Steven Claes – The A+ Introvert
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Steven Claes – The A+ Introvert - Quiet Influence 2.0: You Spark Action. Teams Make It Happen.

Steven Claes – The A+ Introvert - Quiet Influence 2.0: You Spark Action. Teams Make It Happen.

Ask the right questions. Lighten your load. Celebrate real wins.

Steven Claes
July 12, 2025 • Reading Time: 6 minutes

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Hey there friend!

Picture this: You're sitting in another meeting that's going nowhere.

Everyone's staring at spreadsheets. Data everywhere. But no one knows what to DO about it.

Sound familiar?

A simple story from my past. I watched our HR team do exactly this. Pages of turnover data. Lots of head-scratching. Zero action.

So I asked one question:

"If we fix just one part of onboarding that makes new hires quit, what would success look like?"

Boom. Our L&D manager grabbed a whiteboard. Drew up a 30-day buddy plan. The room went from paralyzed to productive in minutes.

I didn't create the plan. I didn't run the meeting. I just asked the right question at the right time.

Result? They owned it. I kept my sanity. Everyone won.

This is what I call Quiet Influence 2.0.

Today’s Focus

Influence ≠ extra workload
The Ask → Anchor → Hand-Off method
Keep credit, save energy

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Why Quiet Influence Works

Reality check: The loudest person in the room isn't always the best leader.

A large meta-analysis in the Journal of Management (Wang, Waldman & Zhang, 2014) reviewed 42 studies. The finding? Teams with shared leadership, where the leader guides focus, and lets experts drive, outperformed traditional “boss-does-everything" teams by a huge margin.

Translation: Projects moved faster. Quality improved. Stress decreased.

This is where we introverts shine. We ask clear questions. We listen. We hand off.

Exactly what the research says works best.

The Ask → Anchor → Hand-Off Method

Step	What you do	Why It Works
Ask	_{Find the real problem}	_{“Which onboarding step makes new hires disengage?” Sharp questions cut through noise}
Anchor	_{Set a clear goal}	_{“Fixing that could cut first-year quits by X%. Sound right?” Numbers create urgency.}
Hand-Off	_{Give the task to the owner}	_{“You run onboarding. Can you list first action?” The person closest to the work drives the fix.}

Your pocket script
Ask the pain ➜ Anchor the payoff ➜ Hand-Off the plan

Proof It Works

Real results from real decisions:

Policy update – one question: “What’s the single approval step blocking us?” → target set: “Clearing it two weeks early saves 30 hours of review meetings.” → hand off draft approvals to the compliance lead → policy live two weeks before deadline.
Morning workout group – one question: “What’s our biggest fitness goal?” → target set: each member plans one session per week → attendance jumps from 40% to 90%
Community event planning – one question: “What’s the toughest part to organize?” → target set: “Nail that and turnout doubles.” → hand off venue scouting to local volunteer → event sold out two weeks before date.

Result: Impact up, overtime down.

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Quiet Fuel of the Week

Resource	What It Is	Why You Need It
Tool	_{Co-Active Coaching – Powerful Questions (}_{free PDF}₎	_{Two-page handout with high-impact questions. Save in Notes. Use to spark ownership in any meeting.}
Read	_{Turn the Ship Around! - Marquet, L. David}	_{Former Navy captain shows how shifting decisions to the people closest to the work boosts performance. Perfect blueprint for quiet, shared leadership.}
Watch	^{“Diminisher vs. Multiplier” – Liz Wiseman (}^{4-min clip}⁾	_{Quick science you can use today on why shared ownership boosts follow-through.}

Resource

What It Is

Why You Need It

Tool

_{Co-Active Coaching – Powerful Questions (}_{free PDF}₎

_{Two-page handout with high-impact questions. Save in Notes. Use to spark ownership in any meeting.}

Read

_{Turn the Ship Around! - Marquet, L. David}

_{Former Navy captain shows how shifting decisions to the people closest to the work boosts performance. Perfect blueprint for quiet, shared leadership.}

Watch

^{“Diminisher vs. Multiplier” – Liz Wiseman (}^{4-min clip}⁾

_{Quick science you can use today on why shared ownership boosts follow-through.}

Your 5-Day Challenge

Monday: Pick one meeting you don’t lead.

Tuesday: Prepare one sharp question.

Wednesday: Use Ask → Anchor → Hand-Off.

Thursday: Let the team carry the plan.

Friday: Email me: “Hand-Off freed me to ______.“

Track this: Minutes you speak vs. minutes others speak after you anchor the goal.

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Coming Next Week

Boundary Refresh: Say Yes to Strategy, No to Noise
A calendar trick that keeps deep-work time safe without sounding rude.

Final Thoughts

Real influence isn't about having the loudest voice or running the longest meetings.

It's about steering attention, then stepping back.

Your three moves:

Ask a precise question
Anchor the goal with one clear metric
Hand the first action to the person who owns the work

That's five minutes well used.

Try Ask–Anchor–Hand-Off once this week. Note what changes.

Then send me a line (I read and reply to each one).

Stay precise, guide thoughtfully.

— Steven

P.S. Know a colleague who’s spread too thin? Forward this their way. Shared work lifts everyone.

P.P.S. Want daily introvert leadership insights? Click here to connect with me directly.

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