Influence and power.
Have you heard of power mapping? Used mostly in politics to understand where to focus campaign efforts, power mapping tools can help us increase influence and power in the workplace!
“The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority”
To have power, you must be able to influence. Influence needs will change over time, especially depending on which projects or objectives you are working on. For now, let's focus on a generic power map based on relationships at work. This will help you understand if you are working on the right relationships of those who have influence.
For the map, start with your manager. Then think of all the people who influence him or her at work. The closer the circles, the more influence. Here's an example:
Example of a power map thinking through how to better influence your manager.
This tells us that your manager has some key influencers at work. The people who influence your manager are his/her:
Manager
Best Friend At Work
Peer #1
Employee #2
These are the people most likely to influence him or her on key decisions.
Deciding who is closest, and has the most influence, on your manager
For each individual that influences your manager, think about how good YOUR relationship is with that person and what you can do to improve it. I filled in the below matrix as an example:
An example of a matrix to complete to understand how your personal relationships are with each of those individuals who influences your manager.
Improving your relationships with those who most influence what you are working towards will give you power. In our example, we were looking at the overall influence of your manager. As different projects present themselves and you need to influence different leaders, use this same power mapping activity directed at the leader you want to influence. Work on the relationships that are closest to the person you want to influence.
Now, go be powerful by ensuring you are working on the relationships of those who have influence.
