COMPETENCY • INFLUENCE

Influencing UpYou make a difference.

by Marshall Goldsmith

jRGANIZATIONS SUFFERwhen key people

can't effectively influ-ence up. Most people are occupiedwith efforts rather than results. Theyworry over what the organization ortheir boss owes them and should dofor them and obsess over the authori-ty they "should have," thus renderingtJhemselves ineffectual.

Although knowledge workers mayknow more about what they are doingthan their managers do and haveyears of education and experience,they rarely know how to effectivelyinfluence up. Even the greatest wis-dom and knowledge not applied toaction and behavior is meaningless.

To influence upper managementand convert good ideas into meaning-ful action, follow these 10 guidelines:

1. WJien presenting ideas, realizethat it is your responsibility to sell-not their responsibility to buy.Influencing up is similar to sellingproducts or services to aistomers.They don't have to buy—you have tosell! Great salespeople take responsi-bility for achieving results, refusing toblame their customers for not buyingtheir products. Most professionalsblame management for not buyingtheir ideas; hence, upward feedbackoften turns into "upward buck-pass-ing." You become disempoweredwhen you focus on what others havedone to make things wrong^—^notwhat you can do to make things right.By developing your ability to presentideas, and not blaming managementfor not buying your ideas, you accom-plish much more. The knowledgeworker is expected to take responsibil-ity for being understood. It is arro-gance to assume that laymen can orshould make the effort to understandthe specialist. The effective upwardinfluencer needs to be a good teacher.Good teachers realize the conim mil eat-ing knowledge is often a greater chal-lenge than possessing knowledge.

2. Focus on contribution to the larg-er good—not just the achievement ofyour objectives. An effective salesper-son would never say to a customer,"You need to buy this product.

because if you don't, I won't achievemy objectives!" They relate to theneeds of the buyers, not to their ownneeds. Similarly, effective upwardinfluencers relate to the larger needs ofthe organization, not just to the needsof their unit or team. When influenc-ing up, focus on the impact of the deci-sion on the organization. In mostcases, the needs of the unit and theneeds of the corporation are directlyconnected. In some cases they are not.Don't assume that exeaitives can auto-matically "make the connection"between the benefit to your unit andthe benefit to the larger corporation.

3. Strive to win the big battles anddon't ivaste your energy and "psycho-logical capital" on trivial points.Leader's time is limited. Don't wastetime on issues that will only have anegligible impact on results—focus on issues that willmake a real difference. Bewilling to "lose" on smallpoints. Be sensitive to theneed to win trivial non-business arguments onthings like restaurants,sports teams or cars. Peoplebecome more annoyed withyou for having to be "right"on trivia than your need tobe right on important business points.You are paid to do what makes a dif-ference and to win on important issues.

4. Present a realistic cost-benefitanalysis of your ideas—don't just sellbenefits. Every organization has limitedresources, time, and energy. The accep-tance of your idea may well mean therejection of another idea that someoneelse believes is wonderful. Be preparedto have a realistic discussion of thecosts of your idea. Acknowledge thatsomething else may have to be sacri-ficed to implement your idea. Whenyou prepare for a realistic discussion ofcosts, you can "prepare for objections"to your idea, acknowledge the sacrificethat someone else may have to make,and point out how the benefits of yourplan outweigh the costs.

5. Challenge up on issues involvingethics or integrity—never remain silenton ethics violations. Enron, WorldCom,and other organizations show howethics violations—only one violation ofcorporate integrity—can damage ordestroy even the most valuable compa-nies. If your management ever asks youto do anything that violates corporateethics, refuse to do it and immediatelylet upper management know of yourconcerns. Such action ultimately bene-fits your company, your customers.

your co-worker and yourself. Whenchallenging up, try not to assume thatmanagement has intentionally request-ed you to do something wrong. Insome cases, inappropriate requestsmay be made because of misunder-standings or poor communication. Tryto present your case in a manner that isintended to be helpful, not judgmental.

6. Realize that your managers are justas human as you are—don't say, "1 amamazed that someone at this level..." Itis realistic to expect upper managers tobe competent; it is unrealistic to expectthem to be superhuman. Is there any-thing in human history that indicateswhen people achieve high levels of sta-tus, power and money, they becomecompletely wise and logical? How oftendo you think, "I would assume some-one at this level..." followed by "should

know what is happening","should be more logical","wouldn't make that mis-take", or "would neverengage in such inappropri-ate behavior." Even the bestof leaders are human. Weall make mistakes. Whenyour managers make mis-takes, focus more on helpingthem \ha.n jtid^iing them.

7. Treat managers withthe same courtesy that you would treatpartners or aistomers. While you mustavoid "kissing up" to upper manage-ment, you also must avoid tlie oppositereaction. Many managers spend hours"trashing" the company and its execu-tives or making destructive commentsabout other co-workers. Before speak-ing, ask four questions: Will this com-ment help our company? Will thiscomment help our customers? Will thiscomment help the person that I amtalking to? Will this comment help theperson that I am talking about? If theanswers are no, don't say it! There is abig difference between total honestyand dysfunctional disclosure. It's vitalto "challenge up" on integrity issues. Itis often inappropriate to "trash down"when making personal attacks.

8. Support the final decision of theteam—don't say, "Tliey made me tellyou" to direct reports. Assuming thatthe final decision of the team is notimmoral, illegal, or unethical—go outand try to make it work! Managerswho consistently say, "they told me totell you" to co-workers are seen as"messengers" not leaders. Even worse,don't say, "those fools told me to tellyou". By revealing your lack of com-mitment to the final decision, you maysabotage the chances for effective exe-

cution. When communicating difficultdecisions, ask, "How would I wantsomeone to communicate to their peo-ple if they were passing down my finaldecision and they disagreed with me?"Treat your manager in the same waythat you would want to be treated ifthe roles were reversed.

9. Make a positive difference—don'tjust try to "win" or "be right". You caneasily become more focused on whatothers are doing wrong, than how youcan make things better. An importantguideline in influencing up is to alwaysremember your goal to make a positivedifference for your organization. Cor-porations are different than academicinstitutions. In an academic institutionthe goal may be sharing ideas, notimpacting the world. Hours of acrimo-nious debate can be perfectly accept-able. In a corporation, sharing ideaswithout having an impact is worse thanuseless. It is a waste of the stockholdersmoney and a distraction from servingcustomers. The most common area forimprovement for most executives is thecompulsion of "wiiuiing too much".Focus on making a difference. Themore other people can "be right" or"win" with your idea, the more likelyyour idea is to be successfully executed.

10. Focus on the future—let go of thepast Avoid whining about the past.Have you ever managed someone whoincessantly whined about how badthings are? When people consistentlywhine, they inhibit any chance theyhave for impacting the future. Theirmanagers view them as annoying, andtheir direct reports view them as inept.Nobody wins. Successful people lovegetting ideas aimed at helping themachieve their goals for the future. Theydislike being "proven wrong" becauseof mistakes in the past. By focusing onthe future, you can concentrate onwhat can be achieved tomorrow, asopposed to what was not achievedyesterday. This future orientation willdramatically increase your odds ofeffectively influencing up and buildbetter long-term relationships.

How much energy have you invest-ed in acquiring your knowledge? Howmuch energy have you invested inlearning to present this knowledge sothat you can make a real difference?By learning to influence up, you canmake a large, positive difference forthe future of your organization! LE

Marshall Goldsmith helps successful leaders achieite positive,measurable change, and author of What Goi\ao Here Won'tGtSYou There, Visit unmoMar^aUGoldsmitkUbTary.com.

ACTION: Foais mort on Otefutun.

LEADERSHIP

Active LeadershipIt creates a hetter future for all.

by Peter Block

CKT LEADERS ARE.victims of our

inflated expectations.When people say there's a lack of lead-ership, they're never talking aboutthemselves. So, 1 see the whole discus-sion of leadership as an avoidance ofpersonal responsibility.

My interest now is the individual—the millions of people who are passive,isolated, and entitled—passive becauseour stmctures encourage it, isolated bytechnology that gets rich off our isola-tion, and entitled to be taken care of.

We need to confront corporate care-taking and build citizen capacity. Beinga social architect gets you out of helpfulinterventions. Architects don't build,they design; they create spaces whereother people build. You don't need tobe the center of the system.You can do so many usefulthings without being thestar. You can get people totalk together by designinglearning events or usefulexperiences that enablethem to explore issues andmake decisions. The goal isto build self-suffidency—^tohelp people to get connect-ed, define purpose, organizethemselves, reclaim the power that isrightfully theirs. Now thafs a leader-ship purpose wortli pursuing.

The questions authentic leaders raiseare ones of purpose, destiny, and vision.Stewardship is about acting on pur-pose, worrying about the next genera-tion, and stopping the abuse of power.

Leadership (and life) is about theconversation you have with yourselfand the people around you. Where youare and how you show up to the worldcreates a future different from the past.Indeed, this is Active Leadership. All learn-ing is the willingness to enter into a newconversation about fresh possibilities.

Today there is greater need forengagement; engagement is the way toprogress. And progress means a deepersense of caring for the earth, belonging,finding a way to offer gifts. Speed, easeand comfort are not progress. Justshowing up and doing sometliingfaster doesn't mean you add value. You

have to decide whether to occupy thespace and be present in the moment.Being somewhere doesn't mean you'represent. What must happen is to makethe participant active—responsible forthe outcomes of training and learning.

Being a citizen is different than justbeing a resilient. It's about deciding tocare about the city, not just your neigh-borhood or backyard.

The key to transformation is to start adifferent conversation. My question is,"Whaf s the gift that I bring to theworld?" Don't worry about the answer—if s the question that matters. Ofcourse, the world doesn't value question-ing; the world values doing. It wants toknow, how do we do this? We worshiptlie god of efficiency, of productivity. Weask, "How do you make tliis work?How long does it take? How much doesit cost?" We have lost our sense of com-munity and connectedness. We'redeeply isolated and lonely. We need toimagine a better life. The act of imagi-nation, of possibility, creates the future,but it must be rooted in community.

Maybe listeners create speakers; dti-zens create leaders; employees createbosses; students create teachers; and

children create parents. Thepurpose of problem-solv-ing is to build relation-ships. Yet, we think thepurpose of relationships isto solve problems.

You hear people say,"We don't have to like eachother to work together."This means, "Screw therelationship, as long as weget the work done."

Thinking that "only the leader mat-ters" or that "the person on top is thecause"is the problem. We need toinvert the location of cause. If youtreated the employee as the cause,where does that take you as a leader?

To me the qualifying question oftransformation is, "Do you want thefuture to be distinct from the past?"

The idea of invitation is powerful. Apowerful invitation says, "Please come;and if you choose to come, here'swhaf s required or expected of you:You'll have to show up on time, engagewitli your peers in powerful conversa-tions, leave your personal interests atthe door, and help us create a betterfuture through imagination, from adream or a possibility." That invitationgives you traction with people. LE

Peter Uiock is u celebralccl lOiisutlaril and auliwr. Visitwww.pete rblock.com.

ACTION: Be active in your learning and leadership.