Executive Crunch Time
by Colin Gautrey and Gary
Ranker
As the economic downturn takes hold, corporations around the world
are starting to take drastic action to shore up their balance sheets,
reduce their exposure and make radical moves to ensure they survive
the looming crisis. Some are taking action because they are feeling
the pain, while others are taking preemptive steps to reduce the
risk of catching a cold later.
In these corporations, individuals are also taking stock of their
position and starting to worry. It is noticeable that as the downturn
gathers pace, so too does the amount of political activity at senior
levels. Different ideas will surface about the most appropriate
course of action to take. Powerful people will quickly start to
exert their influence to gain agreement to their ideas. That these
ideas also save their own jobs should come as no great surprise!
Those that set themselves in opposition to these powerful people
suddenly become extremely vulnerable.
It is often said that, in times like these, the wrong people exit
the organization. Even highly skilled and talented individuals are
threatened by those more adept at managing the political dimension.
As the downturn progresses, this latter group is likely to become
ever more ruthless in their pursuit of survival. The body count
could be high! Survival rates depend on the strength of an individual's
political base — the network of allies and friends around the organization.
In times of crisis, these can be tapped into to establish what is
really going on and, critically, help work out what to do for the
best.
Our work involves helping people with talent and integrity survive and
thrive in highly political environments, and here we outline some of the
latest thinking coming out of our work. This will help you to become more
capable of protecting yourself in a political crisis and reduce the risk
of it occurring in the first place!
Step 1: Analyze Your Political Base. Work out who is in your political
network. Split these into supporters (those who will help you if asked)
and advocates (who will be proactive on your behalf). Notice how your
base maps onto the organizational structure. Where are the gaps? Think
through how powerful the people in your network are. What else do you notice
here? Perhaps most of your network originates from the New York office,
or started life in sales roles. What action does this analysis inspire?
Step 2: Strengthen Your Base. Strong relationships will only stay
strong if they are kept fresh. Lack of contact could mean that, when needed,
the support has evaporated. Who do you need to reconnect with right now?
What can you do to rekindle the relationship? Focus on the most powerful
and important people within your network and try to move them towards
becoming advocates.
Step 3: Consider Worst-Case Scenarios. It is very difficult to
predict how an organizational crisis will take form, yet any attempt to
set down the possibilities will help to provide you with early warning
and give you the opportunity to take action to improve your position if
it happens. So work out three or four main possibilities for how things
could take shape over the next six to nine months. How would each of these
options affect your political base? What impact could they have on you?
Step
4: Expand Your Political Base. Based on the probable scenarios and
your impact assessment, where do you need to find new friends and supporters?
Invest time and energy in building new relationships and beginning collaboration
in areas where you may need it in the future if one of the scenarios emerges.
Building new relationships in times of crisis is tough, so if you can
begin this work early, you'll be in a much better position later if the
worst does happen.
Step 5: Pump Real Value into Your Base. Work hard to deliver value
to those in your network so that they view you as someone who is crucial
to the organization's long term success. Avoid getting a reputation for
only talking to people when you want something. Looking at the priority
people in your network, consider what life might be like for them right
now. Is there anything you can help them with — something that might help
them toward their goals? Sometimes just sending them an article you noticed
in the press and thought they may find useful can make a big difference
to the relationship. The point is that you're demonstrating support for
your strategic partners during a time when many managers question whom
they can rely on.
Step 6: Engage with your Allies. Take every opportunity to stay
close to those who matter in your political network. As trusted allies,
open up the scenario debate with them and see what they think about the
possibilities. They may not have thought it through and will be very glad
you helped them start thinking in this way. You'll gain new ideas and
intelligence from the synergy of thinking things through together. This
joint work with your allies will improve the prospects of survival — of
your careers and your ideas.
If your organization is currently in crisis and the political storm is
raging, all of the above still apply, except you have to do them faster
and the scenario is clearer! You'll also be handicapped because everyone
will know that a key motivator for all of your words and actions is survival,
so expect some suspicion as to your motives. Your best chance is to focus
on established relationships and work together with your allies to build
greater insight into what you all need to do.
The bottom line is that in business you cannot always win. No matter
how polished your political skills, or widespread your network, there
are no guarantees. However, what we can guarantee you is that if you pay
careful attention to the points made in this article, you will stand a
better chance of surviving the credit crunch with both your career and
your integrity intact.
Colin Gautrey — author, coach, facilitator and noted expert in the
practical use of power and influence in the workplace. Colin has coached
top executives around the world, run workshops for international teams
and always gets results. As an author, he has written several books and
regularly appears on the conference stage on his specialist subject of
power and influence. To find out more about his work visit him at www.gautreygroup.com
Dr. Gary Ranker is cited by Forbes as one of the top five coaches.
Financial Times nominated him one of 50 global Thought Leaders. He specializes
in coaching senior executives to succeed in cultures where corporate politics
is a major factor. Gary helps his clients develop "social antenna"
to better navigate through and around competing agendas of others in management.
Having worked and lived on four continents, Gary brings a valuable global
mindset to his coaching relationships. Visit him at www.garyranker.com
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