Here then, are the "10 Critical Skills" identified for being an "Influential Leader"...
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| story telling |
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1.
Storyteller
- Everyone has a story to tell, stories have a way of gathering and concentrating attention towards you and there is a difference in attention
paid to those that can truly tell a great story versus those that can't.
Each of us has a story to tell whether we communicate verbally or
never even open our mouths! What's the story you are telling right now?
Is it accurate? Will it allow you to accomplish your hopes and
dreams?
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| communicator | |
2.
Communicator - There is a difference between hearing and understanding. You communicate as a leader when people you are speaking to understands what you say. Social Psychologists have told us
for years that speaking in public is the most common held fear of all.
Fear of dying comes in third place! But being a good communicator is
more than just your ability to speak in public, or private for that
matter. Do you speak to speak, or do the people you communicate with
really hear you and take action? There is a difference.
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| salesperson |
3.
Salesperson
- We hate salespeople as a society, yet each of us is one! In every
one of our actions we are either selling those we come in contact with
on "Yes", or they are selling us on "No". There is a reason why this is
the second oldest profession on the planet, and your ability to perform
in it will determine whether you place a check mark in the "Influencer"
or "Influenced" scorecard column!
4.
Team Builder - The game of football is a typical example. every player goes into the field to play on the side of his strength. They
say that no person in and of themselves is an island. Why then did a
client recently declare team building to be dead in his organization?
Team building efforts often fall short on what's in it for the
individual. There is a disconnect between the strategic goals of the
organization as well as the individual.
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| team builder |
5.
Coach -
Mentoring, modeling and role playing are crucial for "game time"
success. Who doesn't like having someone pick you up when you
fall...You never fall?
6.
Tecky - Technology comes at us
fast and furious, and the one thing that can be guaranteed is that it
will continue to come at us faster and more furious! The "Influential
Leader" grabs hold of the technology that will propel them forward.
7.
Strategic Planner
- "A goal without a plan is just a dream" is a common refrain for goal
setting. That's great! This is the planning phase, and the better you
are at developing multiple/detailed plans, the better off you will be
when it comes down to choosing your action path.
8.
Customer Retainer
- Customer Satisfaction is worthless. If your focus is on the one-time
incident or encounter you will lose business. Why? True Influential
Leaders realize that getting customers to come to them not only the
first time, but time and time again is the only customer satisfaction
variable that matters! That's called retention, and it is valuable! If
your focus isn't on the "Big Picture", take a step back!
9.
Change Agent
- Change is inevitable...It marks progress sometimes, and regression
others. Influential Leaders grasp the challenge of change by the horns!
They know the risks as well as the potential rewards to be had.
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| trust |
10.
Trust - Trust is the one key leadership competency that changes everything. With it, you'll succeed. Without it...
The necessity of
influence in a leader’s life and his leadership cannot be over emphasised as
leadership itself is influence. Dr. Maxwell will always say that “if you don’t
have influence, you will never be able to lead others”. Leading without
influence is like gathering water in a basket but with it you are limitless in
your achievement. The power of influence in leadership is typified by mother
Teresa. She was described by Lucinda Vardey as