How to expand your leadership influence
Power maps, strategies from influencers and getting away from the table
Being able to influence others has taken on an entirely new meaning in the world of the ‘influencer’. And being a skilled influencer brings sizeable rewards. If you’re a leader, it’s a means to achieving what you want; in your career, your team, and business.
When you’re a skilled influencer, you build a team of advocates around you; advocates who are on board with your ideas and who help you push them through to delivery.
And at leadership level, your influence stretches in many directions. At the top and as the hierarchy narrows, your potential impact and influence broadens. You’ll have the opportunity - and will be expected - to play a role in steering the direction of the business.
And in today’s complex business structures, many of the results you want to deliver will need the cooperation of people outside your chain of command to achieve.
Building influence doesn’t happen overnight. But when you start a new role, project or simply want to expand your impact, there are short term tactical steps you can take to set you on the path to building strategic influence longer term.
So how can you start to build your influence quickly?
Here are six things that will help you this week.
Be like an influencer: The role of influencers in society and the fees they command have skyrocketed in recent years. And there are parallels between what you need to do to become an ‘influencer’ and what leaders need to do to influence skilfully.
What resonates with you here? What doesn’t?
Which circles would benefit from increasing your attention?
Strategise: Identify where you can make short term gains and long term investment. In work (and life) there are things that are within your direct control, things that are within your ability to influence and things that you have no control over at all.
The latter, where you have no control, is the primary cause of frustration and stress; ignore it where possible. Instead proactively focus on the things you can control and over time the breadth of your impact, control and influence will grow.
Do you naturally lean towards a particular circle in the model above? How does that serve you?
What is in your circle of control right now?
What is occupying you in your circle of concern that you can let go of?
Know your agenda: Know what you want to achieve in the short and long term. Last week I shared how leaders can identify priority deliverables to get you the biggest ROI. Being clear on what you want to do will help you identify who you need to have on board to make it happen. If you missed it you can find it here:
Map it. Critical to building influence is ensuring you have relationships with the right people. Rebecca Knight suggests creating a strategic power map of key decision makers related to the work you want to do as well, as what you want to be known for. Use the insight you gain to identify where to invest your time. Relationships don’t develop overnight, but developing a plan will build early momentum and mean you’re building capital for the long and short term.
Who is on your power map?
Which relationships are critical to invest in in the short term? Which are relationships to invest in long term?
What’s important to these individuals? What motivates them and how can you engage with them in a way that is meaningful to them?
Invest wisely: Where you invest your time and the who you choose to spend it with has an impact on what you can achieve and the influence you have. Yet the reality is that in the day to day, it can be easy to overlook what the small actions are stacking up to create. Look back at the last two weeks in your calendar, and forward.
Who are you spending your time with?
How does that align with your priorities?
What opportunities exist to be more deliberate with your time?
Get up: Even when you have a seat at the leadership table, remember that most of the work happens before and after the meeting. If you’re pitching an idea or presenting your vision, make sure you’ve got key decision makers on board beforehand. Ask them: “if I put this proposal to the board, what happens next”? Unless they say “we’ll move forward’” be prepared to do more work or reassess.
If you need help building your influence, send a quick note to me at rebecca@rebeccajjackson.com and I’ll help you put your strategy together.
Meantime, thanks for reading this. If you found it thought provoking I’d love it if you’d share it with someone you know. To subscribe just hit the button below.
With thanks,
Rebecca