Knowledge is Power…or, the Power of Knowledge to Lead and Influence

Have you ever noticed that you cannot tell someone what to do? How to act or feel? Believe me, I have tried …until I learned for myself that you cannot influence a person until they see or feel the change they may need on their own.

Sure, you can tell someone to go to the gym and lose some weight or to get over their past relationships, but that does not mean they will do it!

The idea of self-discovery, i.e. coming up with a solution to your own problem, may just be the key to your personal and professional success. I count it as one of mine.

Knowledge does not give you the privilege of telling people what to do – rather, having knowledge is a privilege which obligates you to lead by example and indirectly demonstrate to others how they may want to handle situations themselves. You may be surprised – the solutions others come upon for themselves and the conclusions they draw will be superior to any that you could come up for them, because they discovered it on their own.

As a manager, I always struggled with telling my employees/team “what to do” – when they came to me for direction or advice, I would find myself leading them to a solution based on advice that I would give myself if I was the one on the opposite side of the desk asking… In that way, I was able to essentially tell them what they should do [ and what I knew worked], based on my own experience – but by offering it as advice rather than a directive, it was more effective.

This may sound like common sense, but we often believe we have to influence our subordinates, children, siblings, friends by telling…when, in fact, leading them to their own answer will speak louder than any words you may say.

Wishing You Success,
Natalya