1. Use less “I”s in your conversations at work and more “we” and “ours.” This will help your team feel more connected to you and get them on board with your agendas.
2. Tell a story to prove your point. Stories are powerful mechanisms to connect your team emotionally to your agenda. If you don’t have a personal story, share one that you have heard about. Remember to use your words creatively to paint the picture.
3. Elevate quiet or dissident voices. This will demonstrate your value in fairness by making everyone heard and earn you stronger ties of loyalty.
4. Giving away power doesn’t make you powerless. On the contrary the benefits of empowering others is that they will see you as the source of where they can get more power and will find you to be a valuable connection. For example, let someone take the lead on a project, delegate a task that you normally would do, such as a presentation to your boss. Let them shine as a subject matter expert while you support them. By allowing your boss to view your employee’s work, he not only will build confidence in you but your team as a whole.
5. You don’t have to know all the answers. Next time a colleague comes up to you with a question and you don’t have the answer, connect them to the resources that do have  an answer. You can always be valuable even if you don’t know the answer.
6. Just like you schedule formal meetings, schedule (for yourself) informal hallways chats. Make it a point to connect with your colleagues about non-work topics to build those relationships.
7. Rather than make the next big decision yourself, facilitate it through your team. Ask the hard questions, let them talk through it, and only guide them by sharing best practices that worked or practices that ended up being mistakes and then ask for the team’s consensus for the final decision.
8. Smile. Since smiling is a naturally reciprocal gesture, you can pretty much guarantee a smile in return. Not only are you moving others to action, but you are positively influencing their day.
9. Enact secure power poses. By holding yourself in an open posture where you try to occupy as much space as possible, this will not only make you look confident, but feel confident. At the same time you want to make sure that the pose is stable, meaning, no repetitive movements associated with it, as they will only draw attention away from your message. This is particularly useful in large meetings where there can be many voices talking at once, as eyes will draw to the most authoritative person in the
   room.
10. When your colleagues speak, listen to them with undivided attention. Hold your gaze with them and don’t break it. This is a simple act of empowerment. It shows them respect and that you believe they have something important to say. They are then more likely to listen intently to you in return.

Which one did you notice had the most impact for you? Share your story in our comments section.

SOURCES

StockSnap_UMIOY6CVUM.jpg by Brooke Larke. Creative Commons CC0 license.