[MUSIC] Influence is the essence of leadership. It is central to getting things done. As a manager, you will have some formal authority. But authority provides only limited help. The reality of the organization is that you are accountable for results. But for achieving those results, you're dependent on the resources, information and support provided by several individuals and groups. Both inside and outside the organization. You have to manage this dependence. If your dependence remains unmanaged, then you'll feel powerless to control your priorities, or gain necessary cooperation to reach the goalpost. Without influence, you'll be ineffective. Your influence has to flow in all directions. Your Team members, your Colleagues, your Superiors, and your External Stakeholders, like clients or vendors. Directives and orders cannot obviously work with your peers, superiors or clients. You cannot command your supervisor to approve your proposal or grant you additional resources. It is not possible to dictate to your colleagues that they back your project. They can legitimately say that they have other valid priorities, stakes and pressures. They will respond for their reasons and not yours. You may say that what you ask for is clear and reasonable. But there's no guarantee for compliance from their side. Thus, a key challenge for a frontline leader is to find ways to develop mutual influence without any reliance on formal authority. But quite often, the less effective leaders act in ways that reduce, rather than enhance, their influence. For instance, they may say, if only my boss had better sense to understand my problem. Instead, the influential managers focus on preparing a pitch that the boss will listen and respect, with the boss' problems and perspectives in mind. They think through and clarify what aspects of their requirements are absolutely critical. Which aspects are just nice to have? And which are not important at all. Such clarity helps them focus on the right priorities in influence attempts. There are ways of thinking and behaving that characterize influential managers. Leading authors like Steven Coby, Marshall Goldsmith, Alan Cohen, and David Bradford have interesting and useful insights on this issue. We will draw on their ideas to understand the key mindsets and reflexes that we should consciously imbibe to be influential in our dealings. We will classify mindsets for being an influential manager in three broad areas. One, Personal Stance and Behavior. Two, Approach to relationships. And three, Communication. In the first category of Personal Stance and Behavior, your mindsets help you build professional and personal credibility. A frontline leader often relies on rational facts and explanations to influence people. This approach works only when the person presenting the logical arguments is seen as knowledgable. Influential managers therefore value preparation and learning to develop reputation as credible experts. They build strong domain expertise, prepare well for meetings and make clear presentations. They select their assignments carefully and make their commitments thoughtfully. They also keep their promise. Next, personal credibility flows from patience, positivity and proactivity. When you're patient, you're more accepting of the reality. To enhance your understanding, you're willing to wait and listen quietly when required. Positivity prepares your mind and heart to be cheerful, thoughtful and attentive. This affirms other people's self-esteem and identity and fosters ownership. When people feel that you value them and understand the current reality, they are more inclined to be open to your influence. And proactivity helps you retain your freedom to choose how you will respond to other people's all external context. You are oriented to problem solving approaches, rather than fight or flight responses. Now what are the mindsets for approaching relationships? There are three interrelated approaches here. Commitment to, one, selling your ideas. Two, listening and understanding. And three, caring and cooperation. Influence is akin to selling your ideas to the decision maker. There is no pressure on the other party to buy. It is your responsibility to sell. You have to convince or educate the decision maker. If we agree that it is your responsibility to sell, then you cannot blame the other party for refusing to buy. That refusal would be your failure. It is important to remember that people choose to buy a product or service for their reasons and not yours. So you cannot be preoccupied with your needs or the needs of your team or your unit. You have to relate your communication to the other party's needs or the larger needs of the organization. Clearly, influence involves listening, testing a position, developing a new position that reflects inputs from the other side, more testing, incorporating new inputs, and then trying again. In a study, middle managers were required to spend 75% of their time on horizontal relationships to speed up cross-functional communication. It was found that less effective managers spent only about 20% time due to Uneasiness with Peers, given the Differences in Values and Ambiguities across departments. On the other hand, influential managers relied on informal conversations to discover commonalities. They displayed a Sense of trust, Spirit of Cooperation and pleasant demeanor to colleagues and team members. They reached out seeking first to understand, only then be understood. They paid full attention and remained completely present in interactions. Relationships rest on genuine caring. Influential managers care about the other party's feelings and problems. Finally, in the area of communication, there are three aspects that influential managers pay attention to. Keeping it simple, making it real and tangible, and knowing the audience. Studies have shown that even when influential managers choose logical arguments, they wrap these with a blanket of anecdotes or light-hearted humor. And express them in the language of the person to be influenced. They present vivid stories to get their message across, and make it real. Since different people have different agendas, they invest in understanding the other party, so that they're able to pitch their message to the concerns of the audience. To sum up, leadership is influence. And Influential Managers don't just rely on formal authority. They have the right approach to personal behavior relationships and communication. First, they build personal and professional credibility through careful preparation, consistent performance track record, and positive and proactive approach. Second, the relationships are built on foundation of personal ownership for listening and understanding, caring and cooperation and convincing the other side about the merit of their ideas. And finally, in their communication. The invest in knowing their audience, and keep their messages simple, real, and tangible. In the next video, we will examine how you can build on these mindsets. And choose the right influence tactics for different leadership challenges. [MUSIC]
