The key to successful leadership is influence, not authority. —Ken Blanchard

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Charlie has an unruly client.

It is a high growth company with a great product and powerful marketing.

But the operations — Charlie’s area of expertise — are a mess.

They hire good people but can’t keep them.

The executives micro-manage decisions.

And they change direction weekly.

As an operations expert, Charlie sees the problem.

But he spends most of his time picking up the pieces.

When he does have the conversation with the CEO to face reality, he doesn’t get through.

No amount of identifying problems, suggesting solutions, or sharing best practices changes how the executive team thinks.

He’s hitting his head against the wall.

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Many intelligent, ambitious, high achievers share a common trait.

They are good at finding answers to problems.

But as Charlie discovered, when you don’t have direct authority, knowing the answer is not enough.

Your role is to influence those who have authority.

In that situation, knowing the answer may be a liability.

It may be crystal clear to you how to solve a problem,

But if you’re telling someone what to do,

You may come across as arrogant, demanding, or annoying.

So how do you increase your influence?

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Stop making statements, and start asking questions.

No one likes to be told what to do.

Instead, get curious. Ask good questions, and you will have much more influence.

In Charlie’s case, he could ask questions like:

• Are you getting the results you want from operations?
• What’s the cost of running operations the way it’s run now?
• What have you tried so far?
• Is it something you want to invest in changing?

Influence is not convincing the other person of something new.

Influence is getting another person to think differently about the problem.

When you ask good questions, you are more likely to shift their perspective.

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In today’s corporate world of matrixed organizations, influence is everything.

Next time you’re trying to influence someone, try leading with questions instead of statements.

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To your success,

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