Photo by: Hiraman via Canva
You’ve probably heard the saying, “It’s not just what you know, but, who you know!” In todays’ business environment, this saying resonates with high volume. It can be challenging in the workplace to ensure all voices are heard, especially with so many employees working remotely, globally, and with so many ways to communicate.
It can be difficult to get your ideas heard and/or validated, especially if you aren’t in a decision-making role or if there’s no access to the person or group who is. These situations can lead people to become unwilling to express their concerns or ideas, because they’ve either tried before without success, or have witnessed others try unsuccessfully. They believe they don’t have any power and that it will simply be “business as usual.”
The key in these situations is to persevere. Although much will depend on the culture and politics of the organization, if you have strong conviction behind your concerns and ideas, it’s important to not give up. You can learn strategies to expand your power base and gain positive results by managing your sphere of influence within your organization.
1. Identify key individuals you may be able to positively and ethically influence. Do this by listing everyone within your sphere of influence and who they may know. Using this strategy will help you expand your power base to gain positive results and guide you to the person or group that may have originally been be out of your reach. We often try to go it alone and when that doesn’t work out, we become frustrated and give up.
2. Determine the right time and the right person to approach so you can assess and maximize the likelihood of a successful influencing interaction.
3. Select a strategic course of action and build a persuasive case that will generate win/win outcomes. We have all heard that it “takes a village to support a child,” so why not consider that it takes a village to make a difference in the world of business, too.
4. Tailor your case to your audience’s influence preferences and present your facts, ideas, and concerns persuasively.
Identify who is in your village and make your voice heard!
Bring Langevin’s How to Influence People and Events workshop on site to learn more about how to expand and manage YOUR sphere of influence! Trust us, you won’t be disappointed!
You must have some insights about this issue, too, and we’d love to learn more, so please share them in the comments below.