Three Lessons for Growing and Harnessing Your Infinite Influence

On the manufacturing floor, you influence people every day, from encouraging a valued supplier to stay with your organization to motivating an underperforming team member to step up their game. But what exactly is influence, and how can you unlock the skills you need to improve the way you influence your team?

Alyson Van Hooser has the answers! Alyson is a keynote speaker, leadership expert, and the author of Infinite Influence, which offers the keys to unlocking more productive relationships and outcomes. She recently came onto the Mindfulness Manufacturing podcast to talk more about the power of influence, and shared some tips on how leaders can use curiosity and intention to change the way they influence others.

How to Grow Your Infinite Influence

Tip #1: Know the Difference Between Influence and Manipulation

Right off the bat, Alyson made one point very clear: influence is NOT manipulation! To find strong relationships and better outcomes, remember that you can’t force or influence someone to do something they don’t want to do.

Unlike manipulation, finding your infinite influence starts with growing your own skills. To improve how your influence others, think about your own skills and behavior. In particular, pay attention to intentionality and curiosity. Be open to shifting your mindset and changing the way you think about your team, and you can unlock the skills you need to grow your influence and develop healthy, productive relationships with your team.

Tip #2: Lead with Curiosity, Not Assumptions

We all know the old saying about making assumptions . . . but when it comes to honing your influence skills, even the best-intentioned assumptions can lead to friction and disconnect. To improve your relationships and influence, rely on curiosity instead of assumptions. Start productive conversations, get to know your team members, and find out what they really need and want.

On the podcast, Alyson used workplace birthdays as an example. Some people might love the attention of an office party, while others might be uncomfortable with the spotlight, or have a reason for wanting to stay quiet about their birthday. Instead of making the assumption that everyone wants a party, talk to your team members. Ask them how they want to be acknowledged—or if they want to be acknowledged at all—and find a way forward that makes them feel supported and valued..

Tip #3: It’s All Starts Small

Growing and harnessing your infinite influence doesn’t have to mean a radical shift. Instead, it all starts with small moments. Start by changing how you show up in small ways, like taking the time to get to know a team member or blocking out some time in your schedule to reflect on your own behavior.

Most of all, take the time to invest in your team, your organization, and yourself. Successful organizations are built from the support and investment on others, and even a small shift in how you show up for your team can lead to big outcomes.

Learn More on the Podcast

To learn more about influence with Alyson Van Hooser, listen to her episode of Mindfulness Manufacturing here.

Mindfulness Manufacturing

Our show is about providing listeners with real stories that come from a place of experience, transparency, and authenticity. Most importantly it’s about what we learn from these stories and applying Mindfulness in our everyday work and personal lives.
Our intention is to create an environment where people can learn through open honest discussions on how we apply Mindfulness. Although our experiences and stories come from time in a manufacturing environment hence the title “Mindfulness Manufacturing”, we still see our discussions and topics relatable to any organization or profession.

When a mistake occurs on the plant floor, your mind might jump to one question: who caused this issue, and should I write them up for their mistake? But there’s a more productive approach you could be taking—and in this episode of Mindfulness Manufacturing, guest Dr. Jake Mazulewicz breaks it all down!

With a background as a firefighter, EMT, and military paratrooper, Jake knows the challenges of high-hazard industries, and works with organizations to reduce errors and create safer, more reliable workplace environments. In this episode, Jake shares why you can’t procedularize everything, including the way you handle errors and accidents, and offers great insights and stories about how to use connection and curiosity to improve safety, address errors, and strengthen your organization.

3:35 – Procedures and policies are the work that is imagined, and on the floor is how the work actually gets done

4:19 – The work as-done is almost always radically different than the work as-imagined

5:20 – Even when you have standards and people show up wanting to do a good job, you can still see issues that need to be addressed

6:44 – There will always be areas that absolutely need to have procedures in place

8:02 – There are also adaptive jobs, which leans less into procedures and more intro troubleshooting and tacit human knowledge

10:56 – In an ideal environment, both mechanistic and adaptive models are used and respected and needed

12:11 – There are four levels, ranging from strict procedurals to looser guidelines that show what to do, but not how to do it

15:36 – Tacit knowledge gets shared through conversations

16:22 – A way to share important information is to have frontline experts record videos sharing their insights to problems, especially those that are not covered in procedures

19:44 – Through conversation and connection, more knowledge is shared

21:58 – Debriefing also plays a central role

23:45 – If you have strong discipline, you’ll find more freedom

25:31 – In most situations, errors are signals, not defects

27:07 – When an error occurs, be curious and find the deeper cause of the problem

Connect with Jake Mazulewicz

Find him on Linkedin

Visit his website