If you work in a large organisation one of the most important things you can do to support your career success, is to build influence. 

When you have influence, everything just gets easier.  You know who to call when you need help (and you can be pretty confident they will help you). You can garner support for your ideas and projects and you find it easy to reach the people you need to.  You have your 'finger on the pulse' and therefore have early access to the news that matters - good and bad.

Influence has always been important, but I think it's more important today than it's ever been. 

Our world of work has changed dramatically over the past two decades.  Today everyone is connected, we're mobile, diverse and overloaded with 'tools' and information. We operate in more complex, layered organisations with people in different cultures and time zones that we might never meet.

But one thing remains critical to our success - relationships - it's still people that make things happen.

Genuine influence is about building relationships.  It's about someone actively choosing to listen to you, taking your advice, spending time with you, following your lead - not because they feel they have to, or because you’ve told them to - but because they want to. 

I’ve met very few truly influential people in my career but they all have three things in common;

I felt as if I knew them and understood what they were about 

I could describe them, what they were good at, their values, why they showed up, what they cared about.  They were real and it came across. 

I knew that they cared

They had their own particular passions and causes of course, but they also took the time to understand other people’s, they weren’t solely about their own agenda. If you needed them, they were there to listen and advise. 

They had some distinct area of expertise

They had developed a specialism that they were known for and they offered this skills for the greater good of the business and team. 

So, what lessons and tips have I gained from these influential people that I’ve had in my life?

If you want to build influence here are my 3 best tips!

 

1.  Be clear on who you are and what you want to be known for  

This is not about self promotion it’s about helping people easily see how you can help them with their most pressing issues, rather than leaving it to them to work out who you are and what you’re good at - which they may well get wrong! 

Once you’re clear on how you want to be known and what for - be consistent, don’t be unpredictable as this will confuse at best and destroy trust at worst, your personal brand is your best tool in building influence.

 

2.  Set Your intention to ‘Dig the Communal Well’ 

Think about the reasons you want to build influence so that it is about the ‘greater good’ rather than any selfish, short term motivation.  This way you will ensure you build genuine and lasting connections which will serve you very well when you do eventually have something to ask of your network. 

One way of making sure this intention comes to life is to shift your focus from yourself and what you need, to others and what they need.

I call this 'digging the communal well' because influence takes time to build, it's definitely not a short term strategy.  I love the saying 'dig the well before you're thirsty' and that's a wise approach to building influence, you need to start building it well ahead of the time you need it.

 

3.  Make a decision to invest time and take consistent action to build influence

Block out time in your diary to think and take action - every week allocate 2 hours to intentionally building influence.  This can be during lunchtimes - eating is such a sociable activity anyway, so it’s easy to incorporate meeting new people by inviting them to lunch. Or plan some regular time slots in your diary to plan your approach on how to build your support network.

 

If you'd like access to my own proprietary approach to building influence listen to episodes 6, 7 and 8 of my podcast Her Career Her Life, they are full of practical hints and tips on how to approach building influence to support your career.

Influence takes time to build but it’s one of the best investments you can make to support and accelerate your corporate career.