Personal Impact, Influence & Effectiveness

Podcast Episode 166: Influencing And Asserting

4th July 2022

3,640 views

3 min read

This Episode: `Influencing And Asserting`

Being able to influence others is crucial in many different areas, from driving change to persuading others to follow policies. This means communicating in ways that are credible and assertive. But how do we deal with this element if we suffer from impostor syndrome, or feel somewhat intimidated?

In this episode, Lucinda talks you through the ways in which you can make sure that you are heard and that your message can influence others, by adopting the correct mindset at the outset.

Key Takeaways

We must listen, but we must always make sure that we ourselves are being heard. Listening only, but not contributing can lead to a detrimental effect on the business itself.
Pushing an agenda relies on our being assertive. This is the practice of declaring our expectations, being clear, and asking for these expectations to be met.
If we are not sure about the standing of the person we’re trying to influence, then a “pull” method may prove more effective. This practice involves your being more open, asking more questions and listening carefully, in order to better understand the ideal outcome of the other party, and thereby shaping our solution to fit our needs and theirs.
When we understand where others are coming from, it becomes far easier for us to adapt and match this need. Always remember though, that we both deserve to achieve a positive outcome.

Best Moments from `Influencing And Asserting`

‘Seek first to understand, and then to be understood’

‘We need to be able to influence and empower in a constructive way’

‘If they feel that they have been heard then they will be much more likely to listen back to you’

‘It’s about choosing the right mindset to get the result we need’

About The Host

Lucinda Carney is a Business Psychologist with 15 years in Senior Corporate L&D roles. Lucinda also has a further 10 as CEO of Actus Software where she worked closely with HR colleagues helping them to solve the same challenges across a huge range of industries. Certainly, it was this breadth of experience that inspired Lucinda to set up the HR Uprising community to facilitate greater collaboration across HR professionals in different sectors, helping them to ‘rise up’ together.

“If you look up, you rise up”