Colin Gautrey

Underlying Principles of How Influence Works

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If you want to become more influential, it really helps if you know the how, and the why, of influence. That way you can economise on your work as an influencer, and gain a great deal more influence. At its most basic, influence is about causing someone to take a different course of action than they were planning to take before they experienced the cause. This influence is very direct and obvious — it either happens or it doesn't. Slightly more difficult to spot is the influence you can have on attitudes which will ultimately lead to different action. For instance, if you influence a stakeholder to change their mind about you and think that you are actually pretty good at your job, a few weeks later they may respond/act in a much more positive way when you send them an email. Before you can have influence, you have to have power. Power is quite simply the capacity to influence. This is what is at work when you are interacting with people. To illustrate this capacity, imagine for a moment that you have just won the lottery and now Read More

Building Greater Tenacity

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Tough organisations have a tendency to grind you down. The complexity, pressure, conflicting agendas, politics and bureaucracy all combine to make rapid progress extremely difficult. I don't know what your reputational ambitions are; however, I'm pretty sure that they will be closely linked to your performance. If you are unable to make rapid progress in your work, you are unlikely to be able to advance your reputation very far. Some people seem to have been born with tenacity, the rest of us need to keep working at it. If you want to develop your tenacity and persistence, work on these ideas religiously — and make sure you read to the end because these definitely apply to serious people working in Read More

How Influence Works for You

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An important key to influence is being able to notice before you attempt to influence what is likely to motivate someone to want to do what you want them to do. An easy way to begin learning more about motivations is to look inwardly at how and why others are able to influence you. By noticing what motivates you to do things differently, you can begin to see new ways to influence others. One of the great things about this sort of self-reflection is that you don’t have to worry about not getting the full story. When you’re asking someone else, there is always an overlay of caution in their answers — they may hold back on the full truth. After all, why should they tell you how to influence them? Of course, you could be deluding Read More

How to Influence Groups

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In complex leadership arenas you do not have the time to influence everyone directly. That is why you need to get very efficient and working out how to influence groups. When you can do this, you can reap the economic rewards by gaining even more influence. Before you rush out and do this however, make sure you are crystal clear on how you want to influence a given group. Any effort you put into group influence will be wasted, and potentially make things worse (the related readings will help you here). Here are seven ways you Read More

Assessing Your Reputation Building Work

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In the lead article for this series (How to Build Your Reputation) I laid out six areas which have to be considered in order to be able to make significant progress towards establishing your reputation in a tough organisation, or in any other place for that matter. The articles in this series have been following that structure, and I wonder how you are getting on? No doubt you have been making changes along the way, improving your positioning, your distinction and visibility. As we begin to reach a close to the series, now is a good time to sit back and take stock, and to perhaps prioritise where you need to be going next. For each of the areas below Read More

Influence, Manipulation and Integrity

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What are you prepared to do in order to get what you want? Many people approaching the development of their influencing skills get hijacked by their sense of integrity. When I start talking about approaches they could use to become more influential during a workshop, some people start to baulk. They feel that what is being suggested is manipulative. As such, it should form no part of what they do. Let’s face it, nobody likes to feel they have been manipulated into doing something which is against their interests. Sales people are notorious Read More

Time to Take More Control?

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Most people in leadership roles are so busy surviving that they miss opportunities to become more powerful and influential. Rather than being a shaper, they remain stuck in reaction mode. Although understandable, it is not excusable if you want to be highly successful. The pressures exerted on people to achieve miracles with limited resources can be extreme. Hitting deadlines and year-end targets becomes an all-consuming pursuit. If you are feeling like this and struggling to survive, it is likely that you are not in control and are simply reacting to those around you. Happy with that? More importantly, do Read More

Positive Influence for Women Summary

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Over nearly fifteen years, since deciding to specialise in helping people to become more influential, one of the most frequent questions I’ve been asked on the conference stage and in the conversations following a presentation is…

“How do men and women differ when it comes to influence?”

To be honest, this is usually asked by women. Women seem to be very curious about this topic and my research over the last few years has revealed why they ask this, and what the differences actually are.

The Differences Between Men and Women

Of course there are always exceptions but much of the data I have accumulated demonstrates striking differences in:
  • Networking.
  • Influencing Styles.
  • Perceptions of Power.
  • Use (and Abuse) of Power.
  • Influencing Tactics.

Exploring How Women and Men Influence

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Attracting Sponsors and Advocates

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You now need to begin to build a list of potential sponsors. Who are the key people who can help you to achieve your reputational impact? In effect, sponsors and advocates are the people who you need to sing your praises. You can’t do it all yourself and the more senior people you have saying hugely positive things about you (to other powerful people), the faster you will move. Ideally, your sponsors should Read More

Engaging with Powerful People

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When it comes to networking, there is no substitute for networking — you’ve got to get out there and do it. By now, I am sure you have no doubt in your mind that it is necessary; however, actually getting out there and doing it is sometimes a little harder. The bottom line is that you are busy, have far too much to do and frankly, more important things to worry about. However, you know deep down that often these are simply excuses that help you to avoid doing things you’d rather not do. Yet, in complex organisations, you absolutely have to get Read More

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