LEADING THROUGH INFLUENCE

A lot has been written about leadership and grooming leadership qualities for corporate citizens. But what is the most powerful way to demonstrate leadership. The answer is simple: Influence.  All of us whether we work with small organizations or large organizations,product or service companies, multinational or start up companies need to influence people on a daily basis. We need to influence people who are working in our team or in different team; who work with us on the same initiative or on whose collaboration we are dependent to move forward; who owns the resources that we need or whom we need to inspire to do something outside their comfort zone; who will benefit directly by partnering with us or who will not be impacted by what we ask of them. The situations and circumstances may vary but we are constantly perceived and evaluated by our level of influence. In fact leaders of today are identified not by the authority they have on people but by their amount influence on people. Given that influence is such a critical cornerstone of leadership how can one start projecting influence and thereby leadership in their workplace. Here are some practical tips that have worked for me in the past:

Opportunity Selection

Leadership and influence cannot be demonstrated in all the tasks that we on a day to day basis. Careful attention must be paid to select the right opportunity which will fetch you the desired visibility. The stage is half set once you identify the right opportunity to pursue aggressively. A right opportunity is something that solves a real world business problem and affects the bottom-line of someone who owns a business or a product line and can influence. This individual will then become your sponsor for the idea. The right opportunity should also create an organization level impact that is beyond financial impact like process improvement, innovation, creating a new product line, improving customer experience etc, which would of interest to people at executive level. The executive who is interested in the impact from your idea can then become the champion for your initiative. While the sponsors will help you fund the resources for the program the champion will help secure the all important cross team support. Identifying the sponsors and champions are very essential steps for moving forward on an opportunity. At the same time it is also imperative to ensure that the opportunity is not already being worked upon or is not the charter of someone else. In fact it often pays well to select an opportunity that is very nebulous to begin with and hence not owned by anyone. 

Building A Case

Once you have identified the right opportunity it is very important to collect credible data to validate the impact created by the opportunity. This means you may have to dive deep into the sales records, financial record or other process related metrics that are tracked and monitored within your organization. It is essential that the assessment of impact is backed by an authentic source. So it may be necessary to identify partners within your group or outside who are bonafide owner of such data or subject matter experts. It may be worthwhile to take inputs from your sponsors and champions to help identify the right partners for building a case.

Sometimes this could be little tricky as the data may not often readily available; you may need to create a future projection or estimation without any historical basis; or there may not be any precedent available as it would be a new product or new market. Depending on the situation you may need to choose the appropriate strategy. For example, if it is a future projection without historical basis there may be research done by others in your  industry which points to emerging trends that you can leverage. Similarly, if it is a new product without any precedent you may plan for building a quick prototype without much investment which will help you get the data that you can use for building final solution

Solution Framing

Most business opportunities are business challenges or problems in search of a solution. So while building the case it is equally important that you frame the solution. It is advisable to start with most ideal and comprehensive solution rather than a partial or a quick fix that may be easily attainable. Think meticulously on as many as aspects of the problem as possible. Also focus on what is feasible and avoid ideas which are still under research. Explicitly call out the deliverables along with resource requirements and risk and dependencies. This will help avoid the perception that the solution is not thought through in detail.

For large and complex problems it will make sense to break down the solution into smaller phases with explicit call out to deliverables, resourcing, dependencies, impact and timelines of each of the phases. Structure the phases in such a manner that components which are modular and already clear goes in the early phases. Components which are ambiguous and unclear gets pushed out to later phases to get enough breathing time for refinement. This will help build the credibility that even if the solution is still ambiguous you have a solid plan to achieve it.

Socialize

Once you have build the case for the opportunity and also framed the solution it is important to socialize your approach. At the beginning you have already identified the sponsors and champions. Now go back to them with a structured presentation. Plan for the meeting well in advance. If there are other stakeholders whose support is required to make the program successful then invite them to the meeting as well. But make sure you have reached out to them individually in advance and run your idea so that there are no surprises during meeting.

While preparing your presentation stick to high level approach and keep the details in the appendix to be brought out only if some one asks.To be more specific focus on opportunity associated with the program, broad level strategy and approach, high level organization impact, resourcing asks, deliverables, timelines, risks & dependencies. The next level of details of the programs are pushed out to appendix.

During the presentation be open and sensitive to the feedback that you receive. In case you receive feedback on your approach don't be defensive. Often it is counter productive. Instead it makes sense to show flexibility by having multiple options with pros and cons and asking the champion or sponsor to pick the best approach

Adapt Where Necessary

While socializing the opportunity or during execution it may be possible that you will encounter individuals or groups whose support is critical for the program and who are reluctant to extend support for some valid reason. In such cases it is essential that you make an effort to understand the real cause of objection and then adapt accordingly by reframing the solution. Pivot the discussion by repositioning your asks so as to enable you to first crawl, then walk and then run. But all the while being consistent in driving across the original objectives and impact of the program. If you still encounter resistance then don't hesitate to have a crucial conversation of a win-win strategy that will benefit them directly. If even this doesn't help then it is best to up level the discussion to the next in chain of command. At this stage it is best to seek the help of your sponsor and champion to push for your case

Be Creative 

Sometimes regardless of how hard you influence and socialize there are no resources available to support the program. At those times it is advisable to think creatively about solving the resourcing puzzle. What have worked for me here in the past is a beg, borrow and steal approach. Dividing the project into smaller modular tasks which will benefit some other group and hence they will be motivated to pick it up. Another approach that has worked in the past is having some interns who can work under the supervision of the subject matter experts. Yet another approach that may work is hiring some outside consultants who can come in temporarily and complete some of tasks. Thinking creatively about solving the resourcing problem always wins you a brownie point and impresses upon your leadership capabilities.

These are some of the approaches that has worked for me in the past. I am happy to learn from you if there is something else that you have tried to project influence and leadership.