To expand your influence, don't limit yourself to narrow responsibilities of yours, but interact with all those coming your way to understand their problems and help them whatever you can. The measure of your good impression on others is how many persons come to you for your advice on their own problems. Impression on others is for three reasons principally -
- Your personality - alertness, smartness and physical characteristics of your person,
- Your natural way of working - decisiveness, aggressiveness, harmony of relationships, technical expertise, etc.
- Your tactical moves to impress others more that your natural impression.
Physical features of a person are more or less naturally gifted to him/her with slight margins for improvements. The most important factor that makes your personality is your health that in turn affects everything of yours and your impression. So, first of all, pay good attention to your health in a natural way without developing stresses for it and inviting more of health problems. Remember, a general alertness is a sure indication of good health both ways - mental and physical, while muscular power is indicative of only good physical health only and may imperil your mental health.
Other things that matter are your straightness in sitting and standing, swiftness in walking, clarity in speaking, looking directly in eyes of while talking to somebody, and most importantly welcoming others with a smile.
A person has a natural way of working but that may be improved upon through training and conscious efforts by the person himself based on written guidance in this regard. Two most important factors that affect your functioning are -
- How much disciplined you are, and
- How much harmony you have in your thoughts, words and actions.
Indeed, both of these are mutually inter-related and may be considered as parts of each other in a general sense. To put these in the simplest words is to say how much morality you like to pursue in your functional life.
Now, coming to the thirds aspect of impressing others through strategic moves, I notice that this has become more prevalent in today's business world than in routine life. You need to learn about these strategies at least to safeguard your own interests if not for harming others by dominating others through creating a better impression of yours in the organization. I shall be dealing some important strategies here one by one.
1. Do what others ignore to do
In every business functioning, there are always slips and omissions in working of most of the executives and managers, be on the look out for such lapses of your colleagues and superiors and do them by yourself without saying a word about these. Let people notice these acts of yours by themselves. This way, they would appreciate you without getting hurt about their lapses.
2. Think in advance of others
Problems are always there in an organizational working, and there are persons to take care of these. But they do so after the problem has come to surface. If by any means, you can foresee a problem before it is faced and make a note to your colleagues and superiors about this, your foresight shall be highly appreciated by all concerned.
I myself used this technique when I began my engineering career in 1972 at Durgapur Steel Plant as a maintenance engineer with shift duties. During my duty hours, whenever I had some free time, I used to take a round of the whole plant under my jurisdiction and look at functioning of various machines to foresee their problems and make notes of these in the logbook of shift working for others to take note of and take corrective steps. This reduced a lot of breakdowns in the plants and everybody concerned felt happy about these fore-sights.
3. Act on what you think before anybody else does so
In an organizational working, executives and managers are paid to think and act. It often happens that one thinks of making some improvement while somebody else acts on the improvement and gets the credit. Therefore, whatever comes to your mind, keeping it to yourself, act on it fast even if its effectiveness is doubtful. This way, you experiment with a new idea, learn more of the problem and become a researcher in your own right.
4. Don't say anything that can't be prove by you
The biggest part of job of executives and managers is use of words that are disused, misused and properly used. Limit your words to proper usage only and say only what you can rightfully prove and assert ultimately. Keep your logic and reasoning ready in advance before a discussion takes place on such an issue. In case of a doubt, don't put forward your guesswork but ask for some time to think over and come up with a solution. Put your time on this and finally come up with a sure-shot solution.
5. Admit your mistake fast
Each of us may commit a mistake. Moreover, more a person works and faster a person decides, more mistakes he might commit. It is no sin. So, admit your mistake at the moment you realize it before anybody pointing out it to you. This saves time and other resources in the mistake affecting its derivative decisions. People generally appreciate admitting mistakes by others without any ill-will against them.
6. Negotiate a compromise
Nothing is absolutely true or false in the world but subject to individual circumstances. Therefore, never stick on a doubtful assertion of yours but negotiate a compromise fast enough before anything is forced on you. People appreciate when you make them feel victorious and are willing to be cooperative with you.
7. Collaborate with as many as possible
Organizational success depends on collaborative working. So instead of monopolizing on credit for a certain performance let others share it with you in the larger interests of yours and the organization. Discuss the problems even with your subordinates and encourage their suggestions for a wide collaboration of solving problems.
8. Provide others with chances to improve
Whether they are your superiors, colleagues or subordinates, all are prone to have shortcomings and may commit mistakes. Instead of hurting them on these, give them your frank feedback and suggestions for improvements for their considerations and let them decide on their actions free from you. People generally want to improve their respective performances and appreciate guidance if not forced on them.
9. Try being a role model for others
Without asserting your rights to inspire others, try your best to be an ideal person what you would like to be if everything becomes possible to you. It is almost the same attribute I discussed above about being disciplines and a moralist.
With these nine points in mind, I am sure you are well set to win the world in your favor. All the best to you.
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