Prolific Author Brian Smith Talks About His Latest Book on Being a Positive Influence
Probably everyone can remember some words spoken to them long ago, perhaps by an older relative when they were a child or by a stranger when they were alone struggling with a problem, that had a long lasting effect on them. Brian Smith, PhD, founder and senior managing partner of the management consulting firm IA Business Advisors, urges everyone to bear in mind that their words and actions often have far more influence on the people around them they realize.
Smith is the author of a long series of books, known as the “I” in Team series, all of which encourage the reader to use the influence they wield for positive purposes. Smith and his daughter, Mary Griffin, just recently published Positive Influence – Be the “I” in Team, the latest book in the series.
We asked Smith about his latest book, and tips for expanding a personal network and dealing with “toxic superstars.”
Grit Daily: Your latest book, Positive Influence: Be the “I” in Team, is the second in the “I” in Team series. What’s your message, and who is your audience?
Brian Smith: Our audience is really anyone who wants to understand their individual influence, as well as understanding why and how
Grit Daily: Your consultancy, IA Business Advisors, has worked with many CEOs, entrepreneurs, managers, and employees. What are your clients hoping for when they retain your firm?
Brian Smith: What our clients are hoping for when they retain us may ultimately be different than what they will truly gain from partnering with us. Many clients come to us with preconceived notions of what success should look like or other generalities that can create unhealthy business environments and cultures in their area of influence.
Our clients expect that we will help them gain perspective borne out of our experience to assist them with a particular issue. But, in addition to that, our clients are offered a clarified view of their current-day organization, guidance to help them understand their particular areas of influence, and the tools and direction necessary to meet and exceed the specific goals and measurements that we agree are attainable, realistic, and timely.
Grit Daily: You write that “our influence is our greatest responsibility.” Please elaborate on what you mean.
Brian Smith: Everything we do matters. Our actions, words, and thoughts can become powerful sources of influence in whatever areas we find ourselves. When we interact with someone, our influence on them may last a lifetime; we never know for how long any particular aspect of that interaction will last. My wife, René, discusses this in the foreword of our new book regarding a babysitting job she had as a teen.
You can change a life with a simple smile. Every decision we make can have a dramatic influence, from the simple choice to be nice or not, to following through on a particular task or abiding by a rule or law. Everything we do has influence and can influence others at any given time. What greater responsibility could any human strive to understand and be in better alignment with?
Grit Daily: You contend that each person is important, which of course everyone believes at least in principle if not consistently in action. What is required to put that belief into action?
Brian Smith: Well first, it needs to be a held belief. When a person who digs ditches begins to understand the purpose of those ditches, they begin to understand the importance of the ditch itself and the importance of the ditch-digging. Asking yourself, “Who benefits from my current area of influence?” and answering that question honestly will create within you the understanding needed to believe and know that you are indeed important. In the act of learning to slow down, we are able to consider the ways in which we touch the lives of others. No matter your station in life, you matter to someone. No matter the triviality in your mind or others, you’re important.
Grit Daily: You count humility and “taking the high road” as core leadership principles, so what is your advice for a company wondering what to do about a “toxic superstar.”
Brian Smith: It’s honestly hard to answer a question like this because it lacks so much context. However, we have had what I would call “toxic superstars” in our own organization; I would define those people as individuals who perform certain aspects of their area of influence so well that they appear to be indispensable without some great loss to the organization. If they are truly toxic, meaning that they create an environment that is ultimately unhealthy for their peers, partners, or customers, hold a candid conversation during which time you outline a specific performance improvement plan to rectify the troublesome behaviors, or get them out of your organization as quickly as possible. However, you must first try to understand how that person created value in a way that made you question them and why you would allow a toxic person to become a superstar in the first place if you hope to not repeat that mistake.
Grit Daily: It’s axiomatic that networks are at least as important for career advancement as skills and credentials, which is a big reason why organizations struggle to diversify. How can your approach help leaders to get past their implicit biases, which they might not even be aware of, to build a diverse team?
Brian Smith: Well, if networks are so self-evident then diversification and expansion of your foundation will grow that network and make it even more influential and successful.
The first lesson leaders need to learn is that diversity is not a color, gender, sexual preference, or religious issue; it’s a transparency, accountability, and sustainment issue. Diversity includes objectivity of thought and action, not solely belief. It also requires self-reflection. You can know characteristics such as your race, gender, sexual preference, or religion and still objectively respect others regardless of whether their characteristics align with or divert from your own.
Applied in an organization, you might believe that you are the smartest person in the room, yet reflection can help you understand that particular intelligence is the product of others’ influence on you. Your past, whether you recognize it or not, has been diversified by others, therefore, allowing others to diversify your present with their input and influence can only help you grow. Perspective matters and oftentimes we have to take leaders on an objective journey through their life to provide needed context to understand their bias and ignorance, in order to overcome the bias and lack of objectivity that often destroys leaders and their organizations.
Grit Daily: Is there anything you want to mention that I haven’t asked about?
Brian Smith: You have not asked why we are writing this book series.
Throughout my extensive travels and professional experiences working for clients on all seven continents and in 32 different countries, I have interacted with tens of thousands of people. Over my 50 years of life, I have made countless mistakes and experienced a range of emotions from feeling unworthy and unappreciated to proud and successful. However, I don’t believe that my experiences are unique. I decided to write this book series because I believe that people often fail to slow down and thoughtfully consider the influence they have on others and the immense impact that we each have as human beings.
My goal in writing this series is to help individuals break down the concept of their “bubble of influence” or what we refer to as their Area of Influence in a way that enables them to appreciate their unique value as individuals. I believe that the concept of individualism is often misunderstood; it is not about being selfish, but rather about being inclusive and diversified. Each person is an individual, and each team is made up of individuals working together. Together, a group of individuals can achieve incredible things. Individualism is about creating areas of influence for single individuals or many individuals that come together to create a larger, more powerful entity capable of achieving amazing things.
In short, my hope is that this book series will help individuals better understand their influence and encourage them to use it to make a positive impact in their Area of Influence and beyond.
Peter Page is the Contributions Editor at Grit Daily. Formerly at Entrepreneur.com, he began his journalism career as a newspaper reporter long before print journalism had even heard of the internet, much less realized it would demolish the industry. The years he worked a police reporter are a big influence on his world view to this day. Page has some degree of expertise in environmental policy, the energy economy, ecosystem dynamics, the anthropology of urban gangs, the workings of civil and criminal courts, politics, the machinations of government, and the art of crystallizing thought in writing.
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