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Did I need training that

I need other resources?

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And he made sure to summarize

everything I was saying.

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So that I understood that he

was truly listening to me.

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Krisp Microphone (Krisp Audio)-31:

The third thing he did was

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explain what was in it for me.

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He made everything he was saying

really relevant to my own progress

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and future with the company.

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This approach is all about

showing why people should care

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about what you're proposing.

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By linking it directly

to what they care about.

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In order to do this, you need to ask a lot

of questions upfront to really understand

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what the other person truly cares about.

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Once, you know, two or three

things that matter to them.

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Tailor your message around those points.

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That way your recommendation feels

personalized and important to them.

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Making it much more persuasive.

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Krisp Microphone (Krisp Audio)-23:

The last thing that he did was he made

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sure to communicate how much he cared.

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Sometimes we forget to do this, even

with our own personal relationships.

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But people really want

to know that you care.

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Krisp Microphone (Krisp Audio)-33:

Maya Angelou once said.

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Krisp Microphone (Krisp Audio)-32:

People don't care how much, you know,

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until they know how much you care.

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This holds true in all aspects

of our lives, including

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our personal relationships.

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Being able to show the other

person how much you cares.

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Ties everything together

and enhance your influence.

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This applies at every single

level within an organization.

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Up down left, right.

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It really doesn't matter.

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By following these four steps,

you can influence others.

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Number one.

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Begin by building rapport before

diving into a meeting by asking what

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they like to do on their free time.

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How long they've been

with the organization.

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How are they liking their jobs so far?

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What this does is breaks down

those walls going into a meeting.

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And it makes everything feel more

personal, like, okay, this is

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just another person I can talk to.

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Too.

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Ask plenty of questions to understand

what truly matters to them and

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be sure to take note of each

nugget as you go along the way.

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Three.

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Tailor your message to

address what's in it for them.

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And for.

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Show that you care and that you're

concerned about their wellbeing.

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By putting your heart into

it, you can influence anyone.

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Until next time, keep striving,

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