These ‘powerful actions’ will make a big difference

Certain people seem so easily influenced that one wonders if they were born with some magical quality.

But after 15 years of studying human behavior, I have good news. Influence is a learnable set of behaviors rather than a fixed personality trait.

My book, Managing Up: How to Get What You Need From the People in Charge, details how to build authority in the workplace, based on my experience advising thousands of top performers at companies like Google, Amazon, and JPMorgan.

There are things you can do to be taken more seriously, to have your ideas approved, and to be what leaders want. Even if you’re an introvert, someone still trying to climb the ladder, or someone new to the industry.

Here are five of the most powerful actions you can take right now, based on five different types of power, without becoming a manipulative jerk.

Once the meeting was rolling, some influencer would step in and say, “We’ve covered the options. Looks like we’re leaning towards X, so let’s go for it. Sounds good?”

This is exercising the authority of a role, using one’s authority to make decisions within one’s domain. Most people avoid roles of power because they don’t want to seem dominant. But when everything comes down to committee decisions, it creates even more confusion.

Try this. Next time someone brings up an issue, don’t let it bounce off you like a hot potato. Assign ownership responsibly. “I’ll coordinate with the legal department. Gerald, can you drive the marketing part?”

Influential people don’t hoard credit. They spread gratitude early and often.

This increases the power of rewards, the ability to give people what they want. When you make others feel noticed, they will do everything in their power to help you succeed.

Try this: Every week, give a shout out to your team members via email, team chat, or during a meeting. Don’t just say, “The team did a great job.” Be specific and personalize your praise. For example, “Pooja’s idea saved me 10 hours of development time.” or “I greatly appreciate Rafael’s analysis that alerted me to this risk.”

You can be the smartest person in the room. But your knowledge means nothing if no one asks for your opinion or respects you enough to act on it.

That’s the difference between expertise and expert power. Expertise is measured by skill level, but expert power is determined by whether people trust your insight.

Try this. To avoid sounding like a know-it-all, start with the words “what if” or “I wonder,” followed by your own experience. For example, “What if we adjusted the price? I’ve seen similar products work in the past.” or “I’m wondering if you factored in processing time, since they used to add a two-week delay.”

Even the kindest person has to set limits. When someone misses a deadline or violates a rule, the influencer uses coercion to respond calmly and directly.

This ability to punish people is the last form of power you want to use, but it may be necessary to uphold standards and keep your culture safe.

You can use this without formal authority, as long as you are in a situation where you are responsible for the outcome, such as running a meeting or leading a particular project. However, context is important. You can hold your co-workers accountable for the disruption, but you need to be more careful with your boss.

Try this. Name the pattern, state its impact, and set expectations. This might sound something like, “I noticed that we talked about Carol twice yesterday. People stop speaking when they are cut off. From now on, let people finish their thoughts before jumping into the conversation.”

What if you could find power just by being who you are? This is directive power, and it comes from people wanting to interact with you because of your personality and values.

Influencers don’t treat relationships transactionally. When you make people feel seen and valued, they’re more likely to trust you, support your ideas, and want to work with you.

Try this: When someone shares something personal, follow up with a reminder. It takes 30 seconds to ask, “How was your daughter’s recital?” “Did your kitchen remodel go well?” But it creates a deep relationship of trust.

The best part is that these actions work together. The more you use it, the more natural it becomes, and the more you can build great influence without much effort.

Melody Wilding, LMSW, is an executive coach, professor of human behavior, and author of Managing Up: How to Get What You Need from the People in Charge. Get her free training “5 Steps to Speak Like a Senior Leader” here.

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