A few weeks ago, we provided some tips on how to influence even better. Sound familiar? Well, at Your Clear Next Step, we think growing your influence is an important skill to master so, we’re going to dive back into the topic with six stories and applications! Each of these characters has a personal story along with insights on how to better increase your influence. Let’s get started!
It’s a typical Monday morning at the office. But for Aisha, something has shifted. She’s heard recent talk of the concept of “influencing up” and she’s curious to learn more. While it can be difficult to inspire and motivate, influencing up in her organization has the potential to break barriers and help to get more done, so she wants to learn how she too can influence up. In her initial research, there are three things in particular that stand out to Aisha which she’s learned will have an immediate and lasting impact:
Aisha remembers when she was first starting as an intern with a big company. She didn’t feel like she had much of a voice, so for the most part, she kept her head down and did what she was asked. But as she got to know people within the organization and got the hang of her roles and responsibilities, she realized there were some systems that could be improved. And she had some ideas for some of those improvements!
She knew these ideas wouldn’t just benefit interns starting out, but they would make a difference throughout the organization. An early step she took was to run her ideas past her mentor, who thought they were great and offered some tweaks for improvement. Aisha took the feedback from her mentor gratefully since the mentor had a much longer and broader perspective about the organization than Aisha did, and she adjusted her ideas based on the feedback.
From there, Aisha took the refined ideas to her immediate leader, being sure to mention that she’d already adjusted them based on input from her mentor. Her leaders indicated that he was anxious to implement the changes immediately, so Aisha helped her leader implement those changes and make a smooth transition, even though it meant a little extra work outside her regular responsibilities.
As a result of the positive impact of the changes she’d suggested and the professional way she approached making them, Aisha was promoted from intern to full-time staff member less than six-months after starting!
Looking back, what really aided in Aisha’s success was her understanding of the power dynamics at play within her organization. She knew she didn’t have the power or the whole perspective as an brand new intern to start implementing change, even if it benefited other interns. She recognized that a better approach was to get insight and input from others, and bring the ideas to those who could help implement them, and then roll up her sleeves to help get the work done, knowing that the change could be transformational for everyone.
Putting the good of the organization first like this can be hard to do in some places. And sometimes, we have a misconstrued definition of what “putting the good of the organization first” even is. Let’s clarify:
How do we put the good of the organization first? Here are some questions we can ask to make that a habit.
By knowing who we are as an organization, who we serve, what our intended impact on the world is, and how we choose to operate together as a core culture, we have a common ground we can stand on. This serves as our unifying goal. It also becomes a beacon that helps our target customers recognize that we are here to serve them, and it helps our business partners and other potential employees self-identify as those who want to work with us. It’s a starting point from which to measure success, a decision-filter to use to make choices, and an anchor to come back to when things seem to be getting confusing.
Talking about our organization’s “why” helps us keep organizational alignment and motivation.
This question is all about the future. Do we have a plan for the future? What does that look like? Why is our organization heading in that direction? Is that the direction we want to be heading in or do we need to do something differently? How can we invest in leaders who will get us going in the right direction? How can our tactical decisions today align with where we’re headed strategically?
This question moves from knowing where we’re going, toward actually getting there. Once we understand the overall strategy of where we’re going, this helps us get to the detain of how we get things done within this organization? How do we physically make change happen? How do we move forward with the plans and ideas we have? What are the levers we will pull to help motivate and move others alongside us?
When we put the good of the organization first, we are more likely to get invited to the tables where decisions are made. From there, we can impact teams and individuals and enact change that benefits them too.
By understanding what the power dynamics are in any given context, we avoid stepping on toes. When we recognize that this is less about me, less of what I’m doing and instead it’s more about us, what we’re doing or could be doing, everyone benefits. We help our leaders to help their leaders make a positive difference, and it allows us to influence up even better.
When Aisha was in high school, her friends labeled her as “overly emotional”. She was the one who cried at all the movies they went to, or when a new album came out, she was always moved by them. She felt like her friends didn’t really understand her, but on one occasion at the movies, her friend, Brooke, surprised her.
It was another sad movie and Aisha started crying within the first fifteen minutes. Brooke leaned over with a small package of Kleenex and offered both a smile and some of her popcorn. Aisha gladly accepted, and she never forgot Brooke’s kindness in that moment.
What Aisha didn’t know at the time was that Brooke was already growing her emotional intelligence. She had anticipated exactly what emotions Aisha would feel and had come prepared to support her. The great thing is that the two friends didn’t even know what emotional intelligence was back then, and they were already applying it! But Aisha felt seen and loved by her friend, all because Brooke had taken the time to tune into Aiesha’s emotions.
The thing about emotional intelligence is that you’re never done growing it. Just when you figure it out in one area of life, you grow up, you advance, or you move somewhere else. It’s a continued process of getting even better. When we understand how to balance our emotional intelligence and leverage it to help ourselves and those around us, we will be more successful in any area.
Aisha thinks back to just a couple of months ago when she had to send a message to someone more senior in her organization. In her initial email, she asked that person to relay back to her when the task was complete. For Aisha to move forward with her project, she needed this task to be completed. A week later, she still hadn’t heard back, so she sent a follow-up email and had to continue asking a couple of times until the task was finished. While Aisha could have been frustrated with the situation, she continued to follow-up with her communications, and encouraged the other person to do the same. This moment made her realize how important the responsibility of communication is when it comes to moving things forward.
Effective communication is essential in all areas of life, whether at work, home, or school. It helps us to get things done, and as Aisha learned, it’s vital for moving forward. But sometimes, there’s a misunderstanding of what communication is and isn’t, or who’s involved and who’s not. Let’s clear the air a little bit:
The responsibility of communication is heavy. If I send the communication, I need to make sure it reaches its destination. If I receive it, I need to make sure the communicator knows I received it. Communication is a two-way street, a give and take, a shared responsibility. Either I own the communication, or I step in and own it when someone else doesn’t.
In her research of the 3 Critical Success Factors for influencing up, Aisha realized that she was already doing most of them, or she had seen the people around her use them and she just didn’t know it! With this newfound realization, Aisha can move forward in her own growth, and teach her team about each factor, how to apply them, and how they can influence up even better within their organization!
How are you going to follow in Aisha’s footsteps?
Things like putting the good of the organization first, growing your emotional intelligence, and using communication techniques to improve authentic human connections, are all part of our Change Makers Certification Program! If you’re interested in learning more about any of these areas, check out our resource page, or reach out with any questions!