Over the last few years, I have been working with organisations to help them to develop their relationships with suppliers and other strategic partners. Part of this involved us researching the characteristics of highly successful (and the not so … [Continue reading]
The Big Seven Stakeholder Management Mistakes
These are the seven most common mistakes I see people making when it comes to Stakeholder Management. If you can avoid all of these, whatever process you are using, you will enhance your success dramatically. Mistake 1: Not doing it. Often methods … [Continue reading]
What You See Is What You Get vs. Tact
Have you ever been told you need to be more tactful, stop wearing your heart on your sleeve or be a little more careful displaying your emotions? If so, you’re not alone. It needs to be addressed carefully, partly because it is usually perceived as … [Continue reading]
Networking: Missing a Trick?
Networking is a critical aspect of influencing skill. In our workshops, we find all manner of excuses thrown up, but having a vibrant network is vital to success in the long term (and the short term). Yet despite all the noise on the subject, in the … [Continue reading]
Why Is Influencing So Difficult Today?
In my ongoing drive to find more practical ways to help people become more influential, I would like to ask your opinion. Why do you think it is so hard for people to get the influence that they want/need? What is happening in the workplace, the … [Continue reading]
Seek First to Understand
Time and again we meet clients who are stuck. One recently was experiencing the micro-management of a stakeholder who should have had better things to do. This attention to minutiae and constant interference was leaving my client feeling frustrated, … [Continue reading]
Organisational Power in a Nutshell
Shareholders ask an executive to use a big bag of money to start a business and make a profit for them. The executive decides their strategy to deliver the expected return and starts to build the organisation. The executive will recruit department … [Continue reading]
Influencing Outside of Work
My specialism is power and influence in the workplace, and I know that all of the tools and techniques I use can apply well in all types of organisation. This week, on a workshop, two of my delegates demonstrated this to great effect! Niral is … [Continue reading]
Evidence, Intrigue and Fantasy
The corporate lawyer laid out the evidence to me that his boss was planning to fire him. The replacement had been hired already. He'd been pushing into a corner, isolated and sidelined. Despite a long relationship with the boss — the sense of … [Continue reading]
Brand Expectations
During a coaching session today I was taking a client through my approach to personal branding with three words. As is often the case, coming up with suitable words that really make an impact and allow for differentiation was easier said than done. … [Continue reading]