How influential of a leader do you feel you are in your organization?

Our reader poll today asks: How influential of a leader do you feel you are in your organization?

• I’m extremely influential – 14%
• I’m very influential – 26%
• I’m somewhat influential – 40%
• I’m not very influential – 16%
• I’m not at all influential – 5%

Building your influence. 60% of you report being somewhat (or less) influential in your organization. Influence doesn’t just happen. You have to invest in it. Two keys to doing that are perception and visibility. On perception, do you know how people see you? What are you known for? How do you come across to others? Are you seen as credible and experienced or do you lack those attributes? Visibility stems from putting yourself out there in front of new people across the organization. This doesn’t have to be through big presentations (although that is a route). You can build visibility one-on-one by identifying people you want to know about you and the value you deliver. If you’re not sure how you’re perceived, ask. If you don’t like how you’re perceived, focus on changing those perceptions. And put yourself out there with people whose opinion and perspective matters. A concerted effort on your part in these two domains will go a long way toward building how influential you are.

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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These results were originally a SmartPulse poll in SmartBrief on Leadership which tracks feedback from more than 240,000 business leaders. Get smarter on leadership and sign up for the SmartBrief on Leadership e-newsletter.