Key Point Summary

Influence is an essential component of leadership. Your position in an organization and the power it gives you aren’t always enough to motivate people to do what you ask. Developing your influence skills can help you gain commitment from people at all levels: direct reports, peers, and bosses.

Leaders are often challenged in learning how to influence different stakeholders. A leader with highly developed influence skills almost always has some sense of individual personalities, the goals and objectives that people are responsible for, and the organizational roles that people play. That knowledge alone can’t strengthen influence skill, but it reminds leaders that positive results often depend on using a variety of influence tactics.

To increase the range of influence tactics available to you, it’s helpful to note which ones you rely on heavily and which ones you tend to avoid. Then, by considering whom you want to influence, you can settle on a tactic that is likely to produce the best result. Reviewing the outcome of those episodes creates an opportunity to learn from your experience and to become a more influential leader and a more powerful contributor to your organization’s ongoing success.