If you want to become a successful entrepreneur, you definitely need to increase your influence over you team. Increasing you influence doesn’t mean becoming autocratic, it simply means adopting some changes in your personality due to which people will perceive you as more impactful and significant.
1. Be Assertive
Being assertive shouldn’t be confused with being bossy or dictatorial. Assertiveness means being confident about your decision and willing to justify it with solid reasons. If someone counters your view, you should be able to answer them with logic and persistence and not raise your voice. Explain your part of the idea rational and logical reasons and in a calm, composed and dignified tone. This will create respect in the minds of your employees for you and because you know your stuff well, they’ll be more likely to trust you.
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2. Be empathetic towards others
Everyone needs security in form of concern, love and care from others. When one is going through a crisis, you need to be emotionally curious and try and support that person in his hard times. If you can in a way manage to provide him emotional stability, you will be seen as a better leader and this will lead to an expansion of your ring of influence.
3. Be specific
If you’re indecisive about the company’s goals, visions, and meetings and practically everything, people are going to perceive you as unreliable and not very influential. Your decisions are what define you as an entrepreneur and a leader so make sure you decide on very reasonable and specific goals and methods to achieve them. Also, you should be aware of everything that goes on in your own company.
For instance, if there is a loss of 5% in the last quarter, you should know exactly what caused the loss.
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4. Dress the part
You might be an assertive and logical person, but, if you don’t look the part, no one’s going to recognise your importance. Dressing is a powerful tool and needs to be used carefully in order to make an impression. A suit with a solid-coloured shirt and well-polished shoes defines influence in its entirety as opposed to a guy wearing a graphic tee and chappals. For women, wear crisp formals over casuals to make a statement and leave an impact. You accessories speak a lot about you; keep them confined to a watch or statement jewellery.
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5. Be an inspiration to your team
Instead of coming to office with a bored face, enter brimming with enthusiasm and with a contagious energy which inspires others to wake up as well. This is a very difficult skill to master but it is majorly dependent on an entrepreneur’s communication skills and depth of passion for what s/he’s doing. When leaders are excited about a project or a challenge, they tend to impart some of it to the presentation and employees as well which they should be able to positively use. Also, to inspire further, a leader must always stand by his team and constantly inspire, encourage and help his team to achieve their goals.