"How can I influence X to do (or think) Y...?"

This is a question that comes up for all my clients, and sometimes regularly in relation to particularly challenging colleagues and superiors, but it applies in any and every relationship we have--customers, clients, team members, colleagues... if you interact with humans in your work, then, at some point, it's helpful to know what moves them.

One way we talk about this is 'influencing'; to 'persuade' someone else to see things our way, or to 'sell' them an idea. And yes, I put some of those words in quotes because, as you'll discover, we're not talking about 'convincing' someone. which can begin to look a lot like mental brute force, we're talking about how to create the conditions for a shift on the way someone thinks or behaves.

In this session we will look at three approaches to this and you'll get a chance to apply one or more of them to your situation at work.

We'll also go deeper with the one that I think is at the foundation of all change.

This isn't about 'forcing' our opinion on someone, it's a very subtle and sophisticated way to influence and impact others by showing them what's possible and how change happens and by freeing them from what might be constraining them (and creating their fixedness). We all hate being told what to do or think, even when it's meant constructively, but what else is in our toolkit that might be significantly more effective? And where is the point of leverage when we can impact a new idea or a new behaviour?

When you have this 'magic trick' up your sleeve you become the kind of leader who can develop and inspire others, and move them, both in point of view and to action.

Once you see how the mind works, I suspect you might want to drop some of the things you've come across in books and try out something new. I also want to make time on the call for us to have a practical experience of what we're talking about here.

Continuing a series of bi-weekly leadership seminars, this one is for you if want to be more effective, and to do it from the perspective of being the gentle guide, the reasonable logistician, the person who can inspire rather than invoke fear. This is for you if you are looking for something that isn't simply a repeat of traditional 'management' literature and training, and that helps you achieve real change, working with the people alongside you, rather than feeling like you're leaving them behind, pulling them forcibly, or offering tacit bribes.

If the last year has taught us anything it's that everything is subject to change. We might be doing a different role, or the same role in a different way--or maybe we're fed up with some of the BS that can permeate organisations, and we want to get real with our staff. How do we do that? How do we set our own course, maintain direction and bring others along with us?

This is for you if you're in any kind of leadership role, in a traditional (or non-traditional) corporate role, a non-profit, government or a public body, or as a volunteer, maybe you have a business or a side-business, you're exploring something that feels like more of a mission for you, or you are in transition, perhaps completing a post-graduate leadership or MBA programme (with experience behind you).

You are curious and want to explore what it means to be a leader, especially right now, in 2021, when we have an unprecedented opportunity to do things differently.

You want to do leadership, not just talk about it, and these sessions are the perfect place to come as you are, with no expectations, no 'scorecard', and practice what we are learning so that you can take the pieces you want and apply back at 'the office'.

While the event has a clear agenda and set of activities, the topic is a way of entering a discussion, rather than constraining it, and the direction will be guided by the questions you bring, and the issues and challenges you are facing right now.

This event is part of a series that will be released soon, so please follow here if you want to continue to develop your understanding of personal and professional leadership or if you can't make this particular time but want to attend future events.

FAQs

What happens after I register?

You will receive an email with a zoom link for joining the online seminar.

I can't attend that specific time, are the events recorded?

I'm afraid not. The series is an opportunity for exploration in real time with other leaders, facilitated by a professional coach. It isn't a 'teaching' lecture and, while there may be some context setting for each event, there is very little content beyond what the participants bring.

Can I invite other people?

Yes, please do! If you find the format helpful and interesting then you might want to continue with a similar 'reflective space' inside your own organisation beyond the series.

I'm not in the UK, can I attend?

Yes! The events are online, on zoom, and you can attend from anywhere in the world. Please note that the times are in GMT and take care to check the conversion to your local time as not all parts of the world move to daylight saving at the same time (or in the same direction, or even at all!).

I have a question that isn't answered here

Please follow this link and use the contact form to ask any question that isn't answered here, or to propose topics for possible future series.