The PR Influencer Characteristic Index: Rate Yourself

I’ve been examining the characteristics of an influencer and the rise to influence among a network of peers. I’ve narrowed it down to several characteristics that I’d like to share with you.  Each characteristic has different values, so you can cultivate these attributes on your own.  My philosophy is that if you can rate yourself from 1 to 10 on each attribute, and then work diligently to increase your rating within each area.  The goal is to develop and increase your rating to the highest level, in order to gain influence among your peers.  A rating of 10 for each characteristic translates into true influence (whether you have it now or you are near your peak).

Please note that this is a fun exercise and not the science of ratings. You will find these categories are broad (and the rating scales may change based on the input I receive).  Be honest and answer realistically, so that you allow yourself room to grow and develop each characteristic, in order to reach true influence.

Trust:

On a scale of 1 to 10, rate yourself with respect to the number of close relationships you have with peers in your online networks; those who rely on you for information, advice and you have deep close relationships on a daily basis.  Each number in the rating represents the number of peers.  For example, if you rate yourself “2” then you have 2 very close relationships through your social networks. If you have more than 10 very close peers that you give information, advice and have deep relationships, just rate yourself a 10.

Knowledge and Industry Expertise:

How involved are you in your industry, in an effort to gain knowledge and expertise.  For instance, each activity that you participate in on a monthly basis (from association meetings to PR Twitter chats) count as one activity, all the way up to 10.  If you participate in 10 or more monthly activities then your score will be a “10.”

Motivation:

Motivation comes in all shapes and sizes and is truly a personal rating.  You have to think about your day, from the way you wake up in the morning to how much you feel you accomplish and how you drive yourself to achieve more.  Think about these factors and then give yourself a rating as to where you fall on a motivation scale between 1 and 10, where 1 is the least amount of motivation, 5 would be average motivation and 10 would be high levels of motivation, because you are a go getter from the moment you wake up until the moment you go to sleep.

Passion:

Passion comes from the heart and it’s not something that’s easy to rate.  However, you can see true signs of passion from people who tirelessly strive to reach their goals every day.  From those who write their yearly New Year’s resolutions to the folks who keep daily lists of what needs to get done, you have to rate your passion by evaluating how many goals you reach on a daily basis.  For this attribute, chances are that if you don’t write out what you want to achieve each day, then you may fall at the lower end of the rank (on a scale of 1 to 10).  For those who feel their passion is average (write out what they want to accomplish daily, but achieve less than half), then you are a 5 and similar to the lower levels of passion, you need to up your score. However, if you are writing out your daily lists and checking off items continuously to reach new accomplishments in a timely manner, then you are at the other end of the spectrum and should rate yourself a passionate “10.”

Winning Positive Attitude

How many positive vs. negative thoughts do you have a day?  A winning attitude goes hand-in-hand with a positive personality and seeing the glass half full rather than half empty.  Take this little test….how many positive thoughts do you have a day?  For the next week, keep track of your positive thoughts from one to ten each day of the week and then take the average number at the end of the week.  This number is your “Winning Positive Attitude” and it should fall between 1 and 10+, with one being the lowest positive attitude that you can have and 10+ being the most.

The Give Factor:

I wrote about The Give Factor in a recent post.  You’ll have to review the post as it offers the different phases of giving to peers:

• If you fall within the Meet & Learn Phase – You can rank yourself as a 3.
• If you have moved to The Understand Phase – You can rank yourself as a 6.
• If you are in The Support Phase – You can rank yourself as an 8.
• If you have reached The Empathize Phase – You can rank yourself a 10.

Social Champions/Supporters:

There’s only one way to rate yourself in this area and it really depends on the number of champions or supporters, who are willing to share on your behalf.  Finding these individuals is not hard, you can see them on TweetStats as they are the ones that are always retweeting or replying to you.  You can also see the connections with them on Twitter by using Asterisq, which shows your deepest Twitter connections.  The social champions/supporters ranking reveals true champions who are always there sharing for you.  Once you identify them, count how many social champions you have from 1 to 10 people.  If you have more than 10 people as your social champions, then you can rate yourself at the top, with a score of 10.

Here’s how it all comes together with your scores (with the possible top score of 70).

If your score is between 1 and 14, you are just beginning your journey to influence.  You need to up your scores in every characteristic.  Don’t stop now, there’s no place for your influence to go but up!

If your score is between 15 and 28, you are on your way to influence.  It’s important to evaluate how you can raise your score in each area of development.  Don’t give up now as you are starting to influence your peers.

If your score is between 29 and 42, you have influence but it’s not at a peak level. You are sharing and giving but it’s at an average rate as some of your scores are higher in a few areas and lower in others.  Evaluate where you need work and strive to greater influence heights.

If your score is between 43 and 56, you are influencing your peers and it’s truly appreciated.  Your rate of influence is high and you are so close to taking your influence to the highest levels.  There are probably only a few areas that need work.  A little more focus on your personal growth and you can be influencing at the highest rank in no time.

If your score is between 57 and 70, you have reached true influencer status.  Your peers rely on you for a great deal and you give selflessly as an Influencer to help them on a daily basis.  Not only are your peers waiting for your thoughts and advice, they are actually acting upon it, using your knowledge and influence to make decisions in their lives!

I hope you have fun rating yourself through my influencer “Characteristic Index.”  It’s an exercise that is not based on science, yet it’s logical enough to make your identify and reevaluate how you act, so that you can reach higher influence among your peers.  If you can rank 10 in all areas, then you will move your communication from ordinary to influencer in no time at all!