How To Be An Influential Leader

Do you want to know how to be an influential leader? To be a successful leader you need to have the ability to influence the willing behavior of others. People generally act on behalf of their own benefit. Generally speaking, people won’t follow you unless you have what they want or you can solve their problems. So what are the key attributes of an influential leader?

The Influential Leader Has a Greater Purpose

Let’s face it. The world consists of those who want to be leaders and those who are followers. Anyone can become a leader, if they consistently work to develop those attributes necessary to entice or influence others to follow them. Even leaders become followers of more successful leaders on their path toward excelling in their own leadership skills. In essence, this is what a mentor/mentee relationship is. Influential leaders are those who have a greater cause, and greater purpose, a greater vision for themselves and what they envision for others.

In this blog I discuss those key attributes required for anyone to become an influential leader.

Traits Of An Influential Leader

The following is a list of key traits you should develop if you want to become an influential leader.

Take action: A leader is not a designated title. It is earned by those who choose to follow you.

Leaders are doers and take action. Leaders are proactive in getting things done and see obstacles as opportunities. Leaders take the initiative to get things done.

Leaders identify and solve problems. They don’t just identify the problem, waiting for someone else to figure out the solution. Leaders identify a problem and then find a solution for the problem and share the solution to those who need the solution. The only way to become a leader is through consistent action providing value to others and solving their problems. This consistent value-based action builds trust. So long as you consistently provide others with value and solve their problems they will follow you.

Invest in yourself: Leaders invest time and money in themselves. They know that if they’re not growing and improving themselves then they are dying or diminishing. As you invest in personal coaching, reading, and tools for your personal improvement you are growing and building your personal asset. I have invested thousands of dollars in coaching from top leaders in this industry like Ray Higdon.

Learn: Leaders are learners. To truly be an influential leader, you need to be a life-long learner. Make personal growth and change part of your daily routine by reading, watching or listening to something that contributes to your personal growth and inspiration. This is called recharging. Also, it’s important to learn through your experiences and mistakes. Remember there are no such thing as mistakes since these are learning and growth opportunities. Finally, as you learn identify those things which you will implement and those things you will teach.

Teach: Leaders are teachers. Leaders invest in themselves then learn and implement what they learn, then they teach and mentor others to help others become leaders. You don’t truly know any subject until you can teach it. Those who have prepared a talk or a speech know that they learned the most through the process of preparing for their talk. Throughout your day when you have an inspired thought, share it immediately with others through a live video or a blog. To not share your inspiration is selfish. By teaching you are making the subject part of who you are.

Inspire Others: Influential leaders are able to instill a deep purpose or belief within others providing them the urge or ability to act or achieve something. Every successful leader has had a mentor, a coach or some other person of influence that has stirred them into action based on the shared belief that they can become or achieve more. The influential leader will see others as their true potential. They will highlight a person’s strengths and build upon those strengths, encouraging that behavior that will promote a person’s growth and expanding their opportunities. True leaders don’t focus on the unwanted behavior, but they focus on what that person can truly become. They instill belief in others until those people believe in themselves by taking responsibility for their own growth and taking the action steps necessary to solidify that belief.

Laser Focus Vision: Leaders have a clear vision of who they are and where they are going. They regularly do visualization exercises bringing in all the senses of the lifestyle they will have and the people they will positively impact along their journey. They live the law of attraction which says that like energies attract and you create the life you think about. Success starts with your vision. To learn more about the law of attraction check my blog post Use and Live The Law Of Attraction.

Personal Accountability: Leaders hold themselves true and responsible to the commitments they make. Leaders do what they say and say what they do. Their word is tied directly to their integrity which builds trust with others within their social and professional circles. I believe that personal accountability is one of the greatest attributes a leader can possess. Personal accountability requires that you be honest with yourself and others and follow through with all your commitments. Communication is key here. If you can’t keep a commitment it is important that you communicate with those affected and provide another time to follow through and honor that commitment.

Be Authentic: People can sense right away if you’re not being “real”. People don’t trust someone who isn’t authentic. Being authentic will require that you be vulnerable. Be approachable. Talk to others like you would want to be spoken to and treated. At first if might be difficult to find your “voice” and be yourself because you may be nervous. It’s okay to be nervous. But don’t let fear hold you back from being the leader you were meant to be. People need to hear from you. Listen to what others have to share. Listen for their problems that you have the solutions to. There are people out there that only you were meant to impact.

Circle of Influence: Leaders surround themselves with people who are successful and have the attributes and lifestyle they want to have. We are the average of the top five people we spend the most time with. If you are the most successful person in your group of friends or if you leave their presence drained of mental energy or your friends don’t challenge and encourage you to strive toward excellence, then you need to find a way to replace those friends who will have a greater positive impact on what you what to achieve and the person you want to become.

Appreciation: Leaders trade expectations for appreciation. They have a spirit of gratitude. It’s been my experience that people will move mountains for you and with you if you show them appreciation. People generally want to do a good job based upon their understanding. If a person fails to perform to your expectations, as a standard rule of thumb, it is always the leader’s fault for not communicating the expectation clearly enough to the other person. But always show appreciation to others.

Also, remember to show appreciation to your mentors and those you have learned from. Genuine appreciation is highly valued by everyone, regardless of their level of success.

If you enjoyed this post please comment and share if you want more content like this.