Increase Your Influence In a Day For Dummies by Elizabeth Kuhnke

Author:Elizabeth Kuhnke
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wiley
Published: 2012-05-17T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 3

Leading by Example: Quietly Creating Big Change

In This Chapter

Shaking up matters

Turning back attacks

Making the most of every opportunity

Allying with others

M ahatma Gandhi said, ‘Be the change you want to see in the world.’ Now, there was a man who knew how to persuade through example. Rather than ousting the British with guns as the American colonialists had done 150 years earlier, Gandhi took a non-violent, non-cooperative approach to achieve Indian independence and improve Hindu–Muslim relations. Less obvious and deadly than guns, Gandhi’s method was:

Powerful because India gained its independence in 1947.

Persuasive because Gandhi got what he and his fellow Indians wanted.

Influential because his approach is recognised as the standard across the globe for others to model.

A simple man and a wise man, Gandhi led by quiet example, patiently creating change through incremental steps, reflecting one of the different approaches that are explored in this chapter.

At some point in your career, you’re going to see things differently from ‘the norm’ and want to confront the beliefs and behaviours in your organisation that seem counterproductive or unethical. At the same time, you may genuinely like your job, the company and the people you work with, and want to continue doing well in your career.

The difficulty is, if you speak up you may cause resentment in others, and if you don’t speak up you’ll cause resentment within yourself. The question becomes: how can you rock the boat without falling out? The answer is to put your differences to work to create constructive change.

In this section I introduce four moderate persuasive approaches – on a spectrum from personal, individual actions through to those that are more public, requiring working with others – all leading to significant change.

Expressing Your Disruptive Self

If you’re working in a traditional organisation where the environment is unproductive and the atmosphere is counter to your values, you can quietly persuade the organisation to change. The most inconspicuous way of initiating change is by simply acting in a way that feels personally right and that quietly challenges others’ expectations.

Do something differently and people begin to talk about it. As more and more people talk about what you’re doing, someone may emulate your behaviour – making an even greater impact on the organisation.

Whether you make a deliberate act of protest or simply demonstrate your own values, expressing your disruptive self can influence the choices others make and persuade organisations to review their procedures. The following sections explore ways to adjust how you dress, behave and decorate your office in order to create change.

Adapting your behaviour

Just because everyone comes into the office at the crack of dawn and stays until midnight, it doesn’t mean that you have to. First of all, not everyone does. Second, if those hours conflict with your lifestyle, coming in before the sun rises and leaving when the stars are out won’t work for you. And if this schedule doesn’t work for you, you won’t be working for the organisation for long.

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