Thoughts on Leadership: Mastering Influence – The Art of Effective Leadership

By Gino Blefari

This week my travels found me starting Monday in my home office, conducting WIG calls with our CEO’s. On Tuesday, I joined the early morning Berkshire Hathaway Energy call, then hopped on a flight to Dallas, Texas. On Wednesday, I will be with Christy Budnick, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and our team at Corporate Magic for our upcoming Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Sales Convention Show Review.

My desire for personal growth and contribution to the field of leadership is my inspiration for this week’s blog.

Read more: Thoughts on Leadership: Mastering Influence – The Art of Effective Leadership

Influence is an intricate dance of understanding, empathy, and strategic maneuvering. It’s not about wielding power or manipulating situations for personal gain; rather, it’s about aligning diverse interests toward a common goal, fostering collaboration, and inspiring others to exceed their everyday efforts. True influence transcends authority and communication; it’s about achieving outcomes that benefit everyone involved, not just oneself.

So, what exactly is influence, and how does it differ from leadership? Influence is the art of positively mobilizing oneself and others to affect interactions, tasks, relationships, communities, or groups. It’s about producing outcomes beneficial to all without resorting to coercion or manipulation.

On the other hand, leadership is a form of social influence that inspires people to surpass ordinary efforts, envisioning a new reality and fostering better and faster achievements. While leadership often takes the spotlight, influence, with its subtlety, plays a crucial role, even if behind the scenes.

It’s essential to distinguish influence from manipulation. Influence involves aligning diverse interests to serve a common purpose, while manipulation is self-serving and often harmful to others. Positive influence entails effective communication, empathy, and mutual respect, creating scenarios where everyone’s needs are considered and addressed. Manipulation, on the other hand, disregards others’ well-being for personal gain, leading to detrimental effects on trust and integrity.

Influence isn’t just about grand gestures or momentous occasions; it’s about the small, courageous steps we take, creating ripples of hope that eventually build potent currents of change. It involves understanding pressure points in various contexts, setting both task and relationship objectives simultaneously, and learning to influence in the moment, on the go.

However, being influential isn’t without its challenges. Leaders often face obstacles such as aligning divergent interests, balancing short-term and long-term priorities, setting and managing performance expectations, addressing performance shortfalls, and influencing market perception. These challenges require strategic planning, adaptability, and a deep understanding of the complex dynamics at play.

To become a master of influence, one must follow a fourfold path:

1. Be strategically deliberate.
2. Understand pressure points in context.
3. Set task and relationship objectives simultaneously.
4. Learn to influence in the moment, on the go.

By honing these skills and navigating the inherent challenges, leaders can inspire others, foster collaboration, and achieve lasting success.

So, what’s the message? Influence is a subtle yet mighty force in effective leadership. It involves aligning diverse interests, fostering collaboration, and inspiring others to achieve common goals. By understanding its intricacies and overcoming its challenges, leaders can wield influence to create positive change and achieve lasting success for themselves and their organizations.