Posts Tagged ‘Strategy’

Which role are you taking?

1 July 2009

The influence leader faces a dilemma: When you are trying to advance a project, do you take the role of a convener/facilitator or that of an advocate?

These are distinct roles that are both important to getting things done. But the influence leader that carelessly mixes the two will quickly find themselves in trouble and the larger conversation in tatters.

For example, suppose you are trying to set direction for your project or organization. Two things need to happen at the same time. First, you and the people you are working with (and working for) need to have a complete discussion. That takes planning and conscious effort. Second, you need to step up and let people know what you’re thinking.

If you push a position when you should be shepherding the process, people will distrust your motives and resent your heavy-handedness. If you fail to take a position when people want to know what you think, you’ll look wishy-washy and uncommitted.

What are these roles?

As convener/facilitator, your task is to help everyone involved to have the fullest, most productive conversation needed to achieve results. You help frame the questions, you make space for everyone to participate, you make sure people are heard, and you ensure that decisions are made in a way that everyone can support.Your primary focus is the process of coming to a decision.

As an advocate, you’ve got your own ideas and opinions about what should be done and what should be decided. In fact, folks may be looking to you to weigh in with your perspective. You have an investment in the outcome of the process, so your primary focus is there.

You aren’t doing your job if you pick one of the roles to the exclusion of the other. Since you cannot just pick one, you need to pick both.

Both? Yes, you need to shift between roles, making sure the discussion is on track and also weighing in with your opinion.

The trick is to state clearly about which role you’re taking at a given time. Let people know that you are balancing two distinct roles.

If you are clear with yourself and others about which role you’re in, you’ll be able to manage the dilemma and keep yourself from getting stuck.

Comments (2)  •  Email This Post  •  Influence Leader Home
Technorati  •  Del.icio.us  •  Digg This!  •  Stumble It!  •  Facebook  •  Twitter
Tags: , , ,

Don’t get too far ahead

4 May 2009

If you’re stuck trying to influence someone or something, take a look at how your project is “structured.”

There are three basic parts to any situation or problem you are trying to change: (1) where things are now (current state), (2) where you want to go (desired state) and (3) how to get there (options).

In my experience, people move way too quickly to defining options without first clearly understanding the current and desired states—and making sure that other folks are on the same page. (This is critical!)

Defining options is the third step of the problem-solving process.

The first step is to take a sober look at the current situation. What are the facts? How are people interpreting them? Do they see the same problem you do? If not, that is your first challenge. Don’t bother talking about options with people until they see the need for change.

The second step is to define the future. Which of the facts about the current situation do you want to change? What do you want the future to look like? Again, are other people on the same page with you? You can’t assume—you’ve got to ask them. If there isn’t agreement on the desired, future state, you will have a very hard time agreeing on which option to pursue.

Now, you know the current state and the desired state. It’s time to talk options with folks. What do you see as the options? What do others see? What criteria will you/they use to pick the option to pursue? Who is the “decider”?

This is the conversation you’ve been waiting for, but you can only get to it if you lay the groundwork first by agreeing on the current situation and the desired state. Once you’ve done that, people will be ready to talk about options–and make a decision.

Comment (1)  •  Email This Post  •  Influence Leader Home
Technorati  •  Del.icio.us  •  Digg This!  •  Stumble It!  •  Facebook  •  Twitter
Tags: , ,

Slow down there, cowboy!

14 April 2009

You’ve got do something! You’ve got to get the boss to change her mind, rally your team, convince a customer, prepare a “silver-bullet” presentation. There’s no time to waste!

Whoa, Hoss! Successful influence is less about doing stuff and more about doing the right stuff. And, the right stuff isn’t usually what comes to mind first.

One thing I’ve noticed about “influence” is that people don’t think much about using it until they hit a wall. They have a setback. As a friend of mine says, they get “spanked.” Now, they’re interested in learning about influence.

When you get spanked, it may due to rushing to action without pausing to reflect on just what the best action might be. If you haven’t weighed at least a few different ideas for how to proceed, chances are you haven’t found the best action yet. The odds are against you.

In US culture, we are biased toward action. Just do it! Get it done! Move, move, MOVE!

A big problem with this approach is that taking the wrong action can actually set you back. Take the wrong step, and you can annoy the person you want to influence or piss off an ally. Unthinking action can make achieving your objective even harder, not easier.

In this moment, when you feel you must act, it may be better to “go slow to go fast.” Pause, think, test ideas. Take the time you need to refine your thinking, define your choices and then pick the best one.

Comment  •  Email This Post  •  Influence Leader Home
Technorati  •  Del.icio.us  •  Digg This!  •  Stumble It!  •  Facebook  •  Twitter
Tags: , ,

Develop a fine-grained view

13 March 2009

Are you really being smart about what you’re dealing with? Have you mapped out the challenges, pitfalls and resources that will help you be successful?

Most folks who try to influence haven’t taken this step.

It’s important to “get smart” about what the challenge is. Who supports you? Who might? Who is resisting? What can be done?

You need to drill down, unpack and unthread the situation. Remember that most interpretations, judgments and conclusions you and others might have about a situation are probably built on some pretty flimsy facts.

Drilling down means separating (1) the actual, observable facts from (2) the interpretations, judgments and conclusions.

It also means discovering where best to focus your energy, understanding the environment you’re working within, the pressures on the person (or people) you’re trying to influence, and becoming aware of the array of choices and options you have for realizing your vision.

This is obviously not something you do in one sitting. It takes time to develop this fine-grained view. Furthermore, you can’t do it all by toiling at your desk, working it out on paper.

You’ll need to do some research. Go out and test some of your assumptions; look for ways to be surprised.

It will sharpen your thinking and increase your chances of success.

Comment (1)  •  Email This Post  •  Influence Leader Home
Technorati  •  Del.icio.us  •  Digg This!  •  Stumble It!  •  Facebook  •  Twitter
Tags: , ,

The quandary of revolutionary change

6 February 2009

Is it better to go after massive, revolutionary change, or to work to modify what you have now and try to move it in the direction you hope for?

This is the question surgeon and writer Atul Gawande took up in a recent New Yorker essay on health care reform. It’s a fine piece, and one I heartily recommend.

His argument is that massive, revolutionary change may seem attractive, but it rarely works. Why? We tend to downplay the power of current systems and other external constraints to thwart massive change. Furthermore, we rarely get “revolutionary change” right the first time out.

Instead, it’s better to work on modifying—even dramatically if necessary—the current system from where it is. Don’t throw it out and plan to start over from scratch.

Influence leaders are more effective trying to make “modifications” than trying to bring about massive, revolutionary change.

In making modifications, influence leaders provide themselves with multiple opportunities to get it right. They provide for their own learning curve—they get time to think about what they are seeing and how to change their approach.

They are not betting the farm on a single, brilliant idea working. Instead, they are planning to be in for the long haul.

Of course, there are occasions for revolutionary change. I’m not saying that we never seek big change.

What I am saying is that it is probably a mistake for influence leaders to believe they have the one answer and to drive for revolutionary change most of the time. They are much more likely to achieve the same results by focusing on modifying, not destroying, the very system they are working within.

Comment  •  Email This Post  •  Influence Leader Home
Technorati  •  Del.icio.us  •  Digg This!  •  Stumble It!  •  Facebook  •  Twitter
Tags: ,

Get out of the weeds

29 December 2008

Have you ever felt stuck, out of options and unable to make a move? As an influence leader this is deadly. It drains away initiative and confidence, which further ensnares you.

Feeling stuck is pretty common. You’ve taken action, made some decisions, and find yourself at a dead end. Everyone’s been there. It means you’ve tried stuff, you’ve made an effort. In a way, it’s a badge of honor.

But that doesn’t mean you want to stay there. You want to keep moving, no?

Fortunately, there is a common solution: Pull up and out. When we are stuck, we are usually down in the weeds—the details of our project or effort.

To get into the weeds, we’ve had to make a series of assumptions and conclusions, say, about what is possible or about what we are trying to achieve.

It’s those assumptions and conclusions that have us trapped. As long as we see only one way forward, and that way is blocked, we’ll feel stuck.

Happily, there is almost always another route, another option. If only we could see it.

That other option may be right there in front of you. The way to see it is to pull up and out (back up, step back, etc.) and see the big picture. Take a break, breathe, consult with a trusted advisor, take another look at your overall objective: What are the other ways of looking at this situation?

The answer usually doesn’t come right away, but asking the question always helps open up your thinking.

Comment  •  Email This Post  •  Influence Leader Home
Technorati  •  Del.icio.us  •  Digg This!  •  Stumble It!  •  Facebook  •  Twitter
Tags: , ,

Think like a campaigner

23 September 2008

It’s an election season, and we’re surrounded by campaigns for candidates, referendums, and ballot initiatives (at least out here in the West). By this point the process, only the most ardent supporters are not weary of it all.

Yet, someone will win in the end.

Consider the influence leader who thinks of her strategy as a campaign. She has a crystal-clear goal or strategy and musters needed resources (in the forms of allies and money). She develops sticky messages and constantly adjusts her tactics to see which produce the best results.

Wouldn’t this kind of “campaign thinking” work as well in hospital where you are trying to reduce infections as it would for a political candidate? Wouldn’t this work just as well for a mid-manager trying to strengthen accountability? Or for a CEO reorganizing a company?

There are three essential elements to campaign thinking: (1) You focus on the long-term results, not the quick wins. And you don’t allow yourself to be derailed by petty stuff. Informed, yes; derailed, no. (2) You keep in mind that the campaign is separate from you. If someone doesn’t like what you are doing, they are attacking the campaign, not you. You can’t afford to get hooked into a pitched battle of egos. If you can stay emotionally neutral, you’ll achieve the third essential element: (3) flexibility. Flexibility means you can change tactics without changing your goal.

If you can stay focuses on long term results, don’t get too emotionally invested, and above all remain flexible, they you will have a very hard time failing. Because you’re a failure only when you stop trying.

Comment  •  Email This Post  •  Influence Leader Home
Technorati  •  Del.icio.us  •  Digg This!  •  Stumble It!  •  Facebook  •  Twitter
Tags: , ,

Are you an agent, or merely an advocate?

29 May 2008

So you want to make change in your organization? Are you a well-meaning person with a good idea, or are you a well-meaning person with a good idea who has support?

If you’re the former, you’re what’s known as an “advocate.” The first job of an advocate is to gain sponsorship for your idea about how to improve your unit or organization. You need to make your case to the hierarchy (or at least the highest person necessary to implement the change) and gain his or her support in order to move forward. This is where to focus your effort.

Even larger social change requires some kind of executive sponsorship to legitimize it and get people to take it seriously. Maybe the support of a key community organization—think the Southern Christian Leadership Conference for the civil rights movement.

An advocate who continues to push without gaining legitimacy risks being labeled an annoyance, and losing ground. Unfortunately, while working inside organizations, I had several experiences of pushing ideas without sponsorship. I thought my idea alone would carry the day, but it never did. I hadn’t gotten the sponsorship.

On the other hand, a “change agent” is someone who has a good idea AND support to implement it. This is the person who stands a chance of seeing their idea implemented for the greater good. They are the ones to watch because, if their executive sponsorship holds, their organization will take their idea to heart.

Comment  •  Email This Post  •  Influence Leader Home
Technorati  •  Del.icio.us  •  Digg This!  •  Stumble It!  •  Facebook  •  Twitter
Tags: , ,

What is your situation?

21 May 2008

Suppose you are facing some kind of challenge, like getting someone to accept a change or recommendation you are proposing. There are probably many factors in play, some help your cause, while others are potential barriers. How do you decide where to focus your effort?

One simple but powerful technique involves creating a “picture” of your situation on a single sheet of paper. On the left side of the page, you list all the factors or forces that are helping drive you toward your goal. Examples might include cost savings, customer demands, proven track record, or support of a key executive. On the right side, list all the factors or forces that are restraining you. These can involve political opposition, lack of executive support, costs of implementation, etc.

Once you’ve laid those out (you can always add to the list as you go along), circle the ones that are most significant. Can you change any of these? Can you strengthen any driving forces? Can you add new ones, such as a new selling point or supporter?

Can you reduce any restraining forces or remove them entirely? Say, by allaying someone’s concern about your intentions or how they’ll be affected. Maybe you can even convert a restraint into a driver? For example, by turning an opponent into a supporter.

This tool is called a “force field analysis.” It was developed decades ago by Kurt Lewin, one of the founders of organization development. It can give you a quick-and-dirty analysis, or you can use it to drill down much deeper to discovery hidden forces and factors that are holding you back. It’s very robust. Check out an example I posted on the resources page.

Comment  •  Email This Post  •  Influence Leader Home
Technorati  •  Del.icio.us  •  Digg This!  •  Stumble It!  •  Facebook  •  Twitter
Tags: , ,

Perspective is worth 50 IQ points

18 March 2008

Years ago, a colleague at the city of Seattle introduced me to Alan Kay’s popular aphorism (“Perspective is worth 50 IQ points.”) and I am still constantly reminded of it. Interviewing a former client recently, I learned that one of the most important things I did for her was to help her “see” what was going on in her organization. She said that I helped focus attention on the underlying problems and issues. (She also said I “implicated everyone,” which she also thought was useful.) Basically, I brought to her and her colleagues a clear, systemic view of the situation—one that opened doors to do work that they needed to do. Using the perspective I brought, they were able to see things more clearly, take action, and get results.

Comment  •  Email This Post  •  Influence Leader Home
Technorati  •  Del.icio.us  •  Digg This!  •  Stumble It!  •  Facebook  •  Twitter
Tags: , ,