Whether you are an entrepreneur or a corporate professional or managing a team or leading a department, getting people on board with your vision will increase the odds of success for your vision.
Your reputation and leadership presence are built over time-not by one moment of genius or one big idea. You can’t command respect and influence people to follow you unless you know how to create the right image, build trust, and earn people’s allegiance.
Building a leadership presence means more than putting your name on the door. It also means showing up, consistently delivering significant results, and leading by example. This article shares 7 ways to build leadership presence, regardless of your title or position within an organization or entrepreneurship.
1. Be the expert in your field
To claim the expert status, you must first show expertise. Authority is making a statement about something you already know and understand. Still, it is also the belief that the speaker knows what he or she is talking about.
Don’t just talk about what you know. Show what you know by providing value and solving problems.
This strategy is useful for two reasons: One, you can be the person who knows this information rather than just being the source. Two, it shows that you actually care about your audience and the subject.
2. Know your audience
It’s critical to understand the audience you’re trying to reach or the people you are dealing with to know better what appeals to them. You need to know the personality traits, interests, and preferences of the people you’re trying to influence.
What are they looking for in terms of a solution, a message, or a product? What will resonate with them? The answer to these questions can help you shape the tone and style of your communication and message to match your target audience.
If you can tailor your communication with them, you will increase the chances of them feeling personally relevant to your message and being more open to listening to you.
3. Listen and understand
This is often the most challenging of the psychological principles. Listening and understanding take time, patience, and practice. It’s impossible to do well if you don’t do it. What you hear determines what you see. That’s what makes up our perceptions.
When you hear something from someone else, you have two ways of processing it: you can either decide that it’s true, or you can decide that it’s false. Most of the time, you ignore information you don’t want to hear. As such, it’s easy to misinterpret someone else’s meaning and intentions simply because we don’t listen enough.
You don’t always need to agree with the person to accept their message. You simply need to give them your undivided attention, which is difficult for many people. Once you’ve listened to the person, you have a much better understanding of the context. When they say something again, you’re more likely to hear it as intended. You’re more likely actually to consider the person’s point of.
The more time you develop the listening skill, the more likely you’ll be able to understand people, empathize with them, and build strong relationships with them.
4. Embrace your differences
We all know about this concept, but often we are quick to point out what separates us.
Many people don’t think they can embrace their differences, but you can. And it starts with you. There are many ways to achieve diversity within your team, but the way to start is by embracing the fact that you all have differences and valuing those differences.
Look for the areas where you share interests with others. Once you do that, you’ll be able to communicate with them at their level. This will also help you better understand them, building trust in your relationship.
5. Show up consistently
Consistency is the key to establishing a relationship with anyone. It’s easy for us to forget how valuable this can be because the effort is required to remember that others don’t have a history with us. Consistency is important because it makes people feel like they know who you are and what you’re all about. When you’re inconsistent, people can’t really understand why they should follow you or trust you or care about what you have to say.
But the same things that make us unique in our world are the very things that make us the easiest to forget and overlook. The secret to establishing a strong relationship with others is being genuine, caring, and having their back.
6. Walk in the Shoes of Others
it gives you a new perspective on something you may already believe to be true. It’s a powerful way to understand situations from another person’s point of view and empathize.
Let’s look at a couple of scenarios:
When you’re communicating with someone about to embark on a new project and are concerned about making sure that it goes smoothly, do yourself a favor and imagine being a new hire working on your first project. What questions and problems do you expect, and how do you want to handle them?
By walking in someone else’s shoes, you gain insight into the mindset of a different consumer who bought a similar product or service and used it to drive decisions. Once you’ve put yourself in someone else’s place, you’re better able to understand why that person bought something and what persuaded them to do so.
Similarly, by walking in others’ shoes, you’ll get a better sense of what’s happening with the other person.
7. Give Credit Where Credit Is Due
Credit is a fundamental element in all interpersonal relationships and business interactions. When we credit others for something, we build a connection with them because we tell them we trust them. If we know others’ contributions, we acknowledge them.
Look for ways to recognize other people’s talents. Everyone has distinct qualities and abilities.
We all need to learn how to be honest. We need to learn how to do business and treat others respectfully and fairly. People will move away from you if you don’t recognize those who have helped you. It’s a good idea to give credit to everyone who has helped or contributed to your success. Show gratitude to those who’ve supported you on your journey.
In conclusion, your leadership presence is your brand. It is what people see and hear when they engage with you. Don’t be afraid to share your mistakes and challenges and the successes you’ve enjoyed along the way. It will also serve you well to remember that your team members are going through something similar, whether work-related stress, personal stress, or personal struggles, and being able to relate to them is important.
If your leadership presence is strong and consistent, you will build credibility and confidence in your team members and customers. This will increase loyalty. Your leadership presence also shows your team members that you care about them and their work. It shows that you value their opinion and contributions. It shows that you are committed to the success of your team and organization.
Divya Parekh helps entrepreneurs and business leaders develop a confident narrative about their experiences and expertise to drive impact in people’s lives.
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Divya Parekh
Influence Architect
