According to the latest global
LinkedIn data on job opportunities, three of the most in-demand soft skills companies are looking for are Influence, Collaboration and Adaptability.
Interestingly, I think these skills are interdependent: Successful influencers know that in order to influence they need to collaborate with the person they’re trying to influence, and they need to be adaptable.
It’s a message I’ve heard before from hostage negotiators, who tell us that being tuned to the hostage takers wavelength will make a successful outcome more likely.
And it’s a message that dawned on me again last week, when I realised that when I vent my anger or frustration with the world on Facebook, I’m not influencing anyone. All I’m doing is shouting at people who already agree with me. Anyone who felt differently stopped listening to ‘Radio Rod’ years ago! (A quick survey of my friends confirmed this!)
If I want to influence people, I need to pause and take the time to really understand what’s going on inside the heads of those I’d like to influence but aren’t reaching. I need to know what matters to them, and why, in order to re-tune my message to a wavelength that resonates with them.
If you’re wondering why I’m making so many radio references, let me explain. Recently, I wanted to encourage one of my team to move into a new role. It will be a challenging role that takes them outside of their existing comfort zone. I know that they will easily acquire the technical skills they need, and I know too that they’ll love the authority, empowerment and creative control the new role will give them.
I just needed to persuade them.
So, it was extremely fortuitous that the person concerned has just developed a new course module and model that helped me to do just that!
Channelling Your Influence is a brilliant activity that uses the analogy of radio and illustrates how we can help people re-tune their internal radios, so they change from listening to, “I like doing it my way” to “This is fantastic for me!”
Perhaps the best thing about this new approach is that you can use it collaboratively with the person you want to influence. This encourages mutual understanding, empathy and, more importantly, helps you understand the messages that will influence the other person.
The outcome? My team member tells me it felt great to be able to confidently express her “I like doing it my way” thoughts. And gaining that insight allowed me to respond with ‘broadcasts’ that appealed to the other radio stations I needed to.
Consequently, we’ve got an exciting project underway that will lead to lots of new and innovative content for Managers’ Library and I look forward to being able to share this with those who have a
Managers’ Library membership later in the year. (Don’t worry, there’s a lot in store for
Trainers’ Library too!)
Until next time..