Values › Leadership › Influence
Core value · Leadership family
Influence
Shaping how others think and act
What does influence mean as a core value?
Influence as a core value means wanting your view to shape what happens, through persuasion, good relationships and well-timed conversations, whatever your job title.
What draws you to influence is the idea that a good argument, a well-timed conversation or a trusted relationship can change what happens. You probably enjoy the quiet craft of it: understanding what someone cares about, finding the framing that lands, planting an idea and letting it grow. When influence is a core value, being ignored stings more than being overruled. You want your view to count in the places where decisions really get made.
What does influence look like in practice?
- You find out what the finance director worries about before you pitch them an idea.
- You have a quiet word with key people before the big meeting so nothing lands cold.
- You shape a family decision by asking good questions before you state your preference.
- You invest in relationships across the organisation long before you need anything from them.
- You notice an idea you seeded coming back as someone else’s, and you’re mostly pleased it travelled.
When is influence overplayed?
The shadow of influence is manipulation, or the suspicion of it. When winning people round matters too much, you can start managing every conversation, telling each audience a slightly different story, and treating relationships as assets. People sense it, and trust drains away. You may also exhaust yourself steering things that aren’t yours to steer. Healthy influence is open about what it wants and persuades with reasons others can inspect. A useful test is whether you’d be comfortable if everyone you’d spoken to compared notes.
Often confused with
Influence vs Authority
Authority comes with a role and lets you decide. Influence works without it, changing minds so that the people who do decide choose differently.
Influence vs Power
Power is the capacity to make things happen, including through position or resources. Influence relies on persuasion, and people remain free to ignore it.
Influence vs Communication
Communication is about being understood. Influence goes a step further: it’s about changing what someone thinks or does as a result.
Questions to sit with
- Whose opinion do you most want to change right now, and what do you know about what they care about?
- When did someone last change your mind by influencing you well, and what did they do?
- Would the people you influence describe your approach the way you would?
More values in Leadership
Standing, influence and setting direction.
About the author
Matt Rutherford is a Career and Leadership Coach. The Values Finder is the same exercise he uses with his coaching clients. He also writes Stuff that MattRs, a weekly newsletter with practical ideas to help you think clearer and work better.
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