Want to have more influence over colleagues and peers at work? Can you think of a time when you’ve had to implement an idea and know you need to get some folks on board who don’t report to you?

These challenges are common because, while we may receive leadership training on managing the people who report to us on the org chart, we rarely receive development on influencing others in our organization.

I’ve been asked for tips in this area more times than I can count, so today I’m going to dive into:

My 5 tips for increasing your influence at work

I don’t think I need to get into the ‘why’ here. We all intuitively understand the value of influencing others and getting their buy-in, so let’s jump right in.

I have found that there isn’t a single secret to increasing your influence. Rather, the combination of many actions and behaviours will create the influence you want to have. Here, I share my top 5 actions and behaviours to focus on.

1. Build connections and allies

When giving advice on a whole host of topics, ‘building connection’ is often on the list. Why? When we create strong connection with our colleagues, they are able to see us as real people who they like and want to help (and vice versa!). They will be more willing to give our idea a chance and support us in it.

You want to be authentic when doing this. We’ve all had a colleague who starts buttering us up when they want something, and it feels really icky. Don’t be that person.

With that said, you can be authentic and still strategic about who you focus on building connections with. When I was a VP, it was really important for me to have strong connections with the other members of the senior leadership team. Too often, we are laser-focused on our own function and don’t invest in these relationships. Building relationship cross-functionally is crucial to creating the influence we want in our organization.

2. Authentically listen

Do you listen, just waiting to make your next point? If so, I recommend starting here. Truly listening to others means holding space for them to share what they want to say, reflecting back what you’ve heard so they feel validated, and then leaning into curiosity to learn more and go even deeper.

When was the last time you did this for a colleague? If you’re like most people, the answer might be never!

I’ve talked before about how authentically listening and curiosity can be superpowers for leaders. You’ll gain insights you never knew existed and build trust with those around you. People will feel good about interacting with you. Not a bad deal for a few minutes of your time.

3. Communicate using the 3Cs

Effective communication is important when you are looking to influence, so I like to bring this back to the 3Cs (that you may have heard me refer to before):

  • Clear: Focus on being clear over clever. Confused people aren’t going to buy in.
  • Concise: Frame the situation before diving into the details so you don’t overwhelm your audience.
  • Compelling: Start with ‘why’. What’s in it for them, and why should they care?

4. Convey expertise

Think about some of the most influential leaders you’ve known. My guess is they had something in common—you respected their knowledge and expertise in a given area. Without trust in one’s level of competence, it’s really hard to influence others.

Now, you probably already have expertise in something. The question is, are you conveying that expertise to those around you? This may look like:

Finding opportunities to share your expertise and guidance by putting up your hand to help on a project or team, or voicing your opinion in a meeting.

I may also mean making some tweaks to the way you communicate. For example, using phrases like, “My recommendation is…” or “Based on my experience, I recommend…” instead of weaker phrases like “I’m not sure if this is a good idea but…” will have an impact on your perceived expertise.

(If you want more examples of powerful language shifts you can make, check out this free guide.​)

5. Project confidence

You had to know this one was coming 😉 I’ll give it to you straight – if people perceive you as unconfident and unsure, how likely are they to want to follow you and support your ideas? I mean, you haven’t even convinced yourself!

Projecting confidence means speaking with authority and using open, confident body language. Thinking back to the first big keynote I delivered virtually, one of the things I did to ensure I was coming across as confident and authoritative was to stand up instead of sitting down to deliver the talk!

Tap into self-awareness and ask yourself whether this needs some attention. The language guide I mentioned above can help with your phrasing, but also consider your voice tone and body language, as most of our communication is non-verbal!

If I were to sum this all up, I would say to focus on the same 2 things that will help you come across as more charismatic: warmth + competence. If you can focus on both of these in an authentic way, you will no doubt increase your level of influence and become a magnet to those around you.

Like so many other things, if you’re not great at this today, don’t worry! These are skills, traits, and behaviours that are 100% learnable with some effort. You don’t need to be born with it – you can develop it, I promise.

Until next time friends… ✌️💜

Katy