Influence is often boiled down to expertise. Be the best at what you do and you will have influence. So, if you’re an accountant, be the best at crunching numbers. If you’re in PR, have the best media relationships.

That’s certainly true, but there’s another type of influence. Some, like John Oliver on HBO’s Last Week Tonight, call it “soft power.”

We sit down with our CEO for 15 minutes each week to get practical business advice so we can advance in our careers. On this episode, we chat about what to do if you want to gain influence at work…

Key Takeaways

• You have so many outlets at your company where you can be influential – don’t be so hung up on the title
• BUT if you want to gain influence do the following things:
  • Participate with other teams at your company to prohibit siloing
  • Start by getting to know more people
  • Be helpful (without expecting public recognition for it)
  • Learn things that fall outside of your job description because it provides future opportunity for you
  • Be generous in offering up credit where it is due