Is your influence in line with your vision?

In the context of running an accounting firm, I’ve written about the importance of your vision and understanding why you do what you do. It is frustrating for the leader of a firm when they know what they are trying to achieve but can’t seem to get those around them, team members and clients, to respond in a way that they envisioned.

It's easy to blame others but are we influencing those around us effectively and in a way that will line them up with our vision and plans?

Do we pay enough attention to the influence that we have?

Can we do better?

These are my tips:

• Understand your leadership style and how you influence others. We all have different ways of thinking and approaching things. We all have different visions for our firms, for its culture and working environment. Understanding your style will give you a benchmark for assessing how you influence others. Are you hands-on or do you prefer to step back? Are you quiet or more forceful? Are you confrontational or do you prefer a more indirect route. What sort of ‘boss’ do you want to be and is that who you are?

• Be more conscious of our own behaviour and mood. I believe that the leader of a firm sets the tone, consciously or sub-consciously. Our mood and behaviour has a direct influence on our team and clients. Any negativity, stress, frustration,  indecision or unhappiness will filter through.  Fortunately, so will any positivity, calm, satisfaction, decisiveness and happiness. You choose.

• It’s okay ‘talking the talk’ with our teams and clients but we do have to ‘walk the walk’. Leading by example is the best way to influence those around us towards the thinking and actions that we are looking for in our vision. It’s hard to be that leader every day but it’s what we’ve signed up for.

•  Be more aware of what is happening around you, which means listening more and being more observant. Again, hard to do when the pressure is on but one thing that we have learned from the experience of the last few years, with remote working and fewer people in the office, is that people and issues can slip off the radar. Whilst it can be useful not to be interrupted and to be able to get on with our day, cutting ourselves off from those around us reduces our opportunities to positively influence what is happening.

•  Be consistent in your behaviour and thinking. To influence something towards a particular outcome, you need to consistently apply your forces in the same direction. Regularly changing your position will unsettle those around you and dilute any influence that you have. If people are waiting to see which version of you or your plan turns up each day then you are creating a problem for yourself as well as them. Eventually, they’ll ignore you.

• Seek the advice and opinion of others who care about the same things as you. Unless your leadership style is dictatorial, feedback and advice are valuable in helping you to shape your powers of influence. Are you coming across the way that you think you are coming across? Are you aware of your real impact?

•  I will use a quotation by Omar Khayyam for my last point: “Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life”. Sometimes we get too preoccupied with tomorrow, especially in our world of deadlines. Living in the here and now doesn’t necessarily mean jumping out of airplanes or bungee jumping off a bridge.  It can mean simply being aware of the moment that you are in. Opportunities to positively influence don’t always come along to a plan. Grab the opportunities that are there in front of you in that moment.

I hope that this helps you. We all keep learning every day.