1. Overview

Individuals with Influencing strengths are born leaders in many areas, including business, politics, and their social lives. They are skilled at coordinating others to take action and reach goals with irresistible charisma and determination. They are driven by a desire to positively influence those around them as an advisor, coach, or mentor. Influencing types excel in the “real world,” which they can navigate quite well using street-smarts and their excellent social skills. They are less likely to achieve their highest Influencing potential in highly-structured places such as strict corporate environments or in academia.

2. Capabilities

Each individual skill set has its own unique strong suits. Some people may have a finely honed skill through past training and experience; others’ may be more nascent. This list of capabilities is our understanding of the Influencing skill based upon extensive research and interviews.

• Emotional Awareness – Influencers are intuitive in a human-centered way, and they are usually highly emotionally intelligent and socially competent. Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognize and understand emotions in oneself and others. It is the process by which a person assesses their emotions and those of others in order to stay in control of their emotions and know how to respond in certain situations. It helps them keep their cool with others, and gives Influencers the ability to perceive the emotions of other people and understand what is really going on. Social competence is the ability to understand other people’s moods, behaviour, and motives and analyze them in a way that improves the quality of their relationships. Influencers observe nonverbal cues such as posture, tone, volume, eye contact, and what someone is actually saying. They analyze it to ascertain what that person is feeling and what they want. These strengths make Influencers great managers and negotiators.
• Relatability – Individuals with Influencing skills set are masters of winning people over, and they build rapport consciously and strategically. They adjust their personality type and conversation topics to build trust and form the foundation of a relationship, whether business or personal. Influencers can build rapport and be liked by anyone because they are master salespeople. Others buy what they are selling not because of the product, but because they like them. Influencing individuals are the people who “know everyone” and form huge networks of powerful people. They always “know a guy”. This relatability also means they appear very receptive to feedback and dissent.
• Decisive – Influencers know what they want, and they are self-assured that it’s the right move. They have a very clear sense of what they believe is right and wrong, and that belief is infectious. Others buy into an Influencing individual’s vision because they trust them, but that trust is built because of the Influencer’s own belief. They are so bought into their own vision that it’s difficult to convince them otherwise. Once an Influencer’s mind is set, they become emotionally attached to that decision and it’s hard for them to change. They are very confident people who are extremely bold in their goals and ambitions for themselves and their teams, because they truly believe it can be accomplished.
• Inspiring – Influencing individuals know what to say to bring others along with their vision and inspiration. They are great public speakers because they understand the value of storytelling and its role in helping people connect to the cause. They are charismatic and expert salespeople. Their optimism and persuasive language and style make it quite easy to build a dedicated following. Influencers don’t see problems, they see possibilities, and other people find this excitement and confidence inspiring, wishing to be part of the inevitably successful result of such a leader’s platform. Influencer’s understanding of motivations and emotions helps them to gauge response and find the angle that is sure to inspire others.