MODERN LEADERSHIP
Successful Leaders
know how to influence
By Michelle Gibbings
D
espite advances in technology,
organisations today are more,
not less complex. Leaders are
expected to deliver more results,
in a faster timeframe and with
less resources. At the same time,
organisations know they need to
constantly evolve, and so there
is a relentless churn and multiple
changes happening. The end result
is a working environment which is
more complex and bureaucratic.
There’s endless meetings, countless
stakeholders to consult and shifting
goal posts. This creates the
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April 2016
inevitable sense of busy-ness, often
with little progress to show.
Why? Because it’s hard to get things
done. It’s hard to make change
happen. It’s hard to navigate the
complexity. The antidote to this
dilemma – being able to influence.
This is not self-serving influence,
but influence which is focused
on ensuring balanced outcomes,
considering the needs of all
stakeholders. To do that, the leader
needs the optimal mix of technical
and behavioural skills. Being
technically brilliant is one thing, but
it’s not the foundation on which to
build a platform for influence.
Successful leaders - in business,
society and politics - know how to
influence. They know how to get
things done through other people
and are aware of the environment in
which they are operating. They know
how to use their personal power to
secure outcomes.
Influential leaders are able to cut
through the noise, get traction, lead