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Increase Your Influence!

Influence is the capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behaviour of someone or something.  What I appreciate about the idea of influence is that I can use my influence to make a real difference in other people’s lives and to me that spells success. 

I realized very early on in my career that I wanted to be a woman of influence. I knew to be a woman of influence there were a few things I needed to do. I needed to know and understand people and build a solid network, I had to choose to be a constant learner (gaining knowledge about a variety of topics) and I had to be someone who would take action when possible and keep moving forward with purpose.

Since influence means having an effect on others, then your capacity for caring, knowledge and action can be used to make an impact with and for others. The old African proverb rings true, where it says, “if you want to go fast, go alone…but if you want to go further, go together.”  Throughout my career, I have found great purpose and joy in being a conduit for others – connecting them, celebrating them and supporting them in their efforts to impact, grow in their business and career and generally be a person who makes a difference.

Choosing to be an influencer however comes with responsibility. Here’s why. Every action that you choose to take or not to taken regards to others has consequences for someone or something.  Being a person of influence means that you will stand for something and you are willing to put yourself out there to make something happen for others.   Influence is about valuing and lifting up other people, situations, products or issues and lending your talents and/or voice in some way. Choosing to be an influencer requires clarity and purpose, being strategic in your efforts and caring enough to see it through to fruition. To me, caring is the secret sauce you need to be memorable and intentional about your relationships. So what? Why go to all that effort for other’s if you are not going to get anything in return?  The answer is because not only will you be someone that everyone wants to know, but using your influence will absolutely afford you opportunities for growth and connection.  Choosing to be a woman of influence has allowed me to meet other like minded people, brought me new opportunities in my business and personal life and has also stretched me out of my comfort zone to be bold and try new things.

Challenge for you!

Make a commitment to be an influencer for 3 people in the next week by somehow by being a voice for their product, service or by being a connector for them to someone else in your network.

In order to be good influencer there are a few key things you need to do consistently:

Be Willing To Act  – Go the extra mile and to give of yourself with no expectations of something in return.

Be Available To Listen  – Fine tune your abilities to understand the needs of your network.   When you are intentional about using this as a strategy to build reputation, trust and respect,  you will start to innately know who could use some assistance and you could be the problem solver they are looking for.

Let Go! – Once you have used your influence you have done your job.  Step out of the way, don’t make any further assumptions and let the action happen.

It is through serving others and using your influence that you will be able to build trust and respect in your community, attract new clients to your business and create a tribe of raving fans who believe that you are doing great work. As you use your influence more and more for the good of others  you will find that opportunities come your way more often as well. Like I always say, “opportunities never come with directions.”