Influence Like Christ

When it comes to having a successful business, knowing how to influence others is great asset to attain. However, as a faith-filled Believer it is important that we understand that influence is not manipulation or deceit. Influence for the Believer should be persuasion with love and service at the forefront of our objective. As Christ was the Great Influence so we should strive to be the same.

In order to get a clear understanding about influence, it may be necessary to know what the term truly means.

Influence is the capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behavior of someone or something.

Influence is one of the most motivating factors in decision making. When you have a major decision to make, what are the influences that drive you to a final decision?

It’s normal to base any big decisions you make on how it will affect your loved ones. In essence, you could say that those closest to you have a lot of influence on the decisions you make in life.

So, how do you become influential so you can produce your desired effects on the actions, behaviors and opinions of others?

Over the next few days we will cover this topic.  By learning and applying a few simple strategies, we can learn how to become more like Christ and influence in love and service.

Let’s look at the first strategy now.

Lead by Example

The best way to influence someone is in your own behavior. This can go both ways – good or bad. If you want to influence someone to be positive and do well, you’ll need to be a living example of the behavior you expect.

In your business, be someone that others would want to model. That means you should strive to be timely in what you do, work diligently, and avoid getting into the issues that cause gossiping and back biting.

Jesus understood the power of being an example. This is why He choose to live as His Father expected Him to. Remember that He was God’s Son but He was also a man with the freedom to choose. His choice was to be the example of God’s expectation of His children, be obedient and follow through with God’s plan.

People are lead by example and will likely do whatever others around them are doing. If you’re a leader, then you’re the example they’ll follow. Remember, you can exert influence over others by becoming a proactive example to model.

Be the example of influencing with love and service.

In part two of the series we will discuss communication.

I would love to hear your thoughts as we move through this series on influence. You can help by taking the poll in the sidebar, commenting, sharing your tips on influence in business, or tweeting about the series.

Looking forward to sharing more with you about influencing in business like Christ.