Most people know an influential person when they meet one, but many also find it difficult to pinpoint exactly what makes them special. In the world of business, it helps to be an influential individual, as they are able to inspire, empower, and lift those around them, which is excellent for managing a team.
If you are wondering what exactly makes a manager influential, and you wish to become one yourself, then read on for the 21 traits you must strive for.
1. They Are Educated
An educated mind is one that can handle a variety of situations. This doesn’t necessarily mean you must embark on traditional education, either – experience is also a part of the journey towards increasing your knowledge. Attaining masters in leadership is an excellent first step towards educating yourself in management.
The wonderful thing about education is that there are so many routes to take. If you’re a manager of a financial company, there are courses to take in finance. At the same time, if you are part of a marketing team, there are plenty of marketing degrees for you to choose from. When it comes to education, there is no limit, and the most influential masters in leadership are those who sought higher education.
2. They Are Self-Aware
Most influential people know themselves through and through. This means they understand both their strengths and their weaknesses.
When it comes to their strengths, they seek to work in a way that brings them out, and when it comes to their flaws, they are always striving to improve. This self-awareness is what makes them stand out from the ordinary person. The best leaders are those who aren’t embarrassed to pass it on to someone more suitable.
3. They Trust Their Team
The most influential masters in leadership trust their team. Without trust, a company falls apart, so it’s a crucial part of management. By placing faith in your staff, you show them that you value them, and in turn, you gain the esteem of your employees. When you have the respect of your staff, they will then look up to you.
4. They Communicate Well
Communication is an essential part of being influential. The ability to pass on your knowledge means others can listen and learn. Effective communication is more than just speaking firmly. It also includes tone of voice, listening skills, and the ability to convey information succinctly.
The world’s greatest influencers know how to use both their voice and their ears to motivate and empower those around them. It’s a skill that can be mastered through a masters in leadership, so if you are ready to begin your path towards being a highly influential manager, you should begin there.
5. They Are Open-Minded
The greatest masters in leadership don’t have time to be closed-minded. The world is ever-shifting, and to stay influential, they must keep their minds open to a new way of doing things.
If they go to work one morning and a staff member presents a new method of working, influential leaders listen openly and keep an open mind. While not everything will be accepted, they are keen to give everything reasonable a chance. This is because they understand that they don’t know everything and they appreciate what others around them have to offer.
In a world that is always full of fresh ideas, the most influential must stay open to adopting new ways of working.
6. They Listen Well
“Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you’d have preferred to talk.”
Although already touched upon under communication skills, listening is so important that it deserves a point of its own. Being one of the influential masters in leadership isn’t about only hearing yourself speak, but it’s also about soaking up information from anyone and everyone around you.
Listening shows respect, and respect is necessary to thrive as a manager. Understanding that those around you each have something to teach you enables growth and shows others that you are always willing to learn. If you’re a manager who loves the sound of their own voice, try to silence yourself from time to time, and you might be surprised about what comes out of other people’s mouths.
7. They Keep Up-to-Date
Due to the ever-evolving nature of business, the most influential masters in leadership pride themselves on keeping up with everything going on. This includes:
• Politics
• Technology
• The Particular Field
• Business in General
• The Competition
By staying on top, they provide useful information to those around them, making them all the more influential.
8. They’re Someone Everyone Can Rely On
Have you ever known a person who stands firm under pressure, provides sound advice and is there for everybody when they need it? The chances are they are an incredibly influential human.
As a manager, it’s important to be seen as someone everyone can rely on. After all, you are the leader of a whole team, so you must stay strong amid everything that goes on. The masters in leadership act as a pillar for those around them, allowing anyone who needs their help to attain it easily.
9. They Are Punctual
Punctuality is crucial in any career, and influential people know this. People lose faith in those who are consistently late, as it shows a lack of commitment and the inability to stay organized.
Influential masters in leadership are determined to stay on top of everything. By always being punctual, they provide their workers with something to strive towards. They are setting an example of what is expected of everyone else, and this is a highly influential trait.
10. They Have Integrity
Integrity is an innate part of influential leadership. Without honesty and honor, you cannot morally influence a large group of people.
The greatest masters in leadership hold strong values that they stick to day and night. They are transparent with their ideals and don’t hold grudges. This creates influence due to how much people look up to this strength. Most people aspire to have integrity, so those that do motivate others to follow suit.
11. They’re a People Person
Influential managers are around people daily. Not only are they speaking with them, but they are managing them, too, so being a people person is essential. Influential people don’t hide away from the spotlight, rather, they embrace the moments where they need to be in the center. They are warm, open, and happy to speak with people at any moment of the day.
12. They Expect More – From Themselves and Those Around Them
The most influential masters in leadership are those that expect more from both themselves and those around them. They never settle, and even if they’ve done a fantastic job, they know that they can do better. To great managers, there is a never-ending room for growth.
When it comes to their team, influencers expect a lot. That doesn’t mean that they dump a load of work onto their team, but rather, they trust their employees to do excel in their work. Being trusted to do a great job by someone motivates you to work extra hard, which is part of what makes influencers so empowering.
13. They Adapt Easily
Great leaders are like chameleons – they adapt to their environment. That doesn’t mean they change their values depending on who they’re around, it simply means that they can adjust according to where they are.
If a new piece of technology comes on the market, influential masters in leadership are adept at adopting this technology and using it to make the workplace more efficient. They aren’t scared of change – they embrace it. A person who stays comfortable is someone who will never grow, so influential managers often like to push themselves towards areas they haven’t tried before.
14. They’re Always Ready for Action
Being ready for action is part of an influential manager’s reliability. Barely sipped their morning coffee? They’ll still answer the call. Ten minutes into their lunch break? They’re willing to help if something is wrong. They are not frightened of jumping straight into the mess of things, and when they are needed, they will be there almost instantly.
15. They Are Consistent
Consistency is key. While they are open to change, they have certain areas that they always keep the same. These include:
• Their core values
• Their determination
• Their ability to work under pressure
By being consistent, influential managers provide their team with a steady leader who they can rely on no matter what is going wrong. Their transparency provides a sense of calm throughout the workplace; when they are around, they know they can get through anything.
16. They Are Readers
“No matter how busy you may think you are, you must find time for reading, or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance.” — Confucius
You won’t find many great managers without a large selection of books. Reading is about expanding your knowledge, and those that read daily are more likely to be empathetic and understanding. As big thinkers, influential people must soak up as much information as they can. If you want to bump up your influence, consider investing more time in your book collection.
17. They Have a Clear Vision
Influencers have a clear vision of the future. They don’t get lost in the past, in fact, the past is only a priority to them in terms of how much they can learn from it. They are forward thinkers with definite goals and a well thought-out path for getting there.
18. They Take Criticism Well
Nobody is perfect, not even the greatest leaders of all. To get through the day, managers must be able to take criticism in their stride without taking it to heart.
It’s no secret that managers get a lot of stick. They have to deal with errors they’ve made as well as errors made by their team, so the pressure is on. Everybody faces criticism now and again, but none more so than those who are leaders of a group. The most influential of the bunch not only take it well but also take it on board and adapt for the future.
19. They Know How to Prioritize
Great managers know what must be done at what point. This ties into excellent organization skills, and it provides their team with something to look up to. If they are overrun with work, rather than freaking out, they simply delegate jobs accordingly and take it a step at a time.
20. They Have Compassion
One of the most important traits of an influential manager is compassion. If you are managing a team, then it’s essential to be understanding. Whether an employee has a medical condition or they’re simply struggling, it helps for their manager to be as understanding as possible. It will mean that in the future, employees feel more comfortable coming to them with any issues.
It goes beyond that, too. As a leader, you are in charge of influencing a whole group of people, and these people look up to you. By using your voice to show humanity and compassion, you are motivating others to act similarly. The greatest masters in leadership are those that lead with ethics and morale in mind.
21. They Are Truly Passionate
One of the most admirable traits of influential masters in leadership is their never-wavering passion. It can be heard in their voice, seen through their work, and felt in their presence.
With passion, influential leaders can put everything they have into their work each day and lead a team to success. When others see this passion, they become passionate themselves, leading to a chain reaction of positivity. This influence is highly sought-out in the world of leadership and management.
The most influential masters in leadership dominate the world of management. If you are someone with many of these traits, then you have the power to motivate, lift, and empower a team of people.
