DO YOU HAVE A PROFILE OF SUCCESSFUL AND INFLUENTIAL PLAYERS?
Here’s a summary of the characteristics of successful and influential players in an organization*. Compare yourself objectively and try to pinpoint your strengths and development opportunities in the characteristics below. Do you have the profile of a high-performance player?
A broader understanding of their role
You have a role to play, not a job to do! High performers see their job in terms of roles, not tasks. So don’t limit your knowledge to your department. Get to know all the organization’s services!
Personality traits specific to high-performance players
Controlling your emotions
Would you trust someone who “climbs the curtains” at the slightest annoyance and has little control over their emotions? Certainly not! You need to be perceived as reacting to a fact, not to the emotion it arouses in you. It can sometimes be difficult to control our emotions… we’re human! However, you need to activate a little mechanism between the emotion and the reaction, called pause or control. Don’t panic. Always play it down. That’s how you’ll be seen as strong, solid and influential.
Objectivity
The high performers give a tactful, sincere opinion and provide all the explanations required. It’s easy to know what others want to hear and to say it, even if it doesn’t match our personal convictions. Be objective and sincere.
Consistency + constancy
The first trait refers to the depth of professional skills, and the second to predictability. You won’t have any influence if you’re hard to read and follow. You must have clear values and principles that dictate your conduct and make you consistent and predictable.
Active listening
This attitude reflects the respect we have for each other. Too often, we listen looking for an opportunity to sound smart, to be funny, to be important or to help quickly. High-performers listen intensively, without unnecessary interruptions. The speaker has no choice but to be logical, structured and efficient… because we’re really listening!
Know how to reward
Impact people are feedback people. When they see a colleague or superior “doing a good job”, they are able to recognize it and express their appreciation naturally and spontaneously.
Be discreet
Performers are discreet. They do not seek to increase their influence and status by revealing confidential information. Never start rumors or pass them on.
Psychological maturity
Being mature means having a clear identity. We know who we are and who we are not, what we can become and what we can never become. Mature people know each other well. They have developed and project an impressive level of psychological security. They can afford to be themselves in all circumstances. Mature individuals are also team players and delegators. They don’t feel threatened. Developing psychological maturity means developing the ability to influence.
A combination of intellectual skills
You don’t need an IQ of 400 to be a successful and influential player! While people who stand out in an organization may have above-average intelligence, this is not their defining characteristic. Instead, they show a particular combination of three intellectual aptitudes: the ability to synthesize, creativity and practicality.
Develop your ability to summarize
Impact players have developed an extraordinary capacity for data integration. They quickly identify the key ideas and produce remarkable syntheses. Here’s a fun fact: an Atlanta newspaper in the U.S. ran a very popular contest in which you had to sum up your life in six words! One of the most original answers: ” Found true love but married another “. Try this fun exercise! Developing your synthesis skills takes practice!
Be creative
Impact players think outside the box. They don’t slavishly copy what’s done elsewhere, but innovate without fear.
Be practical
Impact players make things happen. They’re concrete. They’re practical. They always respect their commitments. So we’ll put our trust in them.
A wealth of knowledge and personal and professional experience
Giving yourself a culture means giving yourself a perspective, a global vision and the ability to relativize and make connections.
Develop your interests
High performers have multiple interests and are able to talk about more than just their company or their job!
Understanding trends
Avoid static, reactive and timeless management. For example, the best tax expert will be the one who understands where we’ve come from, where we are and where we’re going, versus the one who applies the rules of the day like a zealous bureaucrat.
Understand the reasons for your successes and failures
When you fail, it’s a good idea to find out why. Mature people will examine all possible causes, including themselves, while “insecure” people will tend to blame others, or the social or economic environment. We must also look for the causes of our successes to try to repeat them!
The political savvy of the successful player
Impact players have developed solid situational intelligence. Political acumen is above all a question of judgment, personality and maturity.
* The profile of successful and influential players comes from the book “Become an impact player in your organization” written by Pierre DuBois, PH.D. Industrial psychologist.
