A common question I receive from leaders and managers whom I am privileged to train: in what context do you want to increase your influence? Is it about influence at work or influence on a personal level with your people?
If it is about influence at the workplace per se, it is easy because leadership comes with a certain amount of authority, and authority is for task-related matters. To have influence over task related issues is relatively easy – just use authority.
But authority is only for the task, not people. A more precise question to ask is: “how can I have more influence over people’s heart and mind? So that when I need them to go the extra mile, they will.”
This is one question that will change the entire landscape of leadership. People do expect leaders today to have vested interest in their personal career success. Unfortunately, we do not see much of this happening in the workplace, because the majority of leaders in the past did not receive such career support and thus assume it is not important to the younger leaders today. Or simply there is no time for such conversation.
This is where leaders will eventually lose their talent to better leaders who take a vested interest in their people’s career. Leaders who take the time to build and grow their people have greater influence in tough times. After all, if they are your team members, then their success have a direct impact on you.
How do we as leaders coach our people to greater career success, thus becoming truly influential leaders in the 21st century? Here are some quick pointers with one fundamental truth in mind”
THE TRUTH ABOUT WHY WE GO TO WORK.
People go to work not because they want to work, nor do they work solely for money – they are also searching for a place to grow.
Leaders need to understand that the workplace needs to be a place where people can grow. One of the top reasons why people leave an organization is because they are not longer growing. People are programmed to achieve and excel – the day we are left with no purpose and meaning in our work is the day we seek change.
The hard truth is, retaining talents is the leader’s responsibility, not the organization. The key is how leaders can keep the talents in the team, thus making it possible to achieve milestones and miracles.
To kick-start your people career success, here are three key questions a good leader should ask:
- HOW CAN I HELP YOU TO SUCCEED?
Every team members needs to have their personal career blueprint drawn up in areas that they would like to excel and achieve.
For example, wanting to go for a particular certification so that he can apply the new skills to his work, being exposed to a particular project or field of expertise to increase his knowledge and know-how.
Leaders can identify those areas and explore organizational resources to support the cornerstones of success in an employee’s blueprint, and eventually they will value-add to the organization with the resources given to them – a simple law of reciprocity.
- IN WHAT AREAS ARE YOU NOT GROWING?
Identify what I call the “shadow”. Shadows are areas where employees know they have to do, but somewhat did not perform as well as they want to, or are unaware of their hidden limitation.
This is the part where coaching is crucial in identifying the real reason – not having resource support or a lack of formal process or know-how to tackle the problem – and revealing the gaps that can be addressed.
If it is a skill gap, then a training program might be a good starting point. But if it is not, it could be due to a trait that is not in the employee’s nature, requiring futher follow-up and support from the leaders.
- WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO DO MORE OF?
This question probes further into discovering what will make the person goes the extra mile, be highly resourceful into looking for solutions, and reveal the real meaning and purpose of this person in his work.
Leaders who are great at identifying this area, put the person into projects where he can shine, because of the initiatives the person naturally takes in his “zone”.
This is the part where strength assurance comes into play. A leader can identify how this person does best in a particular situation – It can be the ability to transform a chaotic situation into an orderly one.
It could also be the ability to come up with a creative and practical solution during a bottleneck, or simply a natural gift when in simplifying things for easier understanding, providing the team a clear perspective for his next move.
Leadership in the new arena today requires a leader to be out of their cubicle and start “storming” the ground to engage and connect with their people. To coach them to greater career is a must-have attribute of a good leader.
Leaders who want their people to succeed do best in these areas, and they can amplify their influence far beyond their workspace. People respect these kind of leaders, and endeavor to be a part of their team.
