Caught in the Middle of Turf Wars

Powerful people will usually work to protect their power base. They will also look to expand. Even if their motives are pure, they will still seek to protect their capability to do good things. The difference that selfishness makes will be felt in the personal consequences for those involved – at worst, they will stop at nothing until they have got what they want.

Wherever you care to look, there will be competition of some sort going on. The intensity and tactics will vary depending on the players, the motives and the stakes. Simple enough – but, what can you do if you find yourself caught in the middle? Getting trapped between two powerful opposing forces, who each want you on their side, is what we called the political dilemma of Turf Wars.

The advice I wrote in 2008 as part of our book, Political Dilemmas at Work, still holds good. It focused on the imperative to make a clear personal decision and outlined four options to consider…

1. Stay Neutral: by making it clear to both parties that you are not going to side with either and become involved in their Turf Wars.
2. Compete: recognising that there is another solution in Turf Wars where you could beat both of them by joining in the competition.
3. Facilitate a Resolution: facilitate an early resolution of the Turf Wars so you can all get back to work.
4. Take Sides: make it clear whose side you favour and help them to win.

There is much to think about against each of these options. There are pros and cons to each one – and some of the risks can be high. So, careful preparation and consultation with friends (and mentors) is vital.

To compete is often the option that is never considered. I think the reason for this is that by the nature of the dilemma, you are clearly in a less powerful and usually, but not always, a less senior position. Although the likelihood of you deciding to compete is probably quite low, if you are ambitious, think it through. Just by giving it serious consideration you will learn and develop. If you cannot do it now, what needs to change for you to have the confidence to step up and join in?

The most popular option is actually not on the list above – “Do Nothing”. Of course that is always and option, but Political Dilemmas at Work was a book about turning difficult situations into opportunities, so it didn’t quite fit with our mission. There are a several things that are troublesome with doing nothing in this dilemma.

Firstly, your dilemma will continue to worsen until somebody wins. During that time, your work will suffer. Being pulled in two directions is never comfortable, so get ready for increasing levels of stress (and the knock-on effects on health and family). The final thing wrong with doing nothing, is that it is no way for an ambitious and capable professional to conduct themselves.

Sure, you have to be careful. Yes, you have to have the skills. And yes, the organisation you work for will be expecting you to do your best. If you keep your motives pure, work for the best of all concerned, you should be prepared to step up to these dilemmas and deal with them. Until you do, you are always at risk of getting caught in the middle!

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Five Steps to a Healthier Network

Sharpen up and focus your networking in 30 minutes. Try this…

1. Get a list of the people in your network – perhaps by exporting from Outlook to Excel.
2. What percentage have you initiated contact with in the last six months? If it is a very long list and you want to move fast, randomise the list and check the first 100 names.
3. What percentage has initiated contact with you in the last six months?

This can be a little alarming. My guess is that the percentages are going to be pretty low for most people. But, give yourself a break. What you’ve probably done is simply gone through your contact list - not your network. In which case, refine your focus…

4. Mark all of the names you would like to be in your network. To get more insight on this point, take a look as a previous post – Networking: Missing a Trick?
5. Calculate your percentages again.

Now, how does it look? Hopefully, what you’ve just done has not only identified room for development, but has also given you some focus. If so, start to identify goals and plan action to improve the health of your network by finding ways to reach out and reconnect. Remember that this is about relationships not numbers – the numbers just give you that push to reach out more. Networks thrive on reciprocal value creation. Oh, let's make a sixth step…

6. Check your final list again in three months – go on, put a reminder in your diary!

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How to Map the Politics around Your Work

At some stage, if you want to be successful in any large organisation, you will have to become very adept at reading the politics. Yesterday, when writing an article about making an impact at the top table, the imperative of building political intelligence came into focus. Only when you have a firm grasp of what is “really” going on, can you start to navigate safely through the corridors of power.

The usual way of building this insight is through many informal conversations over a period of several months, if not years. I am not talking necessarily about gossip, but rather the sharing of information, knowledge and insight which is one of the key benefits of effective networking. You can speed this up dramatically if you engage in a constructive process.

Below is a simplified version of one of the exercises we often do on our workshops. At its best, it involves a group of peers at middle to senior level who come from a wide range of different functions/divisions, and who have built a reasonable level of trust between them. Independent facilitation is a bonus. You can do it solo, but it’s much more fun, interesting and useful to get others involved – the process of sharing can dramatically improve a team’s effectiveness in the political realm.

1. Sit around a table with a stack of blank index cards or Post-it notes and marker pens.
2. Instil the culture of exploration, sharing and curiosity – “let’s learn together”.
3. One reasonably well-informed person then spends 5-10 minutes using the cards to describe their “political theory” of the organisation. They start by writing the name of the most powerful person in the organisation (in their view) on a card and placing the card in the middle of the table.
4. Then they write the name of the next most powerful person on another card and place it on the table relative to the power of the first person. Building a mind map of the web of power is a good guide to how this exercise should unfold.
5. They continue in this way, placing names on the table either near or further away from the centre of power. As they do this, they should briefly describe their rationale. The rest of the group should try to keep quiet for at least 5 minutes – although this is nigh on impossible!
6. When it feels natural, other people can enter the conversation, adding names, moving people, and generally sharing their views. If you can, pass the cards to another person, who can then pick up the story and modify the map.
7. If you have a group of six to eight experienced people, expect this to take well over an hour.
8. As the facilitator, you can add lots of provocative questions along the way to stimulate the debate. What impact does project X have? What changes would you predict in six months? What would happen if you take Ms Z out of the picture?
9. End the process with each person explaining what changes they are going to make to improve their results.

When you try this with a good group, you will be amazed how the time disappears. The conversations are gripping as the picture emerges. I’ve been using this approach for over eight years now with a wide variety of different groups, and most people end the exercise with a completely different stakeholder map to go and influence! Remember, this is a way of building your political intelligence so that you can get the results expected of your role without getting stuck in the politics.

On one occasion, I was doing this exercise with a group of Financial Controllers. As an external facilitator, I was free to ask the naïve and stupid questions, such as “What if Mr M is trying to get the CEO position?” Their startled faces quickly turned to incredulous mirth and we moved on. Twenty minutes later, their two absent colleagues returned from an emergency conference call to announce that Mr M had just been appointed CEO. As all eyes turned on me, my protestations of ignorance were dismissed and they now believed I had the inside track – which I didn’t. In all honesty, it was just a good piece of intelligent facilitation, aided by my fledgling process of political calibration which I had been applying as I got to know them (but more on that another day).

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Promotion Power Shifts

Congratulations, you have got a well-deserved promotion. Now what? May seem like a silly question because you are no doubt bursting with ideas, plans, and structural or strategic changes you are going to implement – and that is just the first 90 days! But before you rush in, pause for a moment to consider this.

One of the most potent sources of power (those assets which get others to do what you want, often without asking) is status, role or position. Others include resources, image and impact (see the Personal Power Diagnostic for more on these). With your promotion, all of these are going to be rising in potential, particularly because promotion also gets you much more visibility too.

So, people will be responding to these changes. As they realise your power has increased, they will start to engage differently with you. Some will shy away, unsure about how your relationship has changed. Others will be more proactive in getting your approval and buy-in. Indeed, you have suddenly become a more powerful stakeholder for all those around you. Friends, colleagues, opponents and allies will all, consciously or unconsciously, pause to consider how your promotion changes their relationship with you.

In these first 90 days, remember that every word you utter will contribute to their re-evaluation. What used to be passed off as a minor comment could now take on a whole new significance given your elevated status. There is no need to let this paralyse you, just make sure and keep this at the back of your mind as you quickly move things forward.

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Stretching Your Influence

Recently, I saw someone promoting that the secret of persuasion is to find people who want to go where you want them to go. To me, that sounds more like the secret of an easy (and boring) life. If someone already wants to do what you want them to do, little or no persuasion/influence is needed. Equally, you don't need much skill or ability. Perhaps just mention a word or two to nudge them in the right direction.

Which got me thinking. In 2012, are you really stretching your influencing skills? Why bother with the "low hanging fruit" and the "quick wins"? Instead, look for those big influencing goals that will really make a difference when you succeed (BHAGs if you like).

One of the key stages in the Stakeholder Influence Process (outlined in Advocates and Enemies) is to get focus on what you want to influence. What's missing from the book is looking beyond the here and now. The book is focused on what is in front of you right now. What it doesn't do is really stretch your thinking to go way beyond what is currently realistic or believable. Yet, once you do that, the rest of the process is just as useful and practical and will help you move forward quickly towards your goal.

Now you need to consider what your BHAGs should be.

• If you could influence it successfully, what would have a transformational effect on your work (and/or life)?
• What do you want to happen which is currently viewed as impossible?
• What do you need to influence to make your life today almost unrecognisable in 12 months?

Take your time. These things rarely appear immediately. Usually, they take a couple of days, and a few friendly conversations to emerge. But once you have those big goals identified, you can start to develop a strategy and identify your stakeholders. Then you can begin to make it happen. And if you don't, watch out because someone else may get there first!

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Women, Influence and Minority Groups

Pay attention, this is not just for women. At the Massachusetts Conference for Women in December, Marian Ruderman (a Director at the Center for Creative Leadership) told delegates that "The ability to influence remains a core leadership competency, and leaders at the executive level must understand that there is a major paradigm shift under way. Moreover, regardless of the organizational setting, society still sends conflicting messages about how women should wield power and influence, making the topic an important one to pay attention to."

Marian is absolutely right. However, her comments apply equally to all organisational levels and all groups. Her words reminded me of some research I did a few years back that noticed the different level of interest in the topic of influence between men and women. The data suggested that women are far more interested in the topic than men. Yet, looking deeper, I found that this was not because of the gender difference, but, instead, because they were frequently working in minority situations. This means that anyone working from a minority position is going to have to work harder to influence.

The vital thing to realise is that if you are working from a minority position, you will need to work harder to create the influence you need. Whatever separates you from the majority you need to influence (gender, race, education, attitude, etc.) will have a profound effect on the way others listen to you. And yes, this includes men working in a female dominated organisation. Because you are not a fully paid-up member of their group, they are going to find it more difficult to accept your influence. This is an inbuilt subconscious bias which no amount of legislation, political correctness, or education, is going to completely eradicate. So, get used to it, and learn how to handle it more effectively.

If you are working in a minority scenario, here are a few pointers to help you become more influential...

1. Attitude. Start by adjusting your attitude towards the positive challenge this presents. Dangers lurk in resentment and jealousy. If you can overcome this, you are likely to become even more capable than the group members who are getting lazy. Rise to this challenge and you will become even more successful.
2. Insight. Secondly, study the group norms and structure. If you can see how it is working, you are far more likely to be able to effectively plan your influencing strategy and overcome the challenge. Become a social scientist for a while and analyse what is really going on. Retaining unhelpful and inaccurate assumptions will drag down your performance.
3. Agendas. Next, clarify how what you want will affect the agendas of the key individuals who are opinion formers in the group. They influence the decisions of individual members and affect how they react to your influence attempts. Threatening the shared interests of a group will draw them tighter in defence. And of course, the personal interests of the core individuals often become the shared interests of the group! Once you know what you are up against, you can determine a good strategy to begin moving things forward.
4. Strategy. The final step is to decide on your strategy. You may have noticed I used the term, "good strategy". Naturally, you will aspire to finding the "best"; however, you will only know if you found that one if it worked. Far more important is to get moving and learn as you go rather than waiting for the best approach to be discovered.

Irrespective of your position, I firmly believe that the ability to influence groups effectively is one of the most useful influencing skills to develop. Why influence one-to-one if you are able to move the masses?

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Shrewd Investments in Networking

Everyone is told they need to network. We all know the benefits; or at least we know them intellectually. Yet it still takes time and effort to get out there and do what you need to do. And, of course, we do not have very much time to spare. Getting a little more focus helps to make it easier to do.

Instead of thinking of networking as a cost (time, energy and cash),think about it in terms of an investment. Convert the time and energy into a monetary equivalent. Now...

• What are your investment objectives? What significant goals in your life do you think could be aided by new people? Therefore, what do you want to get out of your networking?
• Linked to the above, what is your investment strategy going to be? Short, medium or long term? Gordon Gekko asset stripping or Warren Buffet in it for the long haul?
• Are you going to spread your investment? Rather than put all your eggs in one basket, using a variety of different channels spreads risk but also dilutes your time. What is the right balance for you based on what you want to achieve?

I could go on, but I am sure you can take it from here. Using the investment metaphor is just one way of filling your networking with new ideas and action. And, if you are not too keen on investing, how about gardening?

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Occupied Territory in the Meeting Room

We all know about power positions in meetings, head of the table, back to the window, etc., but you can also consider how much space people try to occupy. Next time you are waiting for a busy meeting to commence, look around the room to see how the other people attending have marked out their territory. Those who are feeling powerful, or wish to appear that way, will take up as much room at the table as they can. Papers will be arranged, folders spread, and mobiles, tablets, etc., arranged to consume as much of the available space as they think they can get away with.

People who are feeling out of their depth, lacking in confidence or, frankly, in awe of the assembled powers, will tend to reduce their exposure, give ground to others and hope for the best. Their position is likely to be further eroded by the powerful people taking up position within the territory they have marked out, demonstrating physically that they are ready and willing to take on any challenges.

Of course, as with body language, these are general clues that could help you to understand more about what is going on in the minds of those you may wish to influence. Now, do some people watching at your next meeting and see what happens.

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Trust Me

Our research is encouraging. The ability to build trust appears to be one of the strongest Influencing Skill areas among our clients and readers (see our Survey to find out how you measure up). But, once you have it, make sure and take steps to retain and nurture it.

Ask yourself, what does trust actually mean? This differs between people, and it is important to get your own clear definition with examples. What do you do, specifically, in your relationships to enhance trust? Could you do more?

What would you need to do to destroy trust? If you can answer this question, you will be less likely to accidentally do something to damage the trust in your relationships.

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More to a Smile Than Meets the Eye

When you smile, it creates an impact on the lucky recipient. A genuine smile tends to indicate pleasure, or motivation to please. As such, it is an important tactic to achieve ingratiation — or a way of getting someone to be pleased with us. Psychologists have found that a smile communicates approachability.

However, it also changes the sound of your voice because it changes the shape of the mouth cavity. This raises the pitch of the voice. A high pitch indicates submission. Without the smile, the voice will sound lower — and that indicates power and domination.

Of course, you need to judge this one carefully, because, appearing gruff and serious can h ave negative side effects, but just tuck this one into your repertoire ready for when you need to boost your influence. Okay, go on, try it out the first when you are out of earshot of your colleagues!

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Standing Out and Group Acceptance

In any group where you want to be successful, you need to study the way it operates. What are the rules of behaviour? What is acceptable and unacceptable? How do people engage with each other? How do they interact with people outside of the group?

Group members have expectations of their fellow members. They will expect members to behave according to their standards in order to gain or retain acceptance. New members will be watched carefully to see if they fit the group's blueprint.

Before you decide your strategy to perform within a group, take some time to decode how it operates. Then you can determine how to fit in and/or stand out. Leaders have to stand out from the crowd and retain group acceptance.

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Handling Conflicting Agendas

When you are clear about what you want to achieve, it is often frustrating to find that others do not share your enthusiasm. A great deal of time and effort is expended building the case, considering the risks and planning the execution. Everything seems to make sense and you are keen to get going – you want to implement swiftly. Then the problems start.

Reaching out to your stakeholders, you begin to find out that some are not interested. They fail to buy-in to your project or, worse, don’t even give you the time to explain your plans. When you do get to see them, they start to share insights with you about other things going on elsewhere in the organisation, which seem to be in direct conflict with what you are working on.

Trouble is, you can see that they may have a valid point. Doubts begin to set in as you realise that what you have been tasked to achieve is not necessarily going to be as straightforward as you originally thought. Indeed, you probably start to wonder why the people above you can’t agree on what should be done – must be the politics!

If you are facing this situation you will need to get to grips with it thoroughly before your performance starts to suffer. Delaying isn’t likely to be too helpful. Here are a few questions to get you moving…

1. Specifically, what agendas are in conflict? Can you list them? Many people struggle to describe exactly what they are up against, and this makes it very difficult to make solid progress. If you don’t know or cannot be specific, start talking to people to get more insight.
2. Can you uncover any hidden agendas? There is always a reason. Just because you cannot see it right now doesn’t mean that it is purposely “hidden”. Thinking it is a hidden agenda sets up an unhelpful attitude – one where you might see the proof that it is hidden and miss the proof that it is not. It could be that you have not asked the right questions yet or, the level of trust in your relationship with the stakeholder needs to rise.
3. Is the agenda you are up against personal or professional? Handling a stakeholder’s personal agenda requires a higher level of trust and, sometimes, a professional agenda can be a cover for what they are really driving for. Careful questions and investigations can start to uncover what is really going on.
4. Which of the agendas would be most beneficial to you if you could remove the conflict? Lay out the different agendas you have so far considered and determine the priority one to work on. If you could only handle one, which would it be?
5. What creative options can you think of that would minimise the differences between your agenda and the one you are conflicting with? Sometimes things get lost in translation. It may just be a superficial misunderstanding caused by describing them in different ways. Perhaps, the way you are positioning your agenda could change. From experience, this is often the pivot which creates substantial improvement.

Chapter Five in Advocates & Enemies will give you more questions to help you diagnose what action you need to be taking, and if you have our Influence Workbook, there are several exercises specific to this challenge which will help.

One key question remains…

Should you abandon your agenda? Sometimes, and this is a tough one, your agenda is never going to be realised. Just because it is in your objectives doesn’t make it right. It could be a timing issue, or something else may have changed which now invalidates what you were tasked to achieve. A lot of courage is required here, and if you take responsibility and push for the closure of what you are working on, new opportunities could flow quickly. But be careful!

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This is just the recent posts, there are many more practical entries to see

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