On August 4, 1711, the allied forces under the Duke of Marlborough grimly prepared for the worst. The French Marshal Villars had positioned his forces in a seemingly unassailable position behind a river. Cannons lay ready to obliterate anyone foolhardy enough to attack. Entrenched French soldiers waited gleefully to get the best of their English and Dutch enemies. Yet there is no record of any insubordination or complaints from Marlborough’s soldiers regarding the suicide mission. To be sure, the officers who knew their commander’s brilliance were bewildered why he was choosing to throw away his men in a futile assault. Infantry stoically wrote final notes to their loved ones and asked friends to forward their personal possessions to their families should they forfeit their lives on the battlefield the next day.
That evening, the soldiers were hurriedly roused from their beds and urged to prepare to march. The frontal attack had been a ruse. The true plan was to race 36 miles downriver where the army could cross and then pressure the enemy to withdraw. Officers shouted, “My lord Duke wishes the infantry to step out!” The French soon learned of the deception and frantically tried to race the English and Dutch to the crossing, but they could not overcome their enemy’s head start. Marlborough’s soldiers, grateful that their hurried deployment was sparing them a suicidal frontal assault, marched at record speed. They covered 36 miles in 16 hours.
The Duke of Marlborough led the combined forces of the English and Dutch for ten years against France, the world’s superpower at the time. Despite the numerous challenges of leading two nations’ armies and facing constant political intrigues, he never lost a battle. His men fought heroically. One of his descendants, Winston Churchill, eventually became prime minister.
Why is it that one leader can command people to march to a certain death and they salute, shoulder their weapon, and begin marching, yet another leader cannot inspire people to attend a one-hour meeting? Why do some people arouse life-long loyalty, and others receive nothing but grumbling and complaining? Why do some leaders instill hope even in daunting circumstances, while others foster cynicism and division? This conundrum has always been one of the mysteries of leadership.
How do you become the kind of person others take seriously? Here are seven ways to increase your influence.
1. Do what you say.
If you want people to take your words seriously, always put action behind them. One of the fastest ways to lose credibility is to say one thing and do another. Certainly, this principle applies to large tasks. Don’t be too quick to commit yourself to something that is beyond your ability. You may mean well, but every time you fail to fulfill your promises, people’s trust in you erodes. Some people tend to speak up too fast, promise too much, and set unrealistic timetables for completion. Better to set modest objectives and exceed expectations than to set grandiose goals and fall short.
This principle also applies to smaller tasks and commitments. Tardiness costs you your credibility. If you commit to meet at 7:00 but don’t arrive until 7:25, you can shrug it off or complain about traffic. But each time that happens, people will trust you less. People may also speak too carelessly. You might say to a friend, “We should get together soon.” But then you never set up an actual date. Or you might promise, “I’ll get you those details this week.” But then you don’t follow through. Regardless of how insignificant these lapses may appear, you are steadily forfeiting your credibility. Learn to say what you mean and not say what you don’t mean.
When my father was a pastor in Canada, he drove 90 miles each way twice per week to conduct services in a mission church. One week, the weather was quite challenging, but my father drove the 90 miles anyway. When he arrived, he discovered that everyone from the mission church had stayed home. Not one person came. Dad braved the weather and drove 90 miles while the locals had not driven five miles. When people learned that my dad had kept his word, even at great cost to himself, they were shamed by how easily they had discarded theirs. My dad became known as someone you could count on, rain or shine, to do what he said. Over time, people learned to take his word extremely seriously.
2. Don’t exaggerate.
Learn to live within reality. If you accomplish great tasks, practice humility. If you experience modest triumphs, practice humility. Some people who do very little exaggerate to make their behavior sound noteworthy. We all want to be successful and striving toward that end is a noble goal. But let your achievements speak for themselves. Exaggerations are a form of lying. And lies have a way of being discovered in time. Some leaders stretch the truth with seemingly good motivations. Doing so makes for a better sermon or brings greater glory to God, they reason. But God will never bless a lie. When people discover that you stretch the truth, they will stop taking you seriously. Even when you are telling the truth, they will suspect you must be exaggerating. If you want to increase your influence, assiduously determine never to say anything that is not absolutely true.
3. Act more than you speak
Some leaders are great at making speeches but not so good at acting. Yet leadership is rarely based on words. Even great orators such as Winston Churchill or Martin Luther King Jr. acted far more than they spoke. They mobilized people, made decisions, enlisted talent, and solved problems. Had they not taken these actions, their famous speeches would have meant little.
Great leaders communicate bold ideas, then they roll up their sleeves and get to work. Too many leaders assume that their job is done after delivering their speech. But, in truth, they are just getting started. If people roll their eyes every time you make a presentation, perhaps you have developed a reputation for talking but not doing.
4. Don’t make excuses.
Great leaders take responsibility; they don’t make excuses. A leader’s task is to overcome obstacles and get the job done. When leaders fail to accomplish that goal, they need to take their leadership to another level or step out of the way. I have seen far too many people in leadership positions who continually make excuses for not solving problems. Weak leaders blame the economy, government regulations, or underperforming staff. Such leaders are arrogant. They assume that if they could not fix the problem, no one can. Most of the time, that assumption is untrue. More likely, the leader stayed too long, and now no one wants to work with what’s left.
If you have developed a habit of making excuses rather than getting results, take a hard look at your leadership ability. Enlist a leadership coach. But stop making excuses!
5. Build people up; don’t tear them down.
Some leaders mistakenly believe that by putting others down, they can build themselves up. They hope that criticizing someone’s proposal makes them look smarter. By putting down other people’s ideas, they assume everyone will want to hear theirs.
The problem is that negative people are unattractive. Most people don’t want to be around them. It is far more appealing to point out what’s right than to be constantly highlighting what’s wrong.
Likewise, it soon becomes obvious to everyone in the room if you are merely looking out for yourself instead of for your team and organization. You don’t always have to agree with what others say. But you are wise to affirm others and become a team player. If your comments always appear self-serving, you will never become a person of influence.
6. Build a successful track record.
There simply is no substitute for a successful track record. If you’re a young, inexperienced leader, you may be full of passion and conviction, but people will rightly be wary of heeding your untested advice. You may be brilliant, but your wisdom has not yet stood the test of time. If you have repeatedly proven yourself, people will realize you are trustworthy. If you have consistently backed your words with action, they’ll assume you’ll do so again. But if you have failed to follow through or often speak before thinking and later retract your words, your track record will work against you.
7. Don’t pontificate.
Your words will be ineffective if you talk too long or moralize too much. Don’t assume the volume of your words is correlated with their profundity. The most powerful statements are often brief. Consider what you want to say. Then say it as briefly, concisely, and confidently as possible.
These are challenging days. People are looking for a leader who can address their problems. If you want people to turn to you for leadership, become a person of influence. It won’t happen overnight, but you can begin to grow your influence today by following these seven guidelines.
