Gautrey Unleashed

Corporate Politics: Necessary Evil or Waste of Time

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A little while ago one of my private coaching clients was expressing his frustration about the political activity surrounding his work. This stimulated me to ask my connections about their views on this common feature of organisational life...
What's your take on this, necessary evil or total waste of your time?
I'd love to hear your thoughts, here are just a few of the hundreds of responses I received: Read More

Help! Stakeholder on the Warpath

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Outside the saloon bar, footsteps could be heard. Approaching slowly, spurs clattering on the boards as each step brought the intimidating presence of the stakeholder closer. The shadowy silhouette, complete with Stetson, paused briefly, the steaming sunlight concealing the set of his face, and the weapons he carried. Violently swinging the doors open, taking a step inside the room, he boomed… “So, we’re here to talk about the figures are we?” Or at least, this is how it appeared to Aisha, a client of mine who had been dreading this particular showdown. The problem was that this stakeholder was on the warpath, and had been gunning for Aisha for a few weeks. That all Aisha wanted to do was to help him seemed to matter little. Luckily, we had a little time to talk it though a few hours before the meeting that helped her to prepare. The key points of her approach included: Read More

Courageous Ways to Influence People

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There are many ways to influence people. Positive ways build long-term relationships, although there is a risk that in the short term you may not get what you want. Negative ways of influence are perhaps more likely to get you what you want today; but in the long run, your influence will wane even faster than your relationships. This is because the positive ways are focused on doing the right thing by others and helping them to act and take decisions which are good for them — while the negative ones pay little heed to their benefit.

Let's Focus on the Positive Ways.

Some of them may challenge your notion of what is prudent. That is fine. My purpose here is Read More

Seven Ways to Become More Visible

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Are you getting recognised by the people who count in your organisation? It is one thing being really good at your job, expert in your field and able to bang in big results, and quite another getting noticed. Getting noticed means that you have to be out there building relationships with key people. Those with power and influence, those who can help bring your forward and make you shine. Yet this is easier said than done. Firstly, you are busy doing your job. Secondly, they are busy doing their job. And finally, why would they be interested in you in any case? That it is not easy doesn’t make Read More

Making an Impact at the Top Table

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The easiest way to make a big impact at the top table is to have big responsibilities. Ideally, bigger than most of the other people you have to work alongside. The type of roles which grab this limelight and, to a large extent, the organisation is reliant upon. Functions such as Sales and Operations are typically those that sit in this powerful position, but the constituents are dependent on the type of organisation you work for, and also the context in which it has to succeed. You are probably reading this because you do not have one of these roles and are struggling to make the necessary impact to be able to fulfil your own responsibilities — and deliver the results expected by your line manager. You have probably also Read More

How to Navigate the Matrix

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Most people at a middle or senior level in large organisations have at least two bosses, usually dubbed the solid and dotted-line bosses' — the classic matrix structure. Often, these bosses are conspicuous by their absence — tied up on other pressing projects and initiatives. When you do get a one-to-one, it is usually a hurried conference call focusing on their priorities, and often at odds with the “other” boss' ideas. When you point this out, a frequent response is the insistence that you need to deliver on your objectives and should be capable of making it happen. So, in order to make things happen, you have to be able to influence both of your bosses to feel bought-in to the way you are pushing things, and you have to single-handedly influence the myriad of peers — all of whom also have many bosses and stakeholders. Complicated work! Increasingly, this problem fits into a global organisation where time zones and cultural differences exacerbate the complexity. But, let’s face it, that’s what you’re paid for, isn’t it?

Understanding This Challenge

The first point to recognise is Read More

Attitudes Towards Your Relationship

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As discussed on the video Attitudes and Approaches in How to Win Over Your Boss, I stressed the importance of checking in with yourself about your attitude towards the relationship you have with your boss. The purpose of this exercise is to help you to land your reflections and turn them into specific actions you can begin to take to move towards a more helpful attitude. This does not mean you have to always be agreeing, always be positive, but that you become far moe aware of the impact your chosen attitudes have on the behaviours that inhabit your relationship (your behaviour and your boss' behaviour). During the first webinar we covered a number of attitudes that help and support your transition into a strategic influencer. The purpose of this exercise is to give you the opportunity to do a little self-analysis and also, make decisions about adjusting the attitudes you approach your work with. Read More

Measuring Your Business Relationships

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Relationships need to be in good shape if you are going to be able to deliver at your best. You have relationships all around you: your boss, your co-workers, your team members, and many more besides. When they are not working, problems quickly ensue. If you are interested in improving a specific relationship, it really helps to quantify exactly what you are aiming for, and find a way to measure the quality of your relationship. This will help you to focus on what to improve and find actions you can take that will (hopefully) move you towards your goal. Rather than tell you what you should measure, I’d like you to work it out for yourself, lay down some measures appropriate for you, and then set about making it happen. To do this, reflect a little on relationships that Read More

Harnessing the Power of Informal Groups

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We normally view organisations as being split into formal groups such as marketing, operations, sales, etc. To this formal structure we can add cross-functional project teams created for specific purposes. This represents the way formal power assets are divided within the organisation. However, underlying this is an informal structure — groups of people with something in common. They could share common sporting interests, educational background, or even the fact they all smoke. These informal groups can have a massive impact Read More

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