Your personal power, or personal influence, in business comes from recognising who you are and using this in a positive way to gain respect from your employees and create the most success.
When you use authority without drawing on your personal power, it will likely lead to compliance from your staff; but when you do draw on your personal power, it will lead to commitment. And that’s what you’re striving for – healthier, long-term partnerships that are built on mutual respect and trust.
Owning and harnessing your personal power doesn’t mean you need to manipulate anyone or be arrogant; rather it means you’re sure of who you are, and don’t apologise for your awesomeness.
Personal power will also help you to build a strong personal brand, and help you to be recognised as bold and competent by your employees, clients, and potential customers.
If you want to thrive in business, you’ll need to own your personal power; and here’s how you do it.
Create An Empowering Story
Your personal power begins in your mind, and with your thoughts. You can’t be empowered if you don’t feel empowered, and this is connected to your self-talk.
Do you speak to yourself in a kind, loving way; or do you judge and criticise yourself constantly?
Do you choose to view obstacles and setbacks as opportunities, or problems?
Are you setting yourself up for success, or are you creating unnecessary anxiety, drama, or self-doubt in your head?
How you speak to yourself, and frame things in your mind have a profound effect on the actions you then take, and the impact you have; not to mention the vibe people get around you.
You are in charge of the story you tell yourself – so make it an empowering one.
Understand Your Personality Traits And Harness Them
When you become aware of and understand who you are as a person at your core; your unique traits, characteristics, qualities and strengths, you can use them to your advantage.
Are you laid back, organised, sociable, introverted, confident, driven, logical, or creative?
The truth is, any natural trait you have can become a great leadership trait – it all depends on how you harness it, and use it.
For you to use them, you must first become aware of them, embrace them, and be willing to learn how to use them most effectively.
What are your unique personality traits, and are you utilising them in the right way, for the right reason?
Share your honest opinion
Women tend to struggle a little more with this one than men do; out of a desire to stick to the facts or please other people.
However, your team doesn’t need a yes man or woman. They need your authentic voice – and that doesn’t mean it needs to be the most popular one.
When you’re bold and brave enough to stand up and share your honest opinions, you increase your personal power; because you reflect that strength of character, and demonstrate you’re a leader, not a follower.
Discover What Energises Others
Just as you have your own unique strengths and talents, everyone else does – and that includes your team.
We all have different factors that motivate and energise us, whether that’s collaborating, taking the initiative, or doing creative thinking. Chances are you’ll never meet two people in your business who are energised by exactly the same thing.
So part of your personal power comes from asking and understanding how those around you work, and what energises them. This will allow you to adapt the way you work with them, to get the best out of them, and create a strong dynamic.
This will have a far-reaching positive impact on your business as a whole.
Walk Tall
Even if you feel powerful and confident within yourself, it’s important to make sure your body language is reflecting this to the people you connect with in business.
Hold your head high, stand up straight, give people plenty of eye contact, and shake hands firmly. The way you carry yourself, and the messages you give off via the way you move influences how you see yourself, and how others see you.
Additionally, you’ll convey a feeling of confidence and power in any room you walk into, which will help others feel and embody that same energy.
For a business to succeed, your team need to feel confident in their leader, and this requires you to feel and be confident in yourself.
Be Willing To Adapt
To be a successful leader, you need to be able to adapt to different situations, and different people at different times. Sometimes you’ll need to be direct and forceful, other times you’ll need to be relaxed and playful.
This extends itself to how you manage your team, and your willingness to allow them to work in whatever way suits them best – as long as they deliver on the results. This is how you use your personal power, and have the widest impact.
Trust Yourself
In order to trust yourself, you need to be fully independent in your thoughts and actions. You listen to other’s opinions and take them on board, but when all is said and done, you make your own decisions and you stand by them.
In business, you’ll need to make decisions every day – some big and some small. And to make those decisions, you’ll need to fully trust yourself. Self-trust goes hand in hand with owning your personal power.
Always Be Learning
Some leaders tend to struggle when faced with situations where they don’t know what to do, lack experience, or require assistance. But it’s in these difficult times that we learn the most, and source the most personal power.
If we fight against these moments, avoid them, or refuse to accept to put our learning hats back on, then we risk losing out on some of the biggest moments of challenge and growth – which is where the magic happens.
These are just some of the ways to own your personal power in business and make the most impact. For more tips, book a discovery call or contact us at 1300 459 302 and get one on one advice from our business experts here at UpCoach.
