Influencing Skills and Getting Things Done: Winning Combination for Success

Introduction 

 In the pursuit of personal and professional success, two fundamental skills are essential: influencing others and getting things done. These abilities, though distinct, are deeply interconnected. Mastering both will not only help you achieve your goals but also position you as a leader who inspires action, collaboration, and progress. Let's explore how influencing skills and the ability to get things done complement each other and why mastering both is crucial for long-term success.

The Power of Influencing Skills

Influencing others is nothing to do with manipulation or compulsion, but rather convincing people for your ideas, generating trust for them, and developing mutual vision. That involves using the art that makes them embrace your idea, adopt your goals, and ultimately take action for you. Here's how you could develop and use your influencing skills effectively:

Build Trust and Credibility: Influence begins with trust. People are willing to follow you if they have trust in your intentions and believe in your abilities. You build trust by consistent behavior, honesty, and transparency. The moment you promise something and follow through with it, deliver results, and show integrity, you grow in credibility and the influence grows.

Listen Actively: The greatest part of influencing others is understanding their needs and perspectives. Active listening helps connect with others, understand the viewpoints, and tailor your message to resonate with them. When people feel heard and understood, they are likely to be influenced by you.

Communicate Clearly and Persuasively: Clear and effective communication is the foundation of influence. Whether you’re presenting an idea, providing feedback, or negotiating, the ability to communicate your thoughts persuasively is crucial. Focus on the benefits of your proposal, and frame your arguments in a way that addresses the needs and concerns of others.

Empathy and Emotional Intelligence: Successful influencers are highly emotionally intelligent, meaning that they can recognize and respond to emotions in themselves and others. Showing empathy and understanding helps build stronger relationships and encourages others to engage with your ideas.

Lead by Example: Actions speak louder than words. To influence others, you must embody the values and principles you want to promote. When you set an example, others are more likely to follow suit.

By honing these influencing skills, you can motivate and guide others, creating an environment where collaboration and progress thrive.

The Importance of Getting Things Done

Influence people when trying to rally people around a cause, but getting things done is what ensures progress is actually made. Effective execution can be the difference between a great idea and reality, so here's how you can maximize your productivity to ensure you're getting things done:

Prioritize: All tasks are not equal in priority. Use techniques like the Eisenhower Matrix to distinguish between urgent and important. Focus on high-impact activities, and you are sure that you are spending your time and energy on the things that matter.

Set Clear Goals: SMART goals are those that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. These help in making your objectives clear and pave a way for success. Clear goals give direction to you and make it easy to track your progress.

Time Management: Time is a scarce resource. Therefore, proper management of it is the need of the hour. Time-management techniques, such as time-blocking or the Pomodoro Technique, help you divide your work into focused intervals. Reducing distractions and discipline during these intervals keeps you productive.

Break Tasks into Smaller Steps: Large projects can feel overwhelming. Break them down into smaller, manageable tasks, and tackle them one at a time. This reduces procrastination and helps you maintain momentum, making it easier to get things done.

Delegate and Collaborate: You don't have to do everything yourself. Use your influence to delegate responsibilities to others and collaborate with people on projects. The moment you start trusting other people with tasks that aren't yours to do will reduce your burden, give them a sense of ownership and accountability.

Using all these, you'll be able to execute plans and accomplish whatever it is that you're set to do.

Influence Plus Execution

The real power would be to combine influencing skills with the ability to get things done. As a leader or individual contributor, your inspirational and motivational skills can work to drive collaboration, whereas your ability to execute helps ensure that progress is indeed made. Here's how these two skills work in tandem

Inspiring Action: Once you are able to inspire others, they feel motivated and excited. But motivation is not enough. Once people are inspired, they need a clear plan of action. This is where your ability to get things done comes in. By setting clear goals, managing your time, and staying disciplined, you turn inspiration into tangible results.

Driving Accountability: As you influence others, you can encourage a culture of accountability. By delegating tasks, setting expectations, and maintaining open communication, you ensure that everyone is aligned and committed to getting things done.

Creating Synergy: Influencing others and getting things done are not separate tasks; they are complementary. The more effectively you influence others, the easier it becomes to drive action and achieve your goals. Likewise, the more you get done, the more credibility and influence you gain.

Conclusion

In the fast-paced world of work and life, mastering both influencing skills and the ability to get things done is the key to success. Building trust, listening actively, and communicating persuasively inspires and motivates others to take action. At the same time, by setting clear goals, prioritizing tasks, and staying focused, you ensure that progress is made. When you combine influence with execution, you create a powerful force that drives you and those around you toward success. These skills are bound to help whether you lead a team, run a project, or simply aim for personal goals.