Influence as an Introverted Musician
“Influence is the ability to engage and guide others in collaborative work without relying on positional authority…strength without force, requiring neither title nor resources.” Jocelyn Davis
As a musician, finding your ‘why’ is essential to ground your career actions and goals, but you can also use your ‘why’ to promote yourself, positively influence others, and become a leader. If you're an introvert, traditional forms of influence, such as extroverted authority, manipulation, or brute force, will likely feel misaligned with your personality, so the concept of quiet influence is a way to make an impact.
This idea of quiet influence comes from The Art of Quiet Influence by Jocelyn Davis, and she highlights the power of using personal values and motives (i.e., your ‘why’) to influence those around you. The book is interesting in that she juxtaposes the wisdom of eastern philosophers in the context of the western workplace, and very interesting lessons are learned from these two very different contexts.
Empathy is a cornerstone of quiet influence, and it allows you to understand the needs and emotions of others. This means tailoring your performances to resonate with your audience on a deeper level, teaching a very specific set of values, or building artistic ventures that carry out a deeper mission. Remember that empathy is a superpower where you can really help others.
Influence and leadership require clear communication, expressing your ideas and desires in a concise way, as well as being a good listener. If you are an introvert, this might be an area that can be difficult. But by clarifying your ‘why’ and finding common values with those you are speaking with, you can forge deeper conversations with people about topics that really matter and create opportunities to work together.
With the clarity that comes with finding your “why” and the ease of forging discussions based on empathy and clear communication, you will likely start to notice that promoting yourself feels more authentic because you are sharing those things in the career you care about, rather than just talking about yourself for the sake of promotion. Most people talk about ‘what‘ they do rather than ‘why’ they do it, so promoting yourself with more authenticity will attract those with common values to you.
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