Lead With Influence

Positive influence (without authority) is the superpower that most people never learn to use at work.

Millions of subject-matter experts, functional leaders, requirements gatherers, and problem solvers have opportunities to influence every day. Instead, too often they merely respond to requests and take orders from their stakeholders. By not exercising their unknown superpower, they miss opportunities to break down silos, improve collaboration, and accelerate the best decisions for the organization.

Organizations desperately need more positive leadership and influence to innovate, solve big challenges and develop healthy culture. If more people could discover how to use their superpower, they’d not only drive impact, but they would elevate their own perceived self-worth, leading to higher engagement and better mental and emotional wellbeing.

What do people do instead of using their untapped superpower?

When attempting to influence without much leverage, most people employ logical arguments and repeated pressure. They build a rational case and keep asking.

But that rarely works. Facts, arguments and pressure don’t work well trying to influence social/emotional creatures.

As Dale Carnegie said, “When dealing with people, let us remember we are not dealing with creatures of logic. We are dealing with creatures of emotion, creatures bristling with prejudices and motivated by pride and vanity.”