Colin Gautrey

Five Steps to a Healthier Network

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Sharpen up and focus your networking in 30 minutes. Try this…
  1. Get a list of the people in your network — perhaps by exporting from Outlook to Excel.
  2. What percentage have you initiated contact with in the last six months? If it is a very long list and you want to move fast, randomise the list and check the first 100 names.
  3. What percentage Read More

Caught in the Middle of Turf Wars

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Powerful people will usually work to protect their power base. They will also look to expand. Even if their motives are pure, they will still seek to protect their capability to do good things. The difference that selfishness makes will be felt in the personal consequences for those involved — at worst, they will stop at nothing until they have got what they want. Wherever you care to look, there will be competition of some sort going on. The intensity and tactics will vary depending on the players, the motives and the stakes. Simple enough, but what can you do if you find yourself caught in the middle? Getting trapped between two powerful opposing forces, who each want you on their side, is what we called the political dilemma of Turf Wars. The advice I wrote in 2008 as part of our book, Political Dilemmas at Work, still holds good. It focused on the imperative to make a clear personal decision and outlined four options to consider… Read More

How to Map the Politics around Your Work

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At some stage, if you want to be successful in any large organisation, you will have to become very adept at reading the politics. Yesterday, when writing an article about making an impact at the top table, the imperative of building political intelligence came into focus. Only when you have a firm grasp of what is really going on, can you start to navigate safely through the corridors of power. The usual way of building this insight is through many informal conversations over a period of several months, if not years. I am not talking necessarily about gossip, but rather the sharing of information, knowledge and insight which is one of the key benefits of effective networking. You can speed this up dramatically if you engage in a constructive process. Read More

Promotion Power Shifts

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Congratulations, you have got a well-deserved promotion. Now what? May seem like a silly question because you are no doubt bursting with ideas, plans, and structural or strategic changes you are going to implement – and that is just the first 90 days! But before you rush in, pause for a moment to consider this. Read More

Seven Ways to Become More Powerful

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Being powerful enables you to get things done. It encourages people to do what you want them to do, often without you even asking. Generally, people like to please powerful people because of what they may gain, or because they don’t want to lose something.

Here are seven ways that you can become more powerful:

  1. Build Greater Networks. The more people you know, the more potential resources you have to call on. These can provide you with useful knowledge, resources or friendly help and support. This needs to be a two-way process, so make sure to make yourself available to help people in your network too. Don’t just focus on those nearest to you; get to know people in other parts of your organisation, and those outside of it in related work. Make sure and delicately let others know you have this network.
  2. Acquire Scarce Capabilities. Think about the work that you do and the organisation where you are right now. What does everyone seem to be wanting by way of capability? Perhaps this is financial acumen, process design. Which capabilities are in short supply? Take this into the future and try to predict how the future will change. Try to find ways to build your own capability in things that people want and then let people know you’ve got it.
  3. Focus Your Specialism. Having a clear notion of what makes you special, and being able to articulate it with clarity will help to make you more powerful. With this focus you can then look for opportunities to build greater knowledge and expertise in your area. Irrespective of what you need right now, look to develop further by finding out what the latest theories are. Build your own tool-kit of approaches and techniques which can make you stand out from the crowd.

The Gautrey Influence Blog

Ever felt overlooked, unheard, or stuck in office politics? You’re not alone. The Gautrey Influence Blog breaks down the real-world strategies behind leadership, influence, and power—giving you the tools to be heard, respected, and successful. Join 35,000+ professionals getting ahead the smart way—subscribe now.

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  1. Actively Manage Your Brand. Everyone will have built their own impression of what you represent. Some may think you’re a great networker; others could take the view that you’re a hard worker. What would you like them all to think about you? What would your ideal personal brand be like? Once you’ve worked this out, become active in promoting and managing your brand. Corporations spend millions doing this, so why not invest a little time yourself in building a powerful brand consistently?
  2. Make Use of Your Physical Characteristics. We are all of different shapes and sizes, and this can have a powerful effect on others. Depending on your goals, work and personal integrity, think through how you can make best use of what you were given. A naturally serious face can be used to effect as much as a heart-warming smile. Height, weight and good looks are proven to have an influential effect on others. Do the Personal Power Profile and discover the sources of power you use, and the ones you need to develop (complete here).
  3. Focus on Social Dimension. Very few people work in total isolation. The workplace is a social organisation and people will be naturally more inclined to help or cooperate with someone they like. Influence happens at a psychological level, so tune in to the social fabric of your workplace, mind your manners and create friends everywhere.
  4. Study Other Powerful People. You can simplify the building of power by working out what other successful people do around your organisation. Studying what gives them power can provide vital clues and short cuts which you could emulate. There are no golden rules to building power, but many have trodden this path before, so let them become your teachers. You don’t have to do what they do, but your learning can be integrated into the way you go about becoming more powerful.

And remember, power is what makes organisations function. It underlies the informal decision making processes, it affects who gets hired, fired and promoted. Resources are often allocated to the most powerful people and by becoming more powerful yourself — you increase your chances of greater success substantially.

If you found tis useful, you may also like: The Seven Sources of Power

 

The Gautrey Influence Blog

Ever felt overlooked, unheard, or stuck in office politics? You’re not alone. The Gautrey Influence Blog breaks down the real-world strategies behind leadership, influence, and power—giving you the tools to be heard, respected, and successful. Join 35,000+ professionals getting ahead the smart way—subscribe now..

💡 Benchmark your Influence: Take the Master of Influence Assessment (Free for Subscribers!)

👉 [Subscribe & Take the Assessment]

 

 

Stretching Your Influence

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Recently, I saw someone promoting that the secret of persuasion is to find people who want to go where you want them to go. To me, that sounds more like the secret of an easy (and boring) life. If someone already wants to do what you want them to do, little or no persuasion/influence is needed. Equally, you don’t need much skill or ability. Perhaps just mention a word or two to nudge them in the right direction.

Which got me thinking. In 2012, are you really stretching your influencing skills? Why bother with the “low hanging fruit” and the “quick wins”? Instead, look for those big influencing goals that will really make a difference when you succeed (BHAGs if you like).

One of the key stages in the Stakeholder Influence Process (outlined in Advocates and Enemies) is to get focus on what you want to influence. What’s missing from the book is looking beyond the here and now. The book is focused on what is in front of you right now. What it doesn’t do is really stretch your thinking to go way beyond what is currently realistic or believable. Yet, once you do that, the rest of the process is just as useful and practical and will help you move forward quickly towards your goal.

Now you need to consider what your BHAGs should be.

  • If you could influence it successfully, what would have a transformational effect on your work (and/or life)?
  • What do you want to happen which is currently viewed as impossible?
  • What do you need to influence to make your life today almost unrecognisable in 12 months?

Take your time. These things rarely appear immediately. Usually, they take a couple of days, and a few friendly conversations to emerge. But once you have those big goals identified, you can start to develop a strategy and identify your stakeholders. Then you can begin to make it happen. And if you don’t, watch out because someone else may get there first!

 

The Gautrey Influence Blog

Ever felt overlooked, unheard, or stuck in office politics? You’re not alone. The Gautrey Influence Blog breaks down the real-world strategies behind leadership, influence, and power—giving you the tools to be heard, respected, and successful. Join 35,000+ professionals getting ahead the smart way—subscribe now..

💡 Benchmark your Influence: Take the Master of Influence Assessment (Free for Subscribers!)

👉 [Subscribe & Take the Assessment]

 

 

Political Dilemmas at Work

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A practical, comprehensive guide to dealing with the complexities of politics in the workplace. Political Dilemmas at Work gives managers and leaders a comprehensive playbook for dealing with politics in the workplace. Ideal for anyone who works in a modern organisation, particularly managers and leaders, the book shows individuals how to deal with political situations in constructive, healthy and assertive ways. The situations in this book will be instantly recognisable to most experienced managers, but the solutions that readers will find here are fresh, powerful and effective. Based on the authors’ experiences as coaching managers, they offer practical tools and real-world tips for turning dilemmas into opportunities. Required reading for ambitious professionals in any industry, this is a practical and effective guide to surviving Read More

Women, Influence and Minority Groups

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Pay attention — this is not just for women. At the Massachusetts Conference for Women in December, Marian Ruderman (a Director at the Center for Creative Leadership) told delegates that "The ability to influence remains a core leadership competency, and leaders at the executive level must understand that there is a major paradigm shift under way. Moreover, regardless of the organizational setting, society still sends conflicting messages about how women should wield power and influence, making the topic an important one to pay attention to." Marian is absolutely right. However, her comments apply equally to all organisational levels and all groups. Her words reminded me of some research I did a few years back that noticed the different level of interest in the topic of influence between men and women. The data suggested that women are far more interested in the topic than men. Yet, looking deeper, I found that this was not because of the gender difference, but instead because women were frequently working in minority situations. This means that anyone working from a minority position is going to have to work harder to influence. Read More

Developing Tact and Diplomacy

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At its heart, tact and diplomacy is the skill of being sensitive to the feelings and opinions of other people. Those who possess it in great quantity are naturally able to sense what is really going on in the minds of others, and then respond with a certain delicacy of feeling that influences many people extremely well. The downside is that too much tact and diplomacy can irritate rather than influence other people. Two of my most popular articles on tact and diplomacy illustrate the problem well. Decoding and Resolving Personality Conflicts explains how personality clashes occur and what to do about them.This can go much further, and in Are You a Bully? Are You Sure You Aren't? I cite 21 common behaviours that may land you in trouble, deep trouble. Putting all of this into context, tact and diplomacy is one of four dimensions of influence we identified when creating the Gautrey Influence Profile back in 2005. Each of these is important to overall influencing capability. When we are using the profile to coach individuals to become more effective, we aim to help them to be able to balance the dimensions and to flex their style according to the situation. The decision you make about the level of tact and diplomacy to use should be based on the person you are seeking to influence. Your capability to respond accordingly requires not only awareness, but also the skill to be able to adapt your behaviour. Read More

Shrewd Investments in Networking

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Everyone is told they need to network. We all know the benefits; or at least we know them intellectually. Yet it still takes time and effort to get out there and do what you need to do. And, of course, we do not have very much time to spare. Getting a little more focus helps to make it easier to do. Instead of thinking of networking as a cost (time, energy and cash),think about it in terms of an investment. Convert the time and energy into a monetary equivalent. Now... Read More

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