Executive Presence: Increase Your Influence

How well do you speak the language of results?

Do you want to be more influential? Do you want to inspire others to success?

The SSC 2016 Leadership Insights survey revealed 44% of leaders were not strong in influencing, inspiring or motivating others. What are the secrets the 56% who are strong in this area?

There are the secrets you need to know:

Leaders who influence and inspire others have a particular secret. They talk results.

They talk about their successes with their teams, and they talk about their team’s successes with others. Each leader and team knows what success looks like, and they head for that. Then they talk about that with others, their group, their managers, and their leaders. They know the positive impact of their work both on the bottom line, and in relation to their purpose.

They make the essential shift from referring to actions, and clearly state the results they achieved. They acknowledge and celebrate these. They ensure their successes are visible.

Leaders who inspire and influence others communicate precisely. They are purposeful. They are intentional. Leaders who ramble on, or speak loudly and intensely, or leave no room for anyone else to add anything, are either boring or give the impression they don’t want to hear from anyone else. They are the authority and that is it! What do you want to communicate? When you want others to engage, invite them.

Leaders who inspire and influence talk vision, purpose, direction, and results. They don’t talk explanations or excuses. They focus on the future. Their work is removing roadblocks to achieving the future. These leaders take stories from their own experience and link them to what is happening in their team or organisation, like a metaphor. These stories have impact.

Tim’s team was going through an intense period and several team members said they were overwhelmed.

Leader influencing

At the team meeting, Tim opened with, “When I was in XYZ, the work was relentless. We didn’t have a way of prioritizing our work. This meant we had more on the go that we could deliver on and that regardless of what I delivered, there was always more. What helped was our 15-minute stand up each morning, We signaled with our hands how we ‘felt’; a fist for feeling overwhelmed, five fingers if we were on top, then each of us said what we had on and what help we needed or what help we could give. That helped me be productive and it tightened us as a team because we knew what was going on and how to help one another. Let’s discuss what will work for us as a team.”

What might you do to increase your influence?

How fluent are you with these four secrets: talking results, communicating precisely, talking vision, purpose, direction and results, and being a concise relevant storyteller?

After 14 successful years, this is the final year I am offering the Executive Presence programme. What is apparent is that this programme produces dramatic results rapidly and is most effective face-to-face with peers. 

If you want to dramatically expand you visibility, confidence, influence, and impact learn more HERE.

Diana Jones ©

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