Influence without Authority:Establishing and Transforming Power

Andrea Ames @aames http://about.me/AndreaLAmesIBM Senior Technical Staff memberInformation Experience Strategist

LavaCon Unified Content Strategy Workshop24 April 2013

Agenda

Exercise Influence Establishing power: Creating an

environment of influence Using power Exercise debrief

About Andrea

Technical communicator since 1983 Areas of expertise

Information experience design: Content strategy, information architecture, and interaction design for content display and delivery, within products and interactive information delivery systems

Architecture, design, and development of embedded assistance (content within or near the product user interface)

Information and product usability, from analysis through validation User-centered process for information development and

information experience design IBM Senior Technical Staff Member on corporate Total Information

Experience team in IBM CIO’s office University of CA Extension certificate coordinator and instructor STC Fellow, past president (2004-05), former member of

Board of Directors (1998-2006), and Intercom columnist (with Alyson Riley) of The Strategic IA

ACM Distinguished Engineer

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Influence

Why influence? If you can:

Design two UI panels Write three pages Create five icons Drive 10 marketing campaigns Track 45 project work items Write 90 lines of code

in a day, how many are accomplished when three people are driving, tracking, writing, designing, creating? 50? 500? 5,000?

Are you expert at every aspect of technical communication, marketing, support, strategy, project management, and your product function? If so, do you have the bandwidth to be a one-person show?

Most complex situations require multiple judgments, skills, and experiences

And most importantly…Have you ever had a great, innovative idea—like the need for a unified content

strategy??—and wanted it implemented in your organization?

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From Wikipedia, influence is…

When the actions or thoughts of individuals are changed by another individual

Amount of influence you exert often determined by your confidence/self-esteem and perceived persona

Ability to influence also affected by your perceived expertise, or credibility—others’ trust of you and your knowledge or skill

Sometimes seen as persuasion, guiding people toward the adoption of an idea, attitude, or action by rational and symbolic (though not always logical) means; a problem-solving strategy relying on "appeals" rather than strength

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Black magic?

Lots of people think of it this way Charisma Good looks Money

It’s a talent You’re born with it It can’t be learned,

developed, refined, improved

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How I like to think of it

It’s something you acquire via your actions and attitude

Managing yourself and your attitude

Leadership—the ability to (from Tom Peters) Inspire Liberate Achieve

Gaining respect and trust Leading in every direction

Setting and communicating a clear vision with enthusiasm

Inspiring enthusiasm in others

Getting things done through others that you could not achieve alone

It’s not black magic

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What does this mean for us, as individual leaders?“With great power comes great responsibility”

Understanding why people follow others means using that understanding responsibly

There is a hard way and an easy way—and they will seem counterintuitive Harder: Causing others to change their minds Easier: Creating an environment of influence

Others trust you They recognize value in your ideas The buy into and sponsor your ideas They execute those ideas

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Causing others to change

Why is this hard? It’s outward-focused You can’t change others

Focusing on your sphere of influence vs. your sphere of control (which will affect your sphere of influence)

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Creating an environment of influence Become a leader Lead/manage yourself, first Focus on your sphere of control (you) That will positively impact your

sphere of influence (our relationships with others)

Our biggest hurdle is us

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Establishing power: Creating an environment of influence

What do the experts say?

John Maxwell James Kouzes and Barry Posner Joel Garfinkle

5 Levels of LeadershipJohn Maxwell, Developing theLeader within You

5 Ways to be InfluentialJoel Garfinkle, Getting Ahead: Three Steps to Take Your Career to the Next Level

5 Practices of Exemplary LeadershipJames Kouzes and Barry Posner, The Leadership Challenge

Model the way—go first, set the example Inspire a shared vision—enlist others in the

vision, know constituents and speak their language

Challenge the process—innovate, grow, improve, experiment, take risks

Enable others to act—foster collaboration and build trust

Encourage the heart—recognize contributions, celebrate values and victories

Key themes

Credibility Trust Exemplar Enable others Inspire others

Self

Relationships

Where do you start?

Goleman’s emotional intelligence

and (in backup) Covey’s 7 habits Maxwell’s approach to attitude

& 360-degree leadership

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What is “emotional intelligence?”

“The capacity forrecognizing our own feelings

and those of others, for motivating ourselves,

for managing emotions well in ourselves and

in our relationships.”-- Daniel Goleman

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Emotional intelligence domains

Source: Primal Leadership, by Daniel Goleman, Harvard Business School Press, 2002. (my numbers/arrows )

Self OthersSelf-

Awareness

Knowing what we feel at the moment and using that

to guide our decision-making

Self Management

Handling our emotions so that they enhance

rather than interfere with performance

Social Awareness

Sensing what people are feeling, understanding the perspectives of others, and

cultivating rapport

Relationship Management

Handling emotions in relationships well, being able to read social

situations accurately, and using these skills to persuade, lead,

and negotiate

Actions

Awareness

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1

2

3

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Emotional Intelligence Skills Assessment (EISA)authors: Steven J. Stein, Derek Mann, Peter Papadogiannis, and Wendy Gordon

Perceiving—the ability to accurately recognize, attend to, and understand emotion

Managing—the ability to effectively manage, control, and express emotions

Decision making—the application of emotion to manage change and solve problems

Achieving—the ability to generate th enecessary emotions to self-motivate in the pursuit of realistic and meaningful objectives

Influencing—the ability to recognize, manage, and evoke emotion within oneself and others to promote change

Work from the body, as well as the mind

Amy Cuddy, Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are TED Talk http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_shapes_who_you_are.html

Fake it ’til you ARE it1. Stand up2. Raise your arms in a victory stance3. You ARE powerful

Cesar Millan, Cesar’s Rules

Own the space

Using power

Once you have power…

How do you use it?

Only for good, not evil.

Influence Model: ReciprocityAllan Cohen and DavidBradford, Influence without Authority

Think in terms of currencies Inspiration-relatedTask-relatedPosition-

relatedPersonal

Contextual forces shape behaviorAllan Cohen and DavidBradford, Influence without Authority

Power style—how we use our powerJay Hall and James Hawker, Power Management Inventory

Discussion 1: .5 / .5 (share) Discussion 2: 0 / 1 (give it up) Discussion 3: 1 / 0 (keep it)

Power spectrum

Power motivation—why we use our power, part 1Jay Hall and James Hawker, Power Management Inventory

Personalized: achievement of personal gain

Socialized: need to influence others’ behavior for the common good

Affiliative: need to be liked by others

Power motivation—why we use our power, part 2Jay Hall and James Hawker, Power Management Inventory

Effective use of power within the org is necessary

Strong power motivation is essential to good leaders (managers)

Socialized power leads to more successful leadership (management) than personalized power

Interpreting PMIJay Hall and James Hawker, Power Management Inventory

Both Socialized and Personalized should be higher than Affiliative—ideally 25% higher

If Affiliative is higher than both Socialized and Personalized, indicates aversion to power

For maximum leadership (managerial success), score should reflect greater preference for Socialized power If Personalized Motive is dominant, you might be doing a

creditable job, but not without difficulties If Personalized is higher, stay alert to signs of potential

abuse of power

Goal: Power motivation and power style consistency, which indicates consistent intention vs. effect

Questions?

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Backup

Start with…Covey and Maxwell

Emotional Intelligence details

Components of emotional intelligence

Definition Hallmarks

Self-Awareness • The ability to recognize and understand your moods, emotions, and drives, as well as their effect on others

• Self-confidence• Realistic self-assessment• Self-deprecating sense of humor

Self-Regulation

(Self management)

• The ability to control or redirect disruptive impulses and moods

• The propensity of suspend judgment—to think before acting

• Trustworthiness and integrity• Comfort with ambiguity• Openness to change

Motivation

(Self management)

• A passion to work for reasons that go beyond money or status

• A propensity to pursue goals with energy and persistence

• Strong drive to achieve• Optimism, even in the face of failure• Organizational commitment

Source: “What Makes a Leader?” Daniel Goleman, Harvard Business Review, Nov-Dec 1998.

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Components of emotional intelligence (cont.)

Definition Hallmarks

Empathy

(Social awareness)

• The ability to understand the emotional makeup of other people

• Skill in treating people according to their emotional reactions

• Expertise in building and retaining talent• Cross-cultural sensitivity• Service to clients and customers

Social Skill

(Social awareness)

• Proficiency in managing relationships and building networks

• An ability to find common ground and build rapport

• Effectiveness in leading change• Persuasiveness• Expertise in building and leading teams

Source: “What Makes a Leader?” Daniel Goleman, Harvard Business Review, Nov-Dec 1998.

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Components of emotional intelligence (cont.)

Definition Hallmarks

Influence

(Relationship management)

• Finding the right appeal for a given listener• Knowing how to build buy-in from key

sponsors• Building a network of support for an initiative

• Very persuasive• Engaging when addressing a

group

Developing Others

(Relationship management)

• Understanding goals, strengths and weaknesses

• Providing timely and constructive feedback

• Show genuine interest in others• Natural mentor or coach

Source: Primal Leadership, by Daniel Goleman, Harvard Business School Press, 2002.

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The seven habits

Dependence Independence Interdependence

Private victory:1. Be proactive2. Begin with the end in mind3. Put first things first

Public victory:4. Think win/win5. Seek first to understand…

then to be understood6. Synergize

7. Sharpen the saw

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Source: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen Covey, Simon & Schuster, Inc., 1989.

Attitude is everything

Our attitude determines our approach to life Our attitude determines our relationships

with people Often our attitude is the only difference between

success and failure Our attitude at the beginning of a task will affect its

outcome more than anything else Our attitude can turn our problems into opportunities Our attitude can give us an

uncommonly positive perspective

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Source: Attitude 101, by John Maxwell, Thomas Nelson, 2003.

Lead in every direction

Key lead-up principles Lead yourself exceptionally well Lighten your leader’s load Invest in relational chemistry Become a go-to player Be better tomorrow than you are today

Key lead-across principles Understand, practice, and complete the leadership loop Put completing fellow leaders ahead of competing with them Expand your circle of acquaintances (network) Let the best idea win

Key lead-down principles See everyone as a “10” (give them an “A”) Develop each team member as a person Model the behavior you desire

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Source: The 360° Leader, by John Maxwell, Thomas Nelson, 2003.