Gautrey Unleashed

When should you be autocratic as a leader?

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Contrary to what many people would like to believe, there is a place for being autocratic in the workplace as I pointed out in my article Command and Control: Alive and Kicking. The challenge though, is knowing when to be autocratic, and how to do it without upsetting the world around you. As you probably know, there are lots of different styles you can adopt as a leader, and the more versatile you are, the more capable you will be. Too often I have Read More

In Here, They All Ask What You Do

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It must be part of their approach, but just about everyone here seems curious to know what I do for a living. Which is a welcome distraction. And an opportunity to use this experience to reflect more on how people influence. The nurse on the left of my bed begs this question. Then he explains he learned all about leadership in the services. As he busies himself doing something down on my arm, “So come on then Colin, what’s your top tip for leadership?” I wasn’t really conscious of what he is doing, I just started to answer, enjoying the challenge of being put on the spot. Within seconds I’m distracted as a violent argument breaks out across the room. Two theatre staff are taking lumps out of each other, arguing over whose role it is to communicate with the patient. Read More

How Power Conditions Your Behaviour

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A critical aspect of influence that you have to pay heed to is that power shapes the decisions in a given group, at a personal and group level. This means that it will shape the decisions you make and, the behaviours you choose to use. For example, if the group you are working in responds to credibility in the form of technical know-how, a group will spend a good deal of time considering the technical aspects of any proposal before making a decision. It will want to understand the technology, processes and evidence that support the idea. In that group, one would also expect that those with the greatest (relevant) technical capability will be the most influential (powerful) in that group. Their opinion will count, people will turn to them for guidance, and will defer to their views. Now, if that source of power is very strong, Read More

Simple Rules for Influence: Part 2

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In this second part of my Simple Rules for Influence, I want to focus on three rules that will help you to get ready to go out there and influence.  

Aim for Wanting or Willing

The first one is about your orientation and your overriding objective, what you're trying to do here. I'm not talking about the specific influence that you want, but what I want to guide you to do is to get people to want to do what you want them to do, or at least be willing to do it. Read More

Maybe I Like the Misery

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Mrs Doyle, from the hit TV comedy Father Ted, hits the nail on the head regarding resistance to change during one classic episode. For those of you who do not know the series, I’ve included a few YouTube clips below. In summary, Mrs Doyle is the loyal housekeeper of two priests in the irreverent series that has proved remarkably popular over the years. The point of this particular episode is that some bright spark has invented a super clever bit of technological wizardry that makes tea automatically, takes away the drudgery, the misery. In our world today, innovation, transformation, FinTech, you name it, things are changing with such pace, able to solve so many problems, and yes, take the frustration out of end of quarter accounts, of customer service processes. You name it, drudgery can be a thing of the past. Except, some people Read More

Acting Up, New Roles and the Casting Couch

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“All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players.” As You Like It, William Shakespeare. If they were to cast someone for your job, what would they be looking for in the actor? How would they want the part to be brought to life? That job you are applying for, what role do they want someone to play? Good cop, bad cop, peace-maker, agent provocateur? The job description may be the same, but the portrayal required can vary widely. Read More

Seeing What You Expect to See

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This is important. I’m prone to making mistakes, especially typos. Earlier this week I posted a quote:

“Trying to beat a cunning political rival on their home turf? Chsnge the game instead.”

Then someone kindly pointed out my mistake and I put it right. Why do I do this? Small screens, big fingers, smaller keyboards and when I check what I have written, I see what I expect to see. To see what Read More

Emotional Preparation for Interviews

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Gross oversimplification: When you think a thought, you create feelings that contribute to your emotional state. Your emotional state alters your physical body, and this stimulates further thoughts. As your body changes, signals will be given off that others may notice. You are desperate to make a good impression at an interview. You notice a minuscule raising of the interviewer’s eyebrow. “He doesn’t believe me!” Tension rises, your face starts to redden, the room suddenly feels hot. “Oh no, I’m sweating now!” Read More

FAB: Selling to Your Stakeholders

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Selling = Influencing & Influencing = Selling

Being good at influencing means you are good at selling. The pinnacle of selling is the ability to sell the intangible, and more often than not, influencing internal stakeholders involves selling the intangible. Which means, to be successful influencing internally in large organisations you’ve got to be extremely good at sales. When was the last time you went on a sales course? Here’s one extremely powerful idea drawn from Read More

Stakeholder Buying Process: Where Are They?

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Here’s another idea drawn from the sales field that can transform the way you approach your stakeholders. The term buy-in is commonly bandied about but few people in my experience actually think about the psychological buying process and where their stakeholders are in it. Reflecting on the buying process aligns well with my oft repeated notion that influencers at their best are helping stakeholders to make decisions – buying decisions. To see what this can do for you, here’s a quick Read More

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