I am VERY pleased to feature the first of two guest posts by Debra Bachar. I met Debra on Twitter, and I like her thoughts on leadership very much. She is also one heck of a nice person. Make sure to leave Debra a comment below and to follow her on Twitter!
Here is Debra’s brief bio, followed by her article
Debra Bachar is President of the Blueberry Business Group Ltd, a food industry consulting partnership. She has been advising senior executives since 2000 and produced numerous white papers and training seminars for and on behalf of industry associates. Blueberry Business Group Ltd. is based in Illinois and services clients across the country.
Some interpret a newly-awarded position of leadership as an anointment of power to be extended through their direct reports and into the ranks of the organization. Taking an organization or department from “good” to “great” however, begins with developing a sense of purpose for each employee, not through the balance of power, but through the Balance of Influence.
It may not be easy to discern the difference between the two words. Power is commanding, closely associated with clout and dominance. Given a leader’s ultimate accountability for outcomes, power has a rightful place in management by engaging the minds and bodies of employees by answering the Who, What, Where and When of a particular strategy or task.
Influence, on the other hand, compels action. It inspires, persuades and motivates by answering two additional questions: Why and How. While Power engages the mind and body, Influence engages the heart and spirit. It is an art form intended to win others over to an idea, executed in a particular manner, by sound use of evidence, facts and persuasion. The right and responsibility to influence and to be influenced resides with every employee.
Leaders focused on creating a Balance of Influence can produce an organization kitten-full of purposeful employees. As a leader, are you receptive to being influenced by others around you? Will you occasionally allow yourself to be led by those you lead? How can you help employees develop, contribute, justify and advance their ideas, especially if some are at odds with your own? This level of involvement from all rungs of your ladder creates and improves buy-in on the company’s direction by enabling everyone to better understand it, defend it or suggest alternatives with passion and purpose.
Management offices and conference rooms should be creative centers where productive rounds of respectful disagreement and inquiry occur to motivate progress and ultimately, achieve alignment. So, in the spirit of influence and persuasion, let me put my rubber to the road: Here is the Why and How to create Balance of Influence in your organization:
Why:
- The sieve through which information, opinions and ideas pass on their way to the leader must be eliminated to extract meaningful and purposeful contributions from every employee. CEOs claim to want this transparency; most are not sure how to get it.
- The top cat’s lofty position inhibits his or her direct participation in employee skill development. Supplementing your open-door policy and extending the boundaries for submitting new ideas by asking “why” and “how” questions promotes solid rational to flourish from initiation through execution.
- Providing all employees an opportunity to influence creates employee value that extends beyond job descriptions. Executives develop a strong offense and ready defense for critical decisions or ideas. There’s nothing like the passion of a team aware and absorbed in their purpose!
- Customer data is almost always the most influential “why” a strategy or task is undertaken or altered. Managers must tap deeply into the perspectives of those who experience the customer first hand.
- Reinforcing the Balance of Influence culture will help prevent power overrun that can damage morale and suppress innovation.
- Input from the organizational trenches where implementation occurs transforms the “how” into flawless and timely execution.
How
- Imbed the Balance of Influence throughout your organization, from recruitment to onboarding and throughout each employee’s tenure. Make it a part of the employee handbook and work it into the company’s mission statement.
- Write the company’s “open door policy” policy, then publish it. Make sure employees understand the ground rules for positive and productive debate. Most of all, make sure you and your managers do.
- Make communicating with higher ups comfortable by removing any element of intimidation. Get out from behind that big desk. Turn off your IPhone. Ask your guest to do the same. Maintain eye contact. Keep an open physical stance. Listen, make inquiries, then listen some more. Lavish praise for coming forward. (Obvious? Of course, but you’d be surprised at how rarely these features are simultaneously in play during Influence sessions.)
- Cultivate trust and ease before inserting a qualified “but” in the ideation volley. Then, be willing to set aside alignment in favor of healthy debate in a rewarding, sportsman-like manner.
- Probe by taking the “why” and “how” path of questioning when listening to perspectives that differ from your own. Do not accept perfunctory answers and be alert to lack of clarity or general ideas that seem to have little foundation in rational. Resist “idea dumping”; do not allow an employee to cut and run without supporting it.
- Practice what you seek to instill by incorporating solid “why” and “how” rational into every decision, whether they be go-to-market strategies or summer hours. Leave no employee to wonder about the validity of your mission, strategy, task or policy. By the same token, do not allow them to leave you wondering the same about theirs.
No doubt about it, the Balance of Influence is an art form to be practiced and perfected by everyone, starting with leaders and developed in every employee. When integrated into an organization’s culture, the results are an energetic, passionate and sportsman-like environment abundant in free-flowing exchange and creative sparring. Do it and watch your company succeed, financially and beyond. And that’s a powerful feeling shared by all.
Thanks, Debra! Bret
You should follow me on twitter here.
