Sticky Notes: How to Build Real Influence

Real influence is rooted in servant leadership—adding value to others in every interaction up, down, sideways, and diagonally.

How do you make other people want to work with you? How do you make other people want you to want to work with them? When you can do those two things, you have what I call “real influence.” Real influence is rooted in servant leadership—adding value to others in every interaction up, down, sideways, and diagonally. This includes:

  • Building and drawing on interpersonal influence and conducting yourself in a professional manner.
  • Using the influence of specific commitments to establish clear ownership and timelines for concrete deliverables.
  • Seeking to influence through rational persuasion that relies on verifiable facts.
  • Influencing by facilitating success and making it easier for people to work with you.
Bruce Tulgan
Bruce Tulgan is a best-selling author and CEO of RainmakerThinking, the management research, consulting, and training firm he founded in 1993. All of his work is based on 27 years of intensive workplace interviews and has been featured in thousands of news stories around the world. His newest book, “The Art of Being Indispensable at Work: Win Influence, Beat Overcommitment, and Get the Right Things Done” ( Harvard Business Review Press) is available for purchase from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and all major booksellers. Follow Tulgan on Twitter @BruceTulgan or visit his Website at: rainmakerthinking.com.