How to Influence - not the most 'influential' read :)

It took some work, but I managed to get through How to Influence by Jo Owen. I don’t quite know how this one made it onto my reading list. Actually, I do. It was cold when I was in London last month and the magical train station I was wandering through was warm and filled with interesting stores, one of which was a great little bookstore that happened to have this little purple book in the middle of a display of business books. They were also running a “buy one get one half off” sale, and since I was already buying one book – why not!

Needless to say, this little purple book did not turn out to be the highlight of my reading list thus far. I am fascinated by the concept of influence. It goes beyond leadership and certainly beyond management into a mystical sort of area that is hard to quantify and even harder to learn or teach. Maybe I should cut the author some slack, considering what an intangible concept he was attempting to enlighten me on ☺

Throughout the book the author constantly refers to influence as a “art”, and I am prone to agree. He talks about concepts like commitment and loyalty, building trust, creating strong networks, vulnerability, generosity, the principle of partnership, and even learning to understand the various personality types that make up your team in order to connect in a way that works for them as individuals. One section that I found particularly interesting was his discussion on building credibility. It’s easy to see how important it is to build credibility with people – whether you’re talking about sales, management, or virtually any form of relationship. The part that is less easy is understanding how to build it. In its essence, credibility comes from actions as opposed to works and is built slowly and incrementally. The challenge most leaders face is the necessity of building both credibility and trust quickly. If we want to influence our people, we rarely have the luxury of waiting five years to build up a track record of success with that person in particular We have to create environments and make decisions that make credibility and trust happen in the short term as well. A few keys that are pointed out are selflessness, active listening, asking smart questions, and capitalizing on crises and conflicts.

“Influence is like air: it is both invisible and essential. As the world shifts from traditional command-and-control hierarchies to networks which depend on each other, so influence becomes ever more important.”