In the business and professional world, if you hope to get results when you don't have authority, it's imperative that you win the confidence of your peers. Without their confidence, your best efforts to push your agenda will be rejected.
Your ideas and proposals can be lost unless others have confidence in you. In this topic, you'll learn about winning confidence by being truthful fulfilling promises, and doing good work.
Being truthful
Now, I guess you heard this being said at one moment or another: “Sometimes, it's best to tell people what they want to hear”. And some people use it a lot in the office or work environment.
Actually, if you're looking to build credibility, it's best to always tell the truth. Telling the truth, even when it means admitting an error, is a good way to win the confidence of your peers. So, although it may be tempting at times to tell people what they want to hear, this is not the best strategy for building credibility.
In fact, it erodes credibility because people don't know when you're telling the truth. Telling people what they want to hear is a dishonest practice. Although it may win friends in the beginning, it will eventually work against you. Telling the truth is a sure way to win the confidence of your peers.
Effective relationships are based on truth, and telling the truth is the first way to win the confidence of your peers. Truth is based on fact rather than opinions, judgments, or the perceptions of others. People need to know that you're honest. Avoid selectively withholding information or telling your peers only what they want to hear. And when you don't know something, admit it; people will come to trust you.
Fulfilling promises
A second way to win confidence is to fulfill your promises. Never promise anything that you can't deliver, and always do what you've said you'll do. Disregarding your commitments is a sure-fire way to break a peer's trust and dispel confidence.
Whether you must provide your support or meet a deadline--the tougher the demands, the more highly you'll be regarded if you meet your commitments. It's important to do even the things you've merely implied you'll do. People will notice if you don't deliver and will be pleasantly surprised if you do.
Doing good work
Although it's imperative that you tell the truth and keep your promises, there is absolutely no substitute for doing good work. This is the third way to win confidence. Some people tend to work hardest when the boss is around. This is an easy thing to do.
However, working equally hard when you're not under supervision is what gets noticed. It shows that you care about the quality of your work and that you're self-motivated. Good work, not to mention self-motivation, are also demonstrated when you take initiative. When something must be done that no one else can do--or wants to do--be the one to take action.
Earning the reputation of a dedicated worker increases your clout." Devote yourself to becoming an expert at something. Whether it's honing a particular aspect of your job or becoming skilled at manipulating the department's production system or office equipment, expertise is always needed, and it's always noticed. Use your expertise to help others. Everyone needs help at some point, and most people appreciate it enormously.
To conclude
Although admitting a mistake and meeting deadlines are ways to win confidence, offering your opinion is not. Effective relationships are based on truth. Truth is based on fact rather than opinions. Fulfilling promises is one way to win confidence, but making small talk and demonstrating confidence in others are not. Making small talk and showing faith in others builds relationships, but doesn't necessarily win confidence.
Although being honest and honoring your commitments are two strategies for winning confidence, demonstrating determination is not as effective as excellent performance. Delivery high quality work is critical to credibility. The most effective ways to win confidence are telling the truth, doing good work, and fulfilling promises. People learn they can trust you to be honest and deliver high quality work on time.
As you can see, doing good work gets noticed, and the more it's noticed, the greater your influence when you're trying to get results in the future. Next As you've just learned, developing credibility in the workplace, which builds the influence you'll need to get results without authority, is accomplished by winning confidence from your co-workers.
Getting the results you want, or pushing your agenda, in the business world is much easier if you've already won the confidence of your peers. In this topic, you've learned how to win this confidence by: being truthful fulfilling promises, and doing good work. Next we are going to see what demonstrating integrity means and how this can help us.
