The world of business is expanding at an exponential rate. Every organization in the global market is striving very hard to make a good name in the market and capture the maximum market share. Organizations, especially multi-national companies are adopting revolutionary strategies for this purpose. One of such strategies is hiring workforce or employees that can think rationally and make smart decision. Smart work is ranked much higher than hard work in today’s working environment, especially in global markets. One of the factors that are gaining high importance for surviving in today’s tough and demanding work environment is an influential personality.
Employers give great value to those workers who have a positive and influential personality. Many employers judge this in the very initial stages of the interview that whether a potential candidate will have a positive impact at the overall image of the company and the people working in it (Ford, Agosta, Huang, & Shannon, 2018). Many companies have been noticed to employ such people at leadership positions who have the power to inspire and influence people and towards whom the workers of the company can look in times of need. History has proven that such individuals are liked by everyone; they have a huge number of followers and become extremely successful. They resume very successful positions in every organization they start working in and become exceptional leaders. Examples can be seen in the form of prominent organizational leaders like Steve Jobs, Tim Cook, Elon Musk, Bill Gates and many more.
It is extremely important for any employee, to build positive influence at their workplace, in order to inspire people and be a successful worker. In fact, it is the need of today’s dynamic market. If an employee wants to be successful, he or she should have an influential personality, in order to get better opportunities for success and promotion. If he or she does not have these qualities in them, they should try building them. The following piece of writing will look into the significance of having an influential personality at a workplace, and the various factors that how people influence other people at their workplaces especially their co-workers, colleagues, peers, and even their supervisors
Discussion
In today's' dynamic world, it is important to build influence; the title or position is not only enough to impress others. Most of the times, people do not hold very high positions but they have a very influential personality; they are loved by people at their workplaces.
Influence is always powerful; it brings positive results to the influencer. People who have an influential personality clearly get more benefits than those who do not have much of an influence on their workplaces. Having an influence at job brings bonuses, raises and brighter chances of promotion. Influence at a workplace garners respect and appreciation for the employee.
Building an influence at modern workplaces is not only tough but it also requires a lot of hard work. It is a tricky task that requires smart thinking and a positive mindset. It is a big misconception that people are only influenced by people who are working at a position higher than theirs like their boss or supervisor. Studies have shown extensively that individuals significantly take inspirations from their colleagues and peers as well, and even from their juniors. Many cases have been observed where an individual changed their attitude and behavior towards their job or at a workplace, after getting influenced from some co-worker or peer and this change proved to be very advantageous for them CITATION Rob16 \l 1033 (Robbins & Judge, 2016).
So now the question here arises that how to be an influential person at work? How to influence people at work? How do these co-workers or peers influence their co-workers that bring a revolution in their lives and prove to be an inspiration for others? There is no rocket science behind this. There are only some simple techniques or methods that help people in leaving an impact on other people art workplaces. Some of them have been elaborated below.
Building Connections
The first and foremost quality that is required to influence people around you is to learn the art of building connections. Building connection does not refer to be the most popular person around in the whole organization but having a good level of communication with every person (or at least with people in your close contact). A person who has good interpersonal skills and is an expert at building connections finds out that co-workers like to hear him or her out. Interpersonal skills prove to be a very important and advantageous skill, especially in the professional world. Some professions require more use of interpersonal skills as compared to other jobs, but these skills never fail to inspire and influence people.
Body language
Body language plays a very significant role in influencing the people around anyone. Influential people make use of both their words and body language to influence and inspire people around them. Keeping a positive body language at the workplace helps a person gain respect and attention from their co-workers and it helps big time in influencing them. Positive body language can help to bring g people closer while a person presenting negative body language may face people running away from them. Moreover, the use of appropriate gestures while communication helps in influencing the people and they may want to communicate more often with such a person.
Knowledge Sharing
Knowledge sharing is also an added trait that garners great respect from the people around you. People have raised to very high positions by just sharing the knowledge that they had. In this respect, the example of teachers can be given most appropriately, because a teacher is ranked very high in society because he or she disperses their knowledge among their students. Same is the case with an influential person in an organization. A person who likes to learn new things and loves to share their knowledge, even more, is respected the same way like a teacher and their co-workers like to remain close to them in order to learn new skills.
Mannerism and Respect
Showing good etiquettes and manners garners popularity immediately. Good attitude and behavior in the workplace always inspire people and the other people also take an example from such people, especially juniors. It has been hugely observed that the people who show good manners at their workplaces and treat others with respect, leave a positive impact in the people around them and people are greatly influenced by such a person. The rule does not apply to give respect to a person sitting at a specific position but generally to everyone. People having influential personalities treat a janitor the same way they treat their boss or CEO of the company.
Valuing Opinion of Others
Influential people always listen to what other people say and value their opinion. It has been widely observed that people tend to be more close to people who are good listeners and value their opinion. It generally happens in society and fits in the case of the workplace as well. Workers who take other people's opinions and value them, whether they act upon it or not, are given great regard from the other co-workers. Their colleagues like to share their ideas and opinions with them and also take their words in any difficult situations. Directors and managers who encourage and value input from their subordinates are highly liked by the later and they like to associate more and more with such leaders.
Positive Outlook
People who have a positive outlook towards life are generally liked by all. Same is true for people working in different organizations. Employees who have an optimistic approach towards work and life, in general, are hugely liked and appreciated by their colleagues, peers, supervisors, and managers. This optimistic approach does not only let these people influence others but also excel in every area of life. It brightens their life of getting highlighted in the eyes of all around them and their chances of success become much brighter than the rest of the employees working in the same environment, serving their duties under the same supervisors.
Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB)
People who influence their others always have a unique trait of going an extra mile. This quality is very rare among people in general and even if anyone has it, it is rarely exhibited at workplaces. Employees only prefer to accomplish their assigned task or the duties written down in their job descriptions and do not like to do anything extra for their organization or fellow co-workers. So the individuals who exhibit Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) at their workplaces are clearly ranked higher than the rest of their co-workers and get much more respect and priority as compared to their fellows at the same place, even working at the same position.
Leadership Style
This technique is especially very beneficial for individuals working at leadership or a managerial position. CEOs, COOs, managing directors and head of departments use this method to inspire and influence their subordinates. A good leadership style can make your subordinates your fan and can leave a great impact on them (Kluemper, et. al., 2019). Most of the times, democratic or servant leadership styles prove best for the purpose of influencing co-workers and subordinates. Keeping a friendly style of leadership, makes a leader or manager more popular and the subordinates like to follow them more.
Taking Initiative
Risk takers always get a huge fan base. Whether it's outside the workplace or inside, people who dare to take initiatives are always looked upon with great respect and honor. They are taken as path makers, who discover new ways and avenues to do things. These people make new paths for others and pave ways to tread upon for their followers (Gabriel, et. al., 2018). Influential people not only initiate things but also discover new ways to do any old things, which may turn out to be an easy or more beneficial way to carry on things. This influences their co-workers, especially their juniors, to follow their pattern and walk on their footsteps.
Be a Motivator
Influential people always have this quality that they are great motivators. They motivate their co-workers to take action and complete their tasks. Whether any person belongs to their department or from a far off branch in any other country, these people like to lift them up and motivate them and do their best. Influential people like to lift the spirits of people and even encourage the people to go an extra mile (Chiaburu, & Carpenter, 2013). They exhibit bravery and also instill these qualities in people around them. They encourage people to take bold steps and achieve great heights, not only inside the organization but also outside their profession.
Keeping the lines of Communications Open
Individuals working at any organization, whether it is a multi-national company or a small organization working at a local level, have a dire need to have the communication open at all levels and are greatly influenced by those people who succeed in doing so. Keeping the ends of communication open, paves ways for the flow of many new ideas inside the organization. This practice encourages the employees to participate actively in discussions and the organization can get many ideas for improvement in many areas like operations, marketing and sales, etc. If an individual does not encourage open communication, people may feel repelled from them and may not like to give them much attention, which may prove to be hazardous for the person in the long run.
Showing the Ultimate Reward
A person who intends to influence people should keep his or her focus over the ultimate reward or goal. They should convey the message clearly that what a certain action or task holds for a person. Workers only get motivated to start working on a task when they feel that the particular task holds anything good or beneficial for them. So a person who keeps this concept clear becomes a favorite person among the general public of the organization. This trait is also very beneficial for the people serving at higher and leadership positions in any organization.
Conclusion
In short, it can be seen that although it is not easy to influence and impress people at a modern workplace, it takes only some simple steps to become an influential person. Influential people are strong headed and smart; they like to take risks and also motivate others to do the same. People who influence others, especially at workplaces, are good listeners and value the opinion of other people. In return, their co-workers, peers and even serious like managers also like them and look upon them for their advice in times of distress.
References
Chiaburu, D. S., & Carpenter, N. C. (2013). Employees’ Motivation for Personal Initiative. Journal of Personnel Psychology.
Ford, M. T., Agosta, J. P., Huang, J., & Shannon, C. (2018). Moral emotions toward others at work and implications for employee behavior: A qualitative analysis using critical incidents. Journal of business and
Gabriel, A. S., Koopman, J., Rosen, C. C., & Johnson, R. E. (2018). Helping others or helping oneself? An episodic examination of the behavioral consequences of helping at work. Personnel Psychology, 71(1), 85-107.
Kluemper, D. H., Taylor, S. G., Bowler, W. M., Bing, M. N., & Halbesleben, J. R. (2019). How leaders perceive employee deviance: Blaming victims while excusing favorites. Journal of Applied Psychology.
BIBLIOGRAPHY \l 1033 Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2016). Organizational Behavior. Lego, Italy: Pearson.
