Our March 2026 Impact Breakfast, Leadership Through Influence: How Curiosity, Intentional Conversations, and Coaching Drive Results, was led by senior executive, strategic advisor, and executive coach Maria Hughes, who shared practical frameworks leaders can apply immediately to strengthen collaboration, decision-making, and accountability across their teams.
Leadership Today Requires More Than a Title
One of the opening reflections asked a powerful question:
If your title disappeared tomorrow, how would you still get work done through others?
In today’s evolving workplace, leadership influence increasingly matters more than formal authority. According to the World Economic Forum, “Future of Jobs Report 2025,” 39% of core job skills are expected to change by 2030, meaning leaders must guide learning, decision-making, and adaptation across their organizations.
True influence, as defined during the session, is “The ability to shape thinking, decisions, and actions by building trust, clarity, and capability rather than relying on authority or position.”
The Three Drivers of Leadership Influence
Hughes highlighted three leadership behaviors that consistently strengthen influence across teams and organizations.
1. Curiosity: The Foundation of Influence
Curiosity allows leaders to expand perspective and unlock stronger solutions. Curious leaders tend to:
- Use learning-focused language instead of defensive reactions.
- Ask questions before offering an evaluation.
- Invite perspectives that challenge their own assumptions.
- Stay in uncertainty long enough to discover better insights.
Research shared during the presentation also highlighted a powerful outcome: organizations with a culture that rewards curiosity see roughly 60% higher innovation and productivity.
Participants explored the simple four-step P.E.E.R. approach for applying curiosity in leadership conversations:
Pause – Create space before responding.
Explore – Ask open-ended questions to understand what is happening.
Expand – Invite different perspectives and challenge existing assumptions.
Reflect – Turn insights into learning and next steps.
This model helps leaders interrupt automatic responses and replace them with thoughtful inquiry, building stronger decisions and relationships.
2. Intentional Conversations: Creating Clarity and Alignment
Leadership influence often shows up most clearly during important conversations, especially when the stakes are high. Intentional conversations are especially critical during:
- High-stakes decisions with incomplete information
- Cross-functional collaboration
- Moments of tension or disagreement
- Risk and compliance discussions
- Organizational change or uncertainty
A simple framework shared during the session encourages leaders to shift the balance of communication using the 3:2:1 ratio of Listen: Ask: Tell. In practice, this means spending more time understanding perspectives and asking thoughtful questions before offering direction or recommendations. When leaders follow this approach, conversations move from debate toward shared understanding and alignment.
3. Coaching-Based Behaviors: Elevating Accountability and Resiliency
The final element of influence focuses on how leaders develop others. Rather than solving every problem themselves, coaching-oriented leaders build capability across the team. When leaders adopt coaching behaviors, organizations benefit from:
- Improved accountability
- Continued decisions without escalation
- Greater resilience under pressure
- Results even when a leader isn’t present
“Influence grows when leaders shift how they think, communicate, and develop others.”
Continuing the Conversation
Small changes in how leaders show up can create meaningful ripple effects across teams and organizations. We encourage you to reflect on one small shift you can make this week:
- Ask one more question before offering direction.
- Invite a perspective you may not normally hear.
- Coach someone toward their own solution.
We’re looking forward to more engaging conversations at our upcoming Impact Breakfast: Maximizing Workplace Wellness on May 5.