Chapter 10
Become a Master Influencer
To lead one must influence. To be a great leader is to influence many.
—Murray Johannsen Entrepreneur and teacher of leadership development
Influence Up, Down, and Laterally
As you have learned, influence is a major part of your success. If you don't influence others, you will not advance in an organization, and your career will stagnate. This immediate halting of career progress often shocks people; frequently, they've had such great—and quick—success in the past that they don't see this new problem coming.
Influence is a required trait for the next phase of career success. You simply cannot survive without it. Learning how to influence others is an art that takes time to hone; however, you must learn this craft and use it to your advantage. Exerting influence for the first time can often feel awkward and uncomfortable; it's almost as if you are learning to speak a foreign language that everyone else speaks and you don't. Even if you feel lost, you can begin right now to perfect your ability to grasp and work with influence. I've broken down specifically how to become a master influencer from three perspectives: up, down, and laterally.
If you don't influence others, you will not advance in an organization, and your career will stagnate.
Founder and former Visa International CEO Dee Hock explains in his book Birth of the Chaordic Age, “Over the years, I have frequently had long, unstructured discussions with hundreds of groups of people ...
