4 Surefire Ways to Grow Your Circle of Influence

The ability to influence others through words or behavior is an incredibly valuable tool in your relationship toolbox. After all, building a business is more than creating a new product -- it’s about building relationships.

“Opportunities are tied to people and people like to work with others that share common interests that they can trust," says Olivia Gamber, a talent manager and founder of OccupationalOlivia, a website that explores innovative ways to build career success. "Being good at your job isn’t enough in today’s highly competitive environment. You also have to build relationships [and] be able to navigate complex corporate matrices.”

If you don’t think relationships or influencing power are important, ask yourself when was the last time that a salesperson forced you to buy something you didn’t intent to buy, or the last time your friends or parents coerced you into choosing X when you really wanted Y.

The answer is never. Nobody forces you to do anything. Even in the military, there are ranks and orders but, again, there is also choice. Of course, along with choice comes consequence, so if you prefer not to be incarcerated for insubordination then making the “right” choice is definitely preferable.

Think of your circle of influence as the range in which opportunity lies. You can locate the opportunity, build upon it and make connections between different ones the larger your circle expands. If you want to expand your circle of entrepreneurial influence (or any influence, for that matter), try these four strategies:

1. Do what you say.

Nothing erodes personal credibility faster than a lack of trust. Building trust is fundamental to increasing your circle of influence. If you possess the skill to execute project A and the will to do so ethically, then others' trust in you will increase. Just be consistent because once you break that trust it’s like taking a piece of paper, wrinkling it up and then trying to flatten it out again -- it never actually returns to its original state.

2. Choose your battles.

Some fights are worth fighting. Others aren’t. Choosing the ones that serve a purpose higher than yourself builds your influencing power in two ways. First, nobody likes hearing the same voice complain over and over again. Second, if you fight only when it’s your self-interest at stake, then the message people really hear is that you only care about one thing (hint: not them). So the question then becomes, why should they listen to you?

3. Be present.

There’s nothing worse than being in a conversation with somebody who is checking his or her watch or email. When you’re engaged in conversation, put away the laptop and turn off the TV. If you have an appointment and are worried about missing it, set an alarm on your phone or ask to schedule another time to talk. The takeaway is when you make time for people, they’ll make time for you. When people make time for you, it means they’re listening -- and you’re influencing.

4. Grow yourself.

Personal development is a building block for extending your influential reach. After all, you can only lead or influence others to the extent you can lead yourself.

The credibility that accompanies positive intent and demonstrable behavior is irrefutable. If you want to extend your circle of influence and get the best out of people, start by getting the best out of yourself. People follow others whom they trust, like and respect, so to the extent to which you align your intentions with communication and behavior, the more your circle will grow.

Jeff Boss

This Essential Leadership Trait Can Push Employees to Do Their Best

There’s a misconception that great leaders are born, or that talented professionals can decide to be leaders and, overnight, step into the role with grace and excellence. Of course, the tenets of great leadership can occasionally be stumbled upon, but for the rest of us, leadership demands hard work and constant refinement.

Some of the characteristics of great leaders are easy to identify, and most emerging leaders are aware of them enough to actively work toward them -- traits such as respect and authority. But there’s one particular characteristic that commonly gets overlooked, and it’s critically important if you want to build trust and camaraderie within your team: transparency.

Related: Embrace True Transparency, and You'll Experience More Success

There are a few possible definitions of transparency, so before I go any further, I’ll clarify what I mean by “transparency” as it relates to leadership. In this context, transparency is a degree of honesty and openness, executed so consistently that your workers trust in your candor. To a further application, that commitment to transparency often spreads to the wider company culture, promoting more honesty and candid expression among your team members.

While the ethics of transparency are generally positive and transparency can be argued as an ethically superior quality, ultimately, its use in leadership is geared toward achieving certain benefits for the entire team.

Relationships can form

Allowing more transparency in your style of leadership opens yourself to more meaningful relationships -- both with the team as a whole and with the individuals of that team. Forming friendships with your employees isn’t typically a productive course of action since it can distort your working relationship, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have healthy, mutually respectful, sociable relationships with each individual on your team.

Being transparent makes you more approachable, and makes you seem more like a human than a robotic boss. The end result is an environment where positive working relationships form easier and last longer.

People trust you more easily

Consistent transparency is the easiest way to build trust -- though it still takes a long time. Being completely open and honest will eventually give your employees a powerful sense of trust, which leads to a more unified team and a healthier work environment. Furthermore, you’ll be able to assign tasks, give criticism and provide direction to your team, and employees will respect and unanimously follow you.

Problems reach a resolution faster

Transparent leadership allows employees to be more honest about their individual viewpoints and more open about expressing them in a public dialogue. The more openness and honesty you facilitate in the context of your team, the faster you’ll be able to work together to achieve a common end goal.

Related: 5 Steps to Align Your Reward Process and Reach Your Company Goals

People are more willing to work together

It’s easier to assign teams cohesively when you’re honest about your motivations for the assignment. If paired with a more seasoned employee, a lower-ranking employee may feel that you don’t acknowledge his/her ability to complete the job independently. Simply being honest and acknowledging your motivations for the pairing -- such as strengths and complementary weaknesses that will allow the job to go smoothly -- will push both workers to contently engage in the mutual effort.

Encouraging an atmosphere of transparency will also promote transparency at all levels. Employees will feel more comfortable expressing their opinions, submitting their work and openly engaging in progressive dialogue.

People work harder

Under a transparent leader, people will be more satisfied, and they’re going to work harder for you as a result. Even if they don’t work any harder, they’ll at least work more productively. This is the bottom line of effective, transparent leadership that you cannot afford to ignore.

Becoming more transparent

It’s easy to talk about the benefits of transparency. Achieving that level of transparency is more challenging. Fortunately, there are a handful of strategies you can use to improve your own transparency as a leader, and cultivate a working environment that rewards equally transparent employees:

• Express your opinions openly. You may find this difficult, especially when expressing dissatisfaction, but honesty is crucial.
• Keep your messaging consistent. Expressing two different ideas on the same topic to two different employees can damage your credibility as a transparent leader.
• Keep all your commitments. If you can’t promise something, don’t promise it.
• Listen to the feedback of others. Even if you disagree with it, show your appreciation and respect for it.

Simply engaging in these strategies on an occasional basis isn’t enough. The key to building long-lasting trust is consistency, and only through consistent execution will you be able to see the benefits of transparency amongst your team.

Related: Multiply the Trust Factor Inside Your Organization

 Jayson Demers

6 Key Tips for Leading by Example

Leading is all about influence. How you present yourself in a leadership role affects your ability to successfully leverage authority and motivate others. Do you inspire people to follow your lead? If not, consider evaluating your performance and addressing crucial gaps.

Tweaking a few key behaviors can make a huge difference in how others perceive you. Many people don’t take this point seriously enough and damage relationships, reputations and careers in the process. Be proactive. Here's the deal: Leading can be a rewarding, yet challenging undertaking. Follow these six tips to model excellence and gracefully inspire others to follow your lead:

1. Establish an impeccable standard of excellence.

Set high expectations at the outset and raise the bar on any crucial factors. The best way to establish a standard is by modeling the expected behavior yourself. Showcase excellence. When your actions have the potential to affect everyone around you and the bottom line, don't dabble in mediocrity. Reflecting excellence is critical to exercising effective leadership. This is ground zero for establishing influence.

2. Deliver on results promised. 

Able leadership requires an ability to deliver results. Rhetoric has little value  if outcomes are what's essential. Instead of touting wins from past performances, focus on capturing tangible gains now.  

Harness the power of chunking, a process for organizing tasks and breaking them down into bite-size pieces to avoid stress and burnout. Remember to follow up and follow through, too.

Engage experts if necessary to timely and competently pull projects forward. In the end, only substance and the final sum will matter. Excuses won’t.

3. Value people and nurture relationships.  

Top-notch people skills are vital to sound leadership. Develop premium listening, communication and decision-making skill sets. Demonstrate integrity by being open, honest and fair.

Your transparency will reap clear rewards. If you treat people well, most will be encouraged to return the favor. By elevating the importance of people and relationships, you enhance your ability to relate to others in an authentic and meaningful way.

4. Promote strategic cooperation.

Collaboration is an indispensable component of leadership as captured in John Donne's line “No man is an island." This is especially true if you can build high-performing teams, according to the Harvard Business Review's site. Isn’t it fascinating that no matter how brilliant people are as individuals, they are often far more effective when working with others?

People often produce higher quality, more efficient work products when collaborating. Commit to this by actively embracing opportunities for healthy cooperation. Make teamwork an attractive aspect of workplace culture. Less burnout, increased trust among peers and enhanced interpersonal relationships will result. 

5. Resolve conflict quickly and effectively.

Approach conflict proactively, which means the sooner you resolve things, the better. As a core leadership competency, conflict resolution is a delicate process that requires thoughtful intervention. Disagreements naturally occur. But persistent hostility should not be tolerated. The bottom line? Conflict gets in the way of everything else. Thus your ability to quickly and effectively facilitate resolution will undoubtedly boost your ability to lead.

6. Freely develop and support others.

Professional development is an extraordinary mechanism for facilitating growth. Demonstrate your commitment to expanding your reach and your team's by prioritizing opportunities for enrichment. Allot time and resources to make the process stress free. Challenge yourself and your team to overcome shortcomings at regular intervals throughout the year. Then acknowledge and reward proactive participation to build enthusiasm and encourage continued progress.

 Karima Mariama - Arthur

10 Things That Happen To You When You Find The Job Of Your Dreams

We all know what it’s like to work a miserable job. Whether it was waitressing in high school or babysitting for some extra cash throughout college, we’ve all paid our dues doing some less-than-pleasant work.

We might have done it for so long that we forgot what it was like to actually enjoy what we do.

Here are 10 things I’ve found that have changed for me since landing my dream job of becoming a travel writer.

10. It takes work, but it doesn’t feel like it.

You know you have found your dream job when the time flies by and you don’t even realize how long you have been working.

Whether it’s designing airplanes or reading an assigned law case, you know it’s worth the work and time you’ve dedicated.

---

9. You care less about how much you are making.

In order to do something you love, you might have to make some sacrifices in regards to your paycheck. Even though you might not be making the big bucks, you’re enjoying the adventure of loving what you do each morning, rather than feeling miserable at your desk job.

Money is not the deciding factor for whether you continue working at your job; it’s about whether you truly can stand the thought of leaving it.

---

8. Your relationships with friends and family improve.

When you love what you do, you are a happier person. When work doesn’t seem like work anymore, putting effort toward the things that matter — your relationships with the people you love — seems worthwhile. You know what your parents have done for you over the years and how hard they have worked.

As your friends struggle with their own careers, you’ll realize how fortunate you are to be doing something you love.

---

7. Romantic relationships improve.

Knowing what it’s like to feel good at your job also makes you realize how good it can feel to be in a loving, caring relationship with someone.

It might not always be easy, but you might have come to realize that the good things in life take time and a little bit of effort, which isn’t to say it shouldn’t be fun, too.

You also learn what you truly deserve from someone else when you are fulfilled in another area of your life. You want that feeling not only in your professional life, but also when you are with someone.

---

6. You feel challenged.

Working a boring, dull job can make the days seem like they will never end and it’s easy to check into zombie mode when you aren’t enjoying what you are doing.

When you are doing something you love, you recognize that there is no other way to live. The perfect job will always keep you slightly on your toes.

---

5. You don’t care what others think.

When you return for your five-year high school reunion and people ask what you have been up to, you could care less what label they put on your line of work.

Whether they say, “That sounds like a cool job” or “Well, it pays the bills,” you shrug it off.

All you need to know is that it brings you joy; whether it’s publishing books with one of the Big Six or using your own private, personal press, it fills you with a sense of purpose.

---

4. You are able to focus on other aspects of your life.

Even though your job might be amazing and you can’t believe how lucky you are to have landed it, one of the perks is that it gives you time to have some freedom, as well. You might have some ample vacation time to travel or hours that work with your busy schedule.

A good life includes a balance between your work life and your personal life. Having a career that allows you to make those other parts a priority helps.

---

3. You feel like you have responsibilities (and you like it).

While working other jobs (including that stint you did cleaning up horse sh*t in the local parade), you might have had very little responsibility, or if you did have it, you couldn’t care less about it. When you have a job you love, the responsibility feels good; in fact, you crave it.

You want to show the world that you can handle yourself and do a quality job with whatever is thrown your way.

---

2. There’s room for improvement.

Not only will the right job keep you occupied and challenged, but you’ll also find that you can always be better at what you do. You’re still trying to hone your photography skills or to think of the perfect way to top that wedding cake you were asked to bake.

You might be the best at what you do, but you can always continue to push yourself to produce higher quality work and be proud of what you have done.

---

1. You have no regrets.

When you think back on the past few months or years, you really cannot see yourself doing anything else than what you are doing right now, at this moment.

You don’t secretly wonder what it would have been like to get your pilot’s license and fly across the world or to shelve book titles as a librarian.

You are happy doing just what you are doing and you hope to do it for as long as it makes you happy.

 ALEX SCHNEE