A Leader of Influence and Change

"If your life in any way connects with other people, you are an influencer." - John Maxwell

 

Everyone is an influencer of other people. Whether you think so or not. It doesn't matter who you are or what you do. You don't have to have a high profile occupation to be a person of influence. If in your normal life you interact and connect with other people you likely influence them in some way, shape or form.

 

This could be in your home, at your church, in your job, with your children. What you say and do has the potential to impact others and perhaps start a ripple effect. But how do you influence others when  implementing change?

 

Have you ever tried to change anyone’s behavior at work or at home? It can be extremely frustrating. So often the effort produces an opposite result. Potentially rupturing the relationship, diminishing performance, or causing the person to dig in their heels and do the opposite of what you were hoping to change. Still, some approaches clearly work better than others.

 

Interesting enough, a workplace study was done on about 3,000 direct reports of close to 600 leaders. In each, the direct reports rated their managers on 49 behaviors and also assessed the leaders on their effectiveness at leading change – specifically, the managers’ ability to influence others to move in the direction the organization wanted to go. What they found was that some behaviors were less helpful in changing others.

 

They found two that had little to no impact, thereby providing useful guidance on what not to do. They are two opposites: The first was a leader who is trying to influence mainly by being overly nice, too accommodating or easy going. Although it is very important to be nice, don't expect this to be the driver in creating change. The other was by being too overly demanding. Here the leaders who are consistently giving others incessant requests, suggestions and unwanted advice. Being told what to do. To most it came across as nagging, and for most of the recipients it becomes highly annoying and only serves to irritate them. Neither way had much impact on change.

 

When they analyzed the behaviors that did correlate with an exceptional ability to drive change. We found seven that really help other people to change. Here they are, in order from most to least important:

 

1. Inspiring others. People can get inspired by a variety of ways. But when they are inspired, they want to go along for the ride. They are willing to follow. Great leaders know what inspires their people and look for ways to support, encourage and bring this out in others, which leads them to wanting to be more, give more, do more. These include working with the individual to set an aspirational goal, exploring alternative avenues to reach an objective, and seeking other’s ideas for the best methods to use going forward. This approach works best when you begin by identifying what the other person wants to achieve and making the link between that goal and the change you’re proposing. Inspiring leaders understand the need for making an emotional connection with colleagues. They want to provoke a sense of desire rather than fear. Another approach in many work situations is to make a compelling, rational connection with the individual in which we explain the logic for the change we want them to make.
2. Paying attention and noticing problems. It's good to be a problem solver and to encourage problem solving in others. Even more powerful is a leaders ability to recognize problems as soon as they occur. And even more powerful is the leader can anticipate in advance and recognize situations that could potentially lead to a problem, before it occurs. All of them invoke strong leadership and drive change.
3. Providing clear goals. Change initiatives work best when everyone’s sight is fixed on the same goal. Therefore, the most productive discussions about any change being proposed are those that start with the strategy that it serves.
4. Challenging the status quo. Not saying that leaders need to go against the grain in everything they do. But it is important to at least ask why we are doing what we are doing, or why we do it the way we do. If something isn't broken, there isn't necessarily a need to fix it. However, could there be a way to improve it or do something different to get an even better result? Successful change efforts often require leaders to challenge standard approaches and find ways to maneuver around old practices and policies – even sacred cows. Leaders who excel at driving change will challenge even the rules that seem carved in stone.  
5. Implementing and building trust. This is both about actually improving your judgment, and improving others’ perceptions of it. Good leaders make decisions carefully after collecting data from multiple sources and seeking opinions from those whom they know will have differing views. They recognize that asking others for advice is evidence of their confidence and strength, not a sign of weakness. Because of their ability to build trust in the decisions they make, their ability to change the organization skyrockets. If others do not trust your judgment it will be difficult to get them to make the changes you want them to make.
6. Confidence and courage. Aristotle said, “You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor.” Indeed, every initiative you begin as a leader, every new hire you make, every change in process you implement, every new product idea you pursue, every reorganization you implement, every speech you deliver, every conversation in which you give difficult feedback to a colleague, and every investment in a system, process, tool, or new piece of equipment requires courage. The need for courage covers many realms. Great leaders have confidence in themselves, in their team and have the courage to fight for, stand up and support them.
7. Prioritizing and creating change. Everyone has probably heard the adage "The only constant is change". I have always said that change is going to happen, you either help to create it…or you are a result of it. I prefer to help create it. Change leaders make change a top priority and seek to get out in front of it. They are not afraid of it. They keep moving and take action. One of Newton’s Laws of Thermodynamics was that a body at rest tends to stay at rest. Slowing down, stopping, and staying at rest does not require effort. It happens very naturally. Many change efforts are not successful because they become one of a hundred priorities. To make a change effort successful you need to clear away the competing priorities and shine a spotlight on this one change effort. Leaders who do this well have a daily focus on the change effort, track its progress carefully and encourage others.

 

Becoming a change enabler will benefit every aspect of your life, both at home and in business. It will even help you to change yourself. It's not always easy. Acceptance and change takes dedication and work. The more compelling and vivid your thought is on what you want to change. The more likely you will do something about it. And increase your chances for the best possible outcomes.

 

Make today a great day!

 

Curtis

 

"Great leaders are prepared for the winds of change." - Reed B. Markham