Colin Gautrey

How to Be Understood

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A couple of weeks ago I was at a conference where one of the key challenges the delegates were facing in their organisations was not being understood. They were struggling with gaining buy-in from their senior colleagues to the contribution that they were making, and they also felt that they could add extra value if given half a chance. “They simply don’t understand us,” was the sentiment from one delegate. Most people have an innate need to feel that they are understood by those around them. When you know that others understand you, you’ll relax a bit and trust a bit more. Because they really understand your position, your attention will shift. Instead of working hard to be understood, you’ll have time to spend on other things. You may start wondering how the other person could help you. Or even, how could you Read More

Developing an Influential Team Brand

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Pause a moment. When you think of Apple, what comes to mind? How about Samsung, IBM or even Rolex? Whatever comes to mind represents the brand which you perceive them to have. While everyone may have different experiences of these companies, there will also be a huge amount of consistency between individuals’ perceptions. To the organisation concerned, these common impressions represent the brand they have succeeded in creating. They invest huge sums of money to get this right. When people in your organisation think about your team, what thoughts come into their minds? The common impressions they have as a population represent the brand you and your team have created. Your brand impression may be positive or negative (just like for big companies) depending on the common experiences people have when they interact with your team. If there isn’t much commonality it means your internal market is confused and your team has failed to make a distinct impression. A strong positive brand will Read More

Develop Greater Enthusiasm

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In many organisations today, the rational argument and maintaining objectivity is actively encouraged as a way of influencing those who are making decisions. However, don't be fooled — rational persuasion is not as effective as you might think. In reality, most decisions are based on the emotional reactions. The numbers are there to make it look professional. Many times, the rational argument supports the decision, other times, they contradict it. Although most would never admit it, the emotions usually sway the final decision — even if they do Read More

Standing Out from the Crowd

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To build a reputation, you have to stand out from the crowd. Considering those who already stand out in your crowd, or your arena, provides a wealth of role models, of what you could emulate, and what you may need to avoid — some people stand out for all the wrong reasons. It is great to set your sights on being able to move towards becoming a role model in your own right – that could be the destination you will focus on. Before that though, it is worth taking a look at the competition, and the challenge in front of you. You don’t necessarily need to climb the dizzying heights to succeed, only be a great deal better than everyone else around you. Whatever your ambition, the first step will Read More

Influence Processes and Goals

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As with so many things, having a clear and simple process to follow in order to maximise your influence with stakeholders will help you enormously as you strive to become an influential leader. I use my Stakeholder Influence Process to help guide my clients’ thinking and their action when influencing stakeholders (you'll find out more about this in Chapter 7 of Influential Leadership). The process isn’t complicated or profound, yet the output can be astonishing — and simple. The whole point of it is to gain clarity about the real world around what you are aiming to achieve — and then begin to make things happen (you can read  an introduction to the process here). The influence process begins with gaining greater focus on what it is you want to achieve. I have found that influence becomes much easier when you can be clear about what you want (to others and yourself). Sounds Read More

Purposes, Targets and Role Models

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In order to establish a reputation, it really helps to understand what it will take to do this in the place or arena in which you want to land a big impression. The easiest way to gain this insight, and it will differ widely between organisations, is to study those who have already done it. Before you do this, you’ll need to answer another rather important question — who do you want to establish a reputation with? The things which will work and the things which will not work can only be understood if you know Read More

Assessing the Quality of Your Strategic Relationships

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If you are responsible for large and complex relationships, there will inevitably be times when things are not going as smoothly as you would like. Perhaps that is putting it mildly. Many people I speak to who are playing a key role in strategic alliances or supplier relationships are finding it extremely tough at the moment. For many, having a reasonable relationship would be a major improvement. When things start to go wrong it is easy to get lost in the detail. The frustration caused by lack of delivery or unexpected costs keeps people focused on fixing (or fighting) the symptoms. Sitting back and reflecting on the quality of the relationship as a whole doesn’t generally happen until it gets to breaking point. By which time bad feelings, bruised egos and a multitude of other problems have to be dealt with too. Instead of waiting until this point, what you could do is Read More

Your Attitude towards Influencing Stakeholders

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If you wish to be an influential leader, you need to start thinking seriously about how you influence stakeholders. These are the people who have something to gain, or to lose, from your work as a leader. When you think about influencing stakeholders, what thoughts come to mind? Do you think about it as an unwelcome extra task — on top of everything else you need to do? Perhaps you consider it to be something you shouldn’t need to do. After all, you Read More

Exploring Personal Agendas

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Do you really know what the target of your influence is hoping to achieve? Most of the time, the professional agenda is known, at least in theory. However, the agenda that has the most impact on the individual you are influencing is usually their hidden or personal agenda. Personal agendas are carefully guarded. There may be tell-tale signs of what is really driving someone, but usually it is only their closest friends and colleagues who know what is going on. Not knowing this, can put you Read More

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