Our October 2021 blog talked about what we can do as individuals and as leaders to build culture when nothing’s normal. For this month’s blog, we will drill down on what individuals at all levels can do to be more powerful and more influential in building the organization’s culture.
Power is a Mindset – Those who seek power must have qualities which lend themselves to becoming powerful.
1. Be Confident, Hardworking, Ambitious and Passionate
Be confident that you can do well and willing to work hard, so you can continue to learn and grow, doing something which you’re passionate about. These four foundational traits in combination form the base for power. In fact, if you already have power, and you don’t retain these four traits in combination, you could very well lose that power!
2. Be Open and Curious
People who are curious about things and open to learning about them are more likely to learn more and become powerful. Indeed, it’s when you become less open and less curious that you risk falling down the power curve.
3. Be Humble and Other-Centric
It’s a fine balance between being confident enough to do something, and humble enough to question your ability to do something, or do that something right. It’s also a common mis-perception that those who are powerful are arrogant, not humble, and that they are self-centered, rather than other-centered. It’s quite the opposite. The Confident and the Humble tend to be more open and curious, more focused on the needs of others. The mindset behind the first three qualities is foundational to any base of power.
Plan the Work – Whereas the first three qualities are more character traits or mindsets, the next three factors are strategies people often adopt when they consciously seek power.
4. Map the Ecosystem of Players, Projects, and Resources
Understanding the ecosystem of players, projects and resources is foundational for those seeking power. Gathering this information takes finesse, trust, relationships, networks, discretion, and fortitude. Some people aren’t able to get past this step. Others may decide not to proceed.
5. Explore the Opportunities and Challenges Across the Ecosystem
When the ecosystem is mapped out, strategize on the opportunities and challenges, based on projected changes in any of the people, projects, resources, and processes. This takes finesse, management, trust, and a deep understanding of how you can best add value given the circumstances.
6. Strategize, Plan and Execute to Meet the Expectations of Key Stakeholders
Understand the motivations and success criteria for the key stakeholders and collaborate with others to clearly define goals, taking into account business, people, process, and cultural objectives.
Work the Plan
7. Build Collaborations and Deliver Early Wins
Strategize, plan and execute to deliver early-win results based on predefined success criteria. The more often you succeed at working with teams to deliver results, the more credibility and power you will have.
8. Gather Support, Resources and Influence with Each Success
Celebrate each success, but continue to gather resources, support, and grow influence and credibility with each success. You don’t have to aspire to lead each element of each project in order to remain associated with a project or initiative.
9. Communicate Successes and Engage the Ecosystem of Stakeholders
Continue to expand and grow the projects, people, and networks. Again, you don’t have to lead all aspects of a project in order to be associated with it.
You may also decide that you are no longer interested in the project, which is OK as well. You might find something more interesting to do, or you might decide to hunker down and remain low-profile for a while.
Iterate
10. The Road to Power and Influence is a Journey, Not a Destination
To ensure you maintain power and influence, circle back to the first objectives above – remaining open, humble, confident, hardworking and other-centric.
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