Four ways to influence people at work respectfully
How do you build influence with people at work? Achieving more influence with the people you work with is critical for success. But it has to be done with respect. Building influence at work has many benefits. If respectfully influencing others at work is something that you or your people would like to do better, here are four tips to get you started.
The number one method for creating influence with people at work is building trust
Influence and trust go hand in hand. When someone you work with or you work for trusts you then they will be open to your influence. If you’re looking for healthy and influential working relationships at work you’ll have to get people to trust you. It’s as simple as that. And the easiest way to do this is to be open and honest in all your interactions.
Being consistent and reliable will influence people at work
If you want to be seen as reliable, be consistent. The next step in building solid trust and rapport at work is consistency. Inconsistency is a sure fire way of making people you’re trying to influence trust you less. And it’s the fastest way to ruin your reputation. Together with any influence you may have already built up. No one wants that. So be consistent in all that you do. Complete your tasks when you said you will. Demonstrate a consistent leadership style. Show people that they can rely on your behaviour and expect you to follow through on the commitments you make.
Influence people by being human at work
People generally like working with people. So strive to be more personal in all your working relationships. Go out of your way to get to know people, be human and approachable. You don’t need to build friendships if you don’t want to. But being more personal really helps cement team dynamics and encourages people to be more receptive to your ideas and thoughts. This is particularly important if you are in a position of authority such as a manager. Instead of potentially isolating yourself and being viewed with distrust, being more open will help your subordinates trust and be more receptive to your influence.
If you want to influence people at work, then listen more
And lastly remember to listen. The path to credible and lasting influence at work is taking time to listen to the opinions of other people. The more you respect and incorporate others ideas in what you do the more they’ll believe in you. In time this will create a working environment of mutual respect where you will naturally be trusted, respected and listened to.
‘Build Positive Productive Business Relationships’ programme
If you’d like to gain the practical skills and techniques that will empower you to develop trust easily in all your business relationships you might be interested in our experiential programme. In ‘Build Positive Productive Business Relationships’ participants learn how to:
- Instantly engage and establish trust
- Actively listen to show empathy and build rapport
- Engender confidence, trust and credibility
- Consciously build constructive and effective working relationships
- Put others more at ease and talk to others easily
- Allow others to feel more comfortable engaging in open dialogue
