You’re More Powerful Than You Think

imageOne of my clients the other day told me about a time he was speaking with a stranger at a coffee shop.  After a short conversation, the stranger mentioned that he was a close friend of a significant business owner in the area. He mentioned it in passing, but my client’s ears pricked up and all of a sudden the relationship with this person felt more valuable.  The fact that this stranger had the ability to connect my client with someone of benefit increased the value of their relationship very quickly.  What the stranger had accessed was connection power.

Olivia Cobane in her book “the charisma myth” discusses how power is one of the core ingredients of influence.  From this original concept, I have constructed four types of power that you can leverage to make yourself more influential. Remember, as a leader, it’s important to be perceived as having some level of power.  Power gives you authority.  A leader without power can come across as being needy and lacking charisma.  The problem with power is that it can be abused.  My intention in exposing these powers is for you to make positive changes in your world happen faster.

Here are the four powers:

Power #1: Connection. The very fact that you are connected with people who have access to power means you are powerful.  In other words, you ‘know people.’

Power #2: Expertise. Our own personal knowledge creates power.  If you develop your expertise in a specific area (for example, “how to buy an investment property”), this is a specific power that you can leverage.  In other words, you ‘know stuff.’

Power #3: Posture. The way you choose to use your body impacts how people perceive you. If you choose to walk confidently, the assumption is that you are a confident individual. This leads to the second assumption, which is that you have something to be confident about. In other words, you ‘look confident.’

Power #4: Status. The clothes you wear, the car you drive, the title you have on your business card are all examples of status.  We use status to understand where we sit in society’s (imaginary) ranking. In other words, you ‘look important.’

Here is the model:

 

Use these four powers wisely and responsibly to leverage your influence.

 

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I’m Colin! I’m an Aussie, but I’m based in Newport Beach, California.
I help entrepreneurs sell from virtual and live stages (without being pushy and sales-y)
I coach thousands of experts, course creators and coaches around the world on this topic, and I’ve also advised the biggest names including people Amy Porterfield, Alison Prince, Carrie Green, Julie Solomon  and many other industry leaders.