If you want to become an influential professional, you have to take steps to boost your credibility. This is true whether you are wanting to increase your influence within your department or organization, as well as if you want to be seen as an influencer within your profession or industry as a whole. It’s a simple fact that people won’t view you as someone with influence unless they see you as having credibility.

4 Keys to Developing Credibility

Want others to see you as credible? Get started with these four tips:

•Become an expert: You have to know what you are talking about, so it’s important to develop expertise specific to your occupation. If you work in HR, for example, you need to develop expertise in all things related to HR. You can do this through ongoing professional development, earning industry-standard certifications (such as SHRM-SCP, SHRM-CP, SPHR, PHR, GPHR), keeping up with the changing landscape of employment law, etc.

•Be confident, but not arrogant: There is a fine line between confidence and arrogance. Developing expertise will help you acquire the knowledge necessary to be successful, but be careful that you don’t use what you learn to come across as a ‘know-it-all’ – that would keep others from truly seeing you as credible and may even cause them to want to avoid you. Share what you know in a helpful way only in appropriate settings, maintaining a tone of being there to serve and help others.

•Understand the big picture: To be seen as credible, you also need to be knowledgeable about the larger environment in which your company operates as well as your industry as a whole. Educate yourself about the business, including operations, financial performance, business strategies, key indicators for success and industry trends and concerns.

•Set a positive example: If you want other people to see you as someone with credibility, what you’re really asking them to do is to see you as someone that they respect and that they view as a leader (whether or not you have any supervisory authority). To accomplish this, you have to conduct yourself in a manner that is worthy of respect. Your actions should portray you as someone who represents the ideals of the company.

Begin at the Beginning

While these aren’t the only factors involved in cultivating credibility, they are important ones. Starting with these tips will help you begin the process of developing a great professional reputation, and that’s the first step in becoming influential.