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Has Ed Miliband got what it takes?
This week I was running an Influencing Skills Training for a company called Innospec Inc. in Ellesmere Port. At the same time Ed Miliband was giving his first speech as leader to the Labour Party Conference. So influencing was in the forefront of my mind as I watched some of his speech on the evening news.
One of the areas that we explore on the course is power, and influencing is the mechanism by which you use power. We recognise that there are three sources of power. Positional power which comes with your title and status. Relational power which derives from relationships. Personal power which is based on twelve factors, three of which are:
- Abilty to relate to others well
- Expertise that others value
- Personal charisma
Ed Miliband obviously possesses positional power now that he is leader of the Labour Party. He has relational power which helped to get him to that position. But does he have personal power? His speech didn't convince me that he does and unless he develops it fast he may go the same way as Ian Duncan Smith who was leader of the Conservative party but failed to develop the influencing skills that a political leader requires.
Find out more about our UK Influencing Skills Training Courses
Last updated: 01 October 2010