Influence in Talent Development

Vivian Blade

• Publisher: Association for Talent Development
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781952157547
• Topic: Personal Development
• Subtopic: Careers

Elevate Your Impact Through Influence Skills
At work, we often find ourselves in situations where we can and do influence others. We are negotiators, persuaders, conciliators, and maybe intermediaries and mediators. While there used to be little to no emphasis placed on developing these skills, organizations now recognize the ability to influence as critical for effective employee relations and productivity.
Part of the ATD Soft Skills Series, Influence in Talent Development examines the growing importance of personal influence at work and its impact on your relationships, career, and organizational success. Talent development professionals have a tremendous opportunity to influence at a deeper level—with learners, SMEs, and stakeholders—to achieve business and learning results. This book considers what it means to influence in general and in the TD context; how to use your ability to influence tactically and strategically; how to overcome barriers to success; and how you can be more impactful and empathetic. Vivian Blade shares a framework of five powerful principles at work to guide and expand influence: social capital, courage, authenticity, passion, and engagement.
Engage the principles in this book to build your influence among your colleagues and employees, and you will be more effective at getting things done with others.
Other books in the series:

• Adaptability in Talent Development
• Emotional Intelligence in Talent Development
• Creativity in Talent Development
• Teamwork in Talent Development

CHAPTER 1

What It Means to Influence

Consuela, director of customer service, was facing an increasing workload and two vacant positions. Her team was stretched thin and working extra hours, leaving her no choice but to push out their deadlines. It was true that the company was growing, adding new products and serving new industries. But the expansion had introduced challenges with product quality, logistics, and customer education, which only increased the volume of work for her team. Consuela was concerned about their ability to get everything done while maintaining quality, but she was especially worried about the potential for increased stress.

To help her team, first Consuela tried the obvious things, like shuffling a couple of projects among different team members with lighter workloads. But it wasn’t enough. Other departments were creating these issues for customers, and Consuela needed to persuade their managers to act. Her team simply couldn’t satisfy all the customer requests they were receiving. While she knew her people lacked information and training, she hoped they could stay focused and committed, to hang in there even on the most chaotic days.

At her wit’s end, Consuela knew she didn’t have the power to solve this problem. She decided to reach out to Tanisha, her colleague and frequent confidante in the talent development department, for advice.

Tanisha could see that, to relieve the pressure on her team quickly, Consuela favored short-term solutions. However, this wasn’t necessarily a short-term solution type of problem. Tanisha had to convince Consuela that this was going to take some time, especially in getting other department leaders to work with her. Many would see this as Consuela’s staffing problem rather than an organizational problem. Consuela had to help them see otherwise.

How can influence play a role in resolving Consuela’s dilemma?

Influence in Practice

What is influence? Merriam Webster’s Dictionary defines it as “the act or power of producing an effect without apparent exertion of force or direct exercise of command.” When you influence, you are effectively offering your ideas and perspectives so that you move someone to a mutually beneficial outcome in their actions, behavior, opinions, or beliefs. Though the intent in influencing is to move people, there is power in influence. Use that power carefully and responsibly. Don’t be misled into thinking that you, as one individual, can’t make much of a difference to others. You can. And, you do. The question is, what type of person of influence will you be?

Jimmy Nelson, corporate director of organizational development and training with a multinational company, defines influence as “the ability to motivate or move somebody in a positive direction that you see as an advantage for them and you. You have to build that foundation of a good relationship where there’s trust and understanding that you’re there to help them and don’t want anything in return.”

Being a person of influence is more about how you live, adding value to those around you, rather than simply what you do to advance an agenda. Influence takes time. Influence is not always an active, intentional endeavor. Your influence is deeply affected by what people observe in you. Depending on your goal, intentional attempts to influence someone may involve a tactic, such as persuading or negotiating. A tactic is a tool, method, or approach that you employ in attempts to achieve a desired outcome. Those tactics will be more effective when people have a history with each other, and your intentions are deemed honorable. Therefore, influence as a process goes beyond the tactics used.

Influence: Persistently in Demand

Have you ever felt like you’ve walked in Consuela’s or Tanisha’s shoes? Even on a smaller scale, the need for influence shows up daily. You are the target of influence throughout each day. And you are regularly attempting to influence others.

Let’s consider a day in your life. As you attempt to wake up in the morning, your schedule for the day influences your decision to sleep in for just a few more minutes. If you have children, you try to convince them that it’s time to wake up. You turn on the radio or television to the news. The news reports influence your perceptions of your community and even the world. The advertisements come on and attempt to influence your buying decisions. The commercial for that fancy new sports car or the vehicle that better accommodates your growing family tempts you to visit the dealer. The commercials for a popular restaurant entice you to stop by to pick up breakfast on your way to work.

You also make your routine stop at Starbucks. While waiting in line, a woman next to you is savoring her cup of coffee. You ask, “What are you having?” “A creamy caffe latte,” she says. “Delicious,” you reply. That’s what you order. When you get to work, a co-worker alerts you that you’re needed in a meeting that wasn’t originally on your calendar for the day. You’re briefed on the issues and decide you need to be there. You attend a virtual lunch meeting where the speaker presents some new ideas and strategies. You consider how the strategies could be useful for your team.

Next on your calendar are information-gathering interviews to address a concern with an internal client. You ask the data analyst on your team to help gather data on another project and determine conclusions from the insights. You plan to join colleagues for dinner after work. After weighing several suggestions, one colleague highly recommends a particular restaurant given his experience. That’s where you meet.

When you arrive home after dinner, your 10-year-old daughter is still at the dinner table, refusing to eat her vegetables. There are dishes in the sink that need to be washed, but your teenager is deep into his homework and says he doesn’t have time to do them. The dog is waiting by the door to go for your walk. Alas, bedtime. You want to catch the end of the movie you were watching over the weekend. As you navigate to make the selection, a short clip of another movie grabs your attention. You watch that one instead.

You don’t even think about it. You go about your day being influenced and have myriad opportunities to influence. All these occurrences influence your thinking, decisions, and actions—some to your liking, and some maybe to your regret.

In fact, in his book, To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others (2012), Daniel H. Pink shared the following results from his survey, “What Do You Do at Work?”: “People are now spending about 40 percent of their time at work engaged in nonsales selling—persuading, influencing, and convincing others in ways that don’t involve a direct purchase,” and they “consider this aspect of their work crucial to their professional success.”

Therefore, influence is a skill you want to become good at.

Our Personal Experience With Influence

As you think back over the course of your life, recall what most influenced who you are today. What kind of impression did these familiar sources of influence have on your life?

Close to Home

These are the people who have been most influential on your development as you grew, such as your parents, of course, but likely others. They include mentors and sponsors as you’ve grown in your education and career. Your most favorable memories are of those who were role models, influencing you most notably by their character and values.

I recall the teacher who encouraged me and some of the other girls in my class to take advanced math classes and accounting in high school. From that experience, I was well prepared for college-level math when I arrived at Berea College and decided to major in business. That has led to a successful career in business.

Larger Than Life

Prominent figures in our history and present-day culture often have an influence within our lives. (Think Abraham Lincoln, Mahatma Gandhi, Marie Curie, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Nelson Mandela.) The life work of such individuals has led to seismic shifts in society. In many cases, they are cultural icons.

Their courage reminds us of what is possible and often inspires us to champion or support causes that are important to us, whether on a national stage or within our own communities. Volunteering with nonprofit organizations is an ideal way to give back and make a broader impact outside of your immediate circle.

The Invisible Made Visible

Lastly, beyond people, we are heavily influenced by culture, practices, laws, regulations, policies, and even our biases and stereotypes. Beliefs influence how each of these factors are shaped. And it’s a two-way street; these factors influence our beliefs, behaviors, and actions. As you grow up in a culture, you are taught certain beliefs and norms that you are expected to follow. As you join different organizations across your career, you’ll find that each has its own unique culture, policies, and practices that you are expected to align with.

Among the core values of one of the organizations I work with is “have fun.” While they are focused on being a high-performing organization, it’s also important to create a work environment employees enjoy. What people do at work and how they interact are heavily influenced by this value.

Much like the influences on you across your life, your influence can shift the perspectives or behaviors of others. You may not realize the impact you’re having on another person. Know that others are watching you and take cues from your words and behavior.

Consider This

As you think about your life, who were the people and what were the experiences that most influenced who you are today?

Are You an Influencer or a Person of Influence?

With all the personal experiences you’ve had with influence, you likely have some firsthand perspectives on how you might answer this question. An influencer is often described as someone with a goal or outcome in mind who is good at moving others to their way of thinking or to take a certain action. Influencers may not always be people. Various brands attempt to get consumers to buy their products and services, many using social media influencers to do so. This relatively new phenomenon has grown into a multibillion-dollar industry and continues to expand as social media becomes more and more entrenched in people’s lives. “As e-commerce and social media converge, influencers will become increasingly vital intermediaries, helping to connect brands with consumers on social media in highly resonant, authentic ways that can deliver immediate returns,” according to Business Insider (2021). Social media influencers shape your behavior and buying decisions based on their recommendations and the lifestyles they appear to have by using the brands they represent. Because they often hold celebrity status, there is a greater tendency to trust their judgment and associate their expertise with the recommendation. Also, we may aspire to associate ourselves with products that make us appear popular or successful.

There are times when all of us are influencers. You need to move people within a short timeframe. You may have a decision that needs to be made or an action that needs to be taken. You attempt to exercise an approach that will most likely accomplish your objective. For example, you might use data from employee feedback that supports a recommendation for a new performance management process. Then, you might have individuals who have a closer relationship with the decision makers speak in support of your recommendations. Those are viable, common approaches.

Alternatively, when describing a person of influence, we see someone we look up to, in many cases because of personal interest. These individuals were often role models, someone we could learn from. They may have been a mentor, a manager who genuinely cared about our success, or a visible figure within our company who was respected and looked out for the best interest of all employees. Even if you don’t know the person of influence well personally, they have proven that they are trustworthy as you observe them over time.

If you are recognized as a person of influence, that foundation of trust we discussed earlier may put you in a position to depend less on influence tactics because your opinion is highly regarded. In the example of recommending a new performance management process, the decision makers may have had some experience in working with you in the past. You have consistently demonstrated that you are knowledgeable and have the best intentions of the organization in mind. You have a reputation that aligns with the organization’s values and priorities. You may need to depend less on others to establish your credibility. The degree to which you are effective at moving others is enhanced by investing time and energy toward adding value.

In his article “Being an Influencer and Being Influential Are Not the Same Thing” (2019), Robert K. Baggs says that “Success as either an influencer or influential figure can look strikingly similar on the face of things, but scratch below the surface and where one hollows out, the other goes deeper.” The influential person wants to make a difference and will teach others what they know and are passionate about. If you want to have a successful career, according to Baggs, “aim not for the coveted influencer title, but rather emanating influence as a direct result of your worth and value being recognized and appreciated by your community, be that locally or in a global field.”

Summary

Who you have become is a product of the influences on you from various aspects in your life—from the people around you to the environment you grew up in and currently live and work in. Similarly, whether intentional or not, you have an influence on other people. A key question for you to consider is, are you an influencer or a person of influence? Influence goes beyond the tactic you may choose to move someone toward a certain belief or to take a desired action. Greater influence is achieved as you are regarded as a person of influence, earning a foundation of trust from adding value to those around you. Read on to understand why this distinction is so important to your success.

CHAPTER 2

Why Influence Matters

On the advice of Tanisha, her colleague in talent development, customer service manager Consuela decided to meet with Daniel, the head of supply chain. Consuela shared data on the increased volume of calls, emails, and chat messaging requests about product availability, delivery, and quality that had inundated her team. But Daniel was skeptical. To him, Consuela was shifting blame for something that was her responsibility. He suggested she try to take greater care of her own staff and improve their processes. Daniel thought the volume increase was a result of a normal sales increase and routine new-customer questions. Their d...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• About the Series
• Series Foreword
• Introduction
• Part 1. The Meaning of Influence
• Part 2. Becoming Influential
• Acknowledgments
• Appendix: Resources
• References
• Index
• About the Author
• Back Cover