Being flexible in your influencing style

 Being flexible in your influencing style  

(Execution Excellence -"Ability to get things done" Series)
 

Last week we discussed awareness of the situation/context and how our influencing style helps to get things done. The third dimension of the influencing process is understanding the other person's dominant influencing style and being flexible to change our style accordingly.
 
The ultimate purpose of learning influencing skills is to get things done. This will happen only when we are flexible and adaptive to the SITUATION and modify our influencing style.

Consider the following real incidents in which we can learn the impact of flexibility in making things better or worst.

One of the product development organizations has the policy to approve any product proposal only when it meets certain conditions; for example,  ROI must be two years. The product development team put in their best effort and brought the new proposal; however, the ROI was not meeting, say it was three years. The finance head was going by rational and company policy. He insisted on holding the proposal. However, considering the features, the technical and marketing team was optimistic about going ahead. Everyone was right from their standpoint of view. The situation became inconclusive.

Generally, the CEO believes in the engagement type and wants to decide by consensus.
Now he took the lead in convincing the finance head to go ahead with the product development by stating the big picture of the product and its potential to change the company's destiny in the long run. (inspiring influencing). Also, he persuaded other functions to rework the cost and make it attractive. Finally, the project was approved unanimously, and the product changed the company's fortune within three years.
 
Here the key learning is the business head's flexibility to change his influencing type from engaging to inspiring and counter the finance head's rational influencing style. Just imagine, if he had not been flexible enough and firm to make decisions as per the team's decision, the company would have lost the opportunity.

Alternatively, in one of the small firms, the management recruited a senior person from a large corporate where he spent his entire life and believed in getting things done through a commanding influencing style. The family-owned business believes in an engaging type of influencing and involving all the people in important issues to arrive at decisions. The new person is not flexible to change his influencing style, and he soon lost all his teammates' confidence and eventually made exits. Here the problem is rigidity in adopting the same style of influencing.

Changing style depending on the situation and other people's style without hurting relationships is a winning influencing style of effective leaders. Ultimately things need to be executed, and relationship needs to be preserved.
 
The key point is we need to be aware of the situation or context, aware of our influencing style, and have the flexibility to change the style depending on the other' style and situation. That mindset makes us better leaders in getting things done.

Have a great week ahead.

What is your dominant influencing style?

  What is your dominant influencing style? 

(Execution Excellence -"Ability to get things done" Series)

 

 

Last week, we discussed the Influencing framework and how different situations call for different influencing methods.
Let us understand more about the influencing Style or method
 
We must know our influence style when dealing with others and in different situations.

Influencing Style will have an impact on the RESULT.

Typically we will be using the following influencing Style.

• Commanding (using authority/ dictating/ directing)
• Rationalizing ( using logic/data to convince)
• Engaging ( involving others /collaboration)
• Inspiring (energizing others with aspirations/values)
• Balancing-finding middle path ( win-win, alternate solution seeking)

Why do we need to be aware of our influencing Style?

Style determines the outcome or result.  
Style decides our tone and expression.
 
For example,

Imagine a situation in the workplace; as a business head, you need to solve quality issues raised by customers. You have to solve them along with your core team member.

Here the outcome is solving the problem. The solution's speed and quality depend on the influencing Style you choose.
 
You may use any of the following statements depending upon your influencing Style, which will have a different tone and interpretation from others.
 
"I want you to explain to me the reason for the quality problem" (commanding)
"Can you explain the reason for product failure for my understanding and let us find a solution" (Engaging)
"I don't want a reason to hear. solve the problem first" (commanding)
"Why don't you solve the problem ?" ( commanding)
"I think we can solve the problem easily. Let us discuss." (inspiring and engaging)
"5% rejection seems high, and let us resolve this by this week".(rational and inspiring)
 
We may use a different statement for the same situation that conveys a different tone.

What would be the outcome?
 
It now depends on the other person's influencing type with reference to the situation and how they interpret the statement and underlying tone.

The key point to learn is that we need to be aware of our influencing Style and use different influencing types depending on the situation and the other person.

Highly effective people usually use engaging and inspiring types except in urgent and sensitive problems.

Just reflect your dominant influencing Style.

Have a great week ahead.

How does the influencing process work?

 How does the influencing process work? 

(Execution Excellence -"Ability to get things done" Series)
 

 

Last week, we discussed the importance of developing Influencing skills at the workplace to get things done.

Despite your strong professional expertise, you will have growth only when you influence others positively to get things done. Positional power will help to some extent only. Hence we need to develop influencing skills.

The first step is understanding our influencing style and context, which i have given in the QUALITY OF INFLUENCE framework. It helps to understand the influencing process.



 
In any transaction with others, awareness of three factors will help to enhance the quality of getting things done.
 
1. Aware of the situation/context and its impact on you, your function, your organization
2. Awareness of your dominant influencing style, derived voice tone, and expression in terms of the statement
3. Awareness of your counterpart influencing style, derived voice tone, and the expression in terms of the statement

For example,

you want to delegate the PPT presentation preparation ( which you suppose to present to your management) to your junior colleague. They may not be interested in preparing, but you influence them to do it because you are using your commanding authority. Here the context is simple; the beneficiary is yourself, you use a simple commanding style, and your junior colleague gets it done.

In another instance, you must get your travel bill clearance from a finance person, and they are not reporting to you. The beneficiary would be you, and you can not use the commanding style of influence, and your counterpart need not be influenced easily by your style. He may use the rational style of influence, and there would be challenges in getting things done unless you modify your style.

In another instance, with the same finance functions, you need to get the payment release immediately to your vendor. Otherwise, the production line will get stopped. In this situation, you must get things done as soon as possible, and the beneficiary is the organization. You can choose different influencing styles like rational or balancing. You will get things done relatively easier than in the previous cases.
 

The key point is that every situation requires different influencing styles and must match with counterparts.

The awareness of the situation and influencing style of you and your counterpart will help you to be more flexible. However, in reality, as i observed, most people need to be made aware of the context and style as they use the same dominant style in every situation and are stuck in poor execution capability.

Just relate to your recent incident where you succeeded or failed in influencing others, you could see the framework's relevance, and you will get the importance of flexibility in style with context and counterpart.

Let us discuss the style/tone/statement in detail in the next week.

Have a great week ahead.

Developing the art of Influencing

 Developing the art of Influencing 

(Execution Excellence -"Ability to get things done" Series)
 

As we discuss Enhancing Execution capabilities in the workplace, we have discussed the relevance of personal leadership for the last 25 weeks. 

The next part of getting things done is learning the art of influencing others. The others could be direct reportees, peers, colleagues, and clients.
 
What is meant by influencing?

Influencing is persuading someone to think or accept our ideas or act the way we want.

It is based on the relationship's quality and respect rather than power or positional status.

Everyone needs this ability when dealing with others at home or in the external world.

God has given us this ability the moment we are born. By crying, the child signals the need for food or care; the mother responds. That is one form of influence, and when we grow, we use different techniques to sell ourselves to others in every moment. However, in some cases, we achieve what we want; in others, we do not.

When our circle of connection enlarges, complexity increases, and we need to learn the art of influence, particularly in the workplace as a professional.
 
Why influencing skills is essential for professionals?

• Commanding will no longer be effective in today's advancement in the information access environment. In the commanding era, people are looking for knowledge, but today Information or knowledge is available in plenty and quickly. What others want is wisdom or insights, or experience. By which only others are inspired with us. When the inspiration happens, it leads to ease of influence.

• When growing up in a career, you need to get things done from people beyond your functional boundary, and they need not oblige to meet your expectation unless you inspire them. When you are not inspiring, you can not influence.
• You might have seen many brilliant, hardworking, and sincere people stuck in their careers at some point in time. One of the reasons could be the lack of influencing skills despite their functional expertise.  

To become successful professionals, we must get things done and deliver results. From that perspective, learning the art of influencing is essential.

In this influencing Series, let us learn the following in the coming weeks

*Framework of influencing
*Human principles and using them to influence
*Proven laws of persuasion  and techniques
*Effective communication on improving influence
 
Have a great week ahead.
 

Summarising Personal Leadership on Execution Excellence

 Summarising Personal Leadership on Execution Excellence 

(Execution Excellence -"Ability to get things done" Series)
 

For the last 25 weeks, we have discussed the relevance of "Personal Leadership" to getting things done or enhancing execution excellence in the workplace.
 
Execution excellence consists of 3 elements.

1. Personal leadership, or how we organize ourselves
2. Inspiring and Influencing others
3. Knowing more about job

 We have discussed in detail Personal Leadership and its insights

Before moving to Inspiring and Influencing others, let us summarise the key learnings on personal leadership.
 
Personal leadership is about how we organize ourselves PROACTIVELY for the position/title or the TASK. It is the foundation for EXECUTION EXCELLENCE.
 
We have listed out some of the elements of personal leadership.

Time Management
Managing Expectation
Being Focused
Building Trust
Managing Energy

Time Management:

Time management is all about managing time for ourselves and OTHERS. It is more than how we engage in some activities and are busy.

Time management is purely inward motivation than externally monitoring time.

It is all about being efficient and effective.

Efficiency is how we do things right, and effectiveness is all about choosing the right things to do.

Efficiency related to skill and effectiveness is related to knowledge and mindset to choose the right activities.

We have discussed some of the behaviors at the workplace and how it affects others' time.
 
Expectation management
 
Managing expectations is all about being aware of what is expected from us in professional dealings and how we set the expectation clarity to others.

When we do not have clarity on the expectation, it affects our execution capabilities and growth opportunities.
 
We have discussed the difference between accountability and responsibility and how we connect with each other.
 
Being Focused:

Focus means directing our thoughts, energy, and time into something.
From an execution capability development of point of view, focus means result or achieving something.
Most of us need clarity on WHAT to focus on and HOW to remain focused in any endeavor.
Focus is one of the leadership skills which can be acquired through awareness and practice
.
Building Trust:

 Trust is a conviction or firm belief in others on some qualities built slowly through repeated interactions or behaviors.

Trust needs to be earned by an individual; it is not given by position or title.

We have discussed some examples of building trust  from  effective people. 
 
Managing Energy:

Managing energy is all about how we manage well physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
People follow the person who demonstrates a high energy level and enthusiasm.
 
We have discussed some methods by which effective people remain at a high energy level.


Developing personal leadership is a continuous effort and learning experience in shaping us to get things done in the workplace.

Let us discuss "Influencing aspects to get things done" next week.

Have a great week ahead.

How to get LUCKY -Book

One of my friends suggested the book " How to get lucky," and i read it recently.

This classic book is written by Max Gunther 35 years back, and even today, the contents are relevant.
( It seems that the book cover is intently designed as classic)

We might have observed some people are lucky in life, and whatever they do, they make it successful. We may have an opinion that people are born lucky. Contrary to that thought process, the author explains with real examples that some people we perceive as lucky organize their lives in such a way that they can experience good luck and avoid bad luck. (The examples are from  western based personalities which we may find too challenging to relate)

The author identified 13 techniques by which we can organize ourselves to be lucky in what we do.

For example, the author narrates some of the techniques applied by lucky people. 

They try different things, and something clicks in a more significant way
they are good at networking, and some connections work in favor of them 
they do planning and be aware that luck plays a role
they do worst-case analysis
they do calculate risk  and proceed than being extreme care or too much risky
they are ready to cut the losses immediately when they find the venture not doing good
they always busy with some activities 

The author suggests picking a few techniques and stick on to them consistently.

I wish to read this book at a younger age, and i could relate the techniques with the people whom i admire most for their luck.

Recommend this book if you want more perspective on developing your personality to be luckier...

The highly priced hard copy of the book seems unavailable for sale immediately; however, it is available in PDF format on the net.

Enjoy reading it!

Have a great week ahead.

How to LEARN effectively?

 

How to LEARN effectively?  
(Execution Excellence -"Ability to get things done" Series)

As we have discussed the relevance of curiosity to learn new things on being energetic in the workplace, let us understand the different approaches to learning.

Information access is not a problem in today's internet age like earlier. However, authentic learning is about understanding the concept, its application, its variation in different contexts, and its insights.
 
There are various approaches to learning, and one needs to choose the choice of combination consistently.
 
Self-learning:

Get interested in any subject  /topic, pick up suitable media like books, online courses, and YouTube videos, listen to expert interviews, attend seminars, etc.

This type of learning needs self-initiative, interest, and focus.

At the beginning of my career, fortunately, one of my bosses introduced me to many books on manufacturing systems, which helped me get more interested in those subjects. Eventually, i extended to other subjects, which improved my learning interest.

Observing others @ workplace:

Observing others @ workplace is one of the most effective learning processes for developing behavior and management style. We shall observe the bosses, colleagues even junior colleagues from whom we can learn what to do and don't. (Good and bad behavior).

Through observation, i learned a lot from my bosses about handling conflicts and the communication process, 

You might have realized some of the mannerisms you got from your bosses and peers as they inspired and impacted you.
 
Being part of a cross-functional team:
 
Working with a diverse team is one of the best ways to learn more about ourselves. It brings a new dimension to our skills in managing interpersonal aspects, persuasion skills, and ability to tolerate others. When we work with others, we become vulnerable and expose our natural strengths and weakness of ourselves. That introspection will be effective learning.
 
People will learn more in a project management environment of any size than in a functional setup. That is why some organizations encourage more of the CFT approach in solving organizational problems in which people learn and contribute more, and the energy level would be enhanced.

Learning through Teaching :

The learning pyramid model advocates that one can learn more by teaching others than by any other form of learning.
Teaching means sharing what you learned with others the way they understand. In the process, you are thinking more about the concept, its application, and its example and learning the art of communication.
This teaching process will make our learning more effective as we internalize it.

Where can we start teaching?

We can start teaching with our colleagues and internal team. As a manager/leader, one must spend time with others to share their experiences and learnings. Teaching makes us effective learners of concepts and communication skills. Teaching needs passion and patience.
 
In summary,

• learning can occur in any format and combination, depending on the individual and subject.
• We must be aware of the learning approaches and open enough for continuous learning, as learning will shape us to the next level and be energetic.

 
Have a great week ahead!

 

Self-regulation -Curiosity to LEARN

 Self-regulation -Curiosity to LEARN 

(Execution Excellence -"Ability to get things done" Series)

 

As we outlined self-regulation practices to keep our energy level, we mentioned the mindset of acceptance, enhancing the circle of care, looking at everything from a TIME perspective, etc. One more important aspect i have observed in most effective people is a curiosity to LEARN.
 
Curiosity to LEARN :

Curiosity to learn means a strong desire to learn something NEW in the domain or field we work or something beyond the domain or field.

Learning continuously enhances our perspective about the domain, and the intent to learn makes us more energetic.

One interesting personality i came across in my consulting experience. I always admire his curiosity to learn something. Whenever i interact with him, he used to display pleasant looks and a high energy level, which i attribute to his interest in learning something new.

He has been from the financial domain throughout his career and claims to be a senior citizen!. Still, he works in a manufacturing organization to engage himself and actively contribute his experiences. He used to attend all my sessions. In one of the sessions, i  taught the complicated manufacturing system concept, which most engineers usually find difficult to understand and apply with ease. Even though he is from a financial background, he took the lead in using the concept in his manufacturing division and brought some clarity to his colleagues.
 
He could have excused himself by stating that the concept is far from his core finance domain or age limitations. What made him learn some complicated manufacturing subject is his curiosity to learn. He keeps himself engaged and displays high energy in his work.

Even today, he is a voracious reader of books on management, leadership, and philosophy, and he regularly recommends some books to me. Some of the books we mentioned here are all from his recommendation only.

i am correlating his energy level with his curiosity to learn.

The important learning is, irrespective of our age and background if we develop the curiosity to learn something new and keep ourselves engaged, it brings a unique perspective to our lives and makes us more energetic. 

People follow the person who displays energy in the workplace than passively.

 Have a great week ahead.

Self-regulation practices to maintain high energy level

 Self-regulation practices to maintain high energy level

(Execution Excellence -"Ability to get things done" Series)
 

In continuation of last week's discussion on how to manage energy levels when things are not going well in the workplace either on a specific day or specified duration, one  of the powerful self-regulation practices discussed was "Acceptance." The practice of acceptance will help to realize the reality and move along with the flow rather than fighting and losing energy.
 
The other methods by which we can maintain our energy level during low-energy situations from my experience are as follows
 
Looking at the situation from the TIME perspective:
 
Any low or high-energy situations never last forever. It looks unmanageable during the tough time, but when we look at the event after some time, it seems to be nothing. For example, we were clueless during covid lockdown, and for most of us, that situation was challenging. Looking back now, the situation's intensity seems small after three years.

The point is any good or bad situation does not last forever, and from a time perspective, any event becomes insignificant from a longer time perspective.

That is why philosophically, there is a saying This too shall pass.
 
Create a space for your inner comfort :

We need to enhance our circle of people, places, or activities which can boost our energy level and make us comfortable when we are down in a workplace situation.

For example, one of my friends was not adequately recognized in his organization for a long time, and others perceived it as an injustice to him. However, he never bothered about that recognition and constantly engaged in charity work and volunteering in NGO activities. I realized he was more comfortable in the workplace because he had other activities to compensate for his energy level.

At least we need to have some trusted people in our circle( could be spouses or friends or mentors) with whom we can share everything by which we can feel comfortable.

The key point is that we need to find a space to be comfortable in low-energy situations.

There could be some other self-regulation practices each one can find to manage the low energy situations
 
The idea of self-regulation practice is to manage any situation with a balanced approach so that our energy level will be high at the workplace to get things done.

Have a great week ahead!

How to manage energy during challenging times?

  How to manage energy during challenging times? 

(Execution Excellence -"Ability to get things done" Series)

 

We are discussing the methods by which effective people stay energetic in the workplace, enabling them to get things done efficiently.
 
One of my friends asked a question that is relevant to this topic. The question is, " Not all days, things will go as we wish. How do we manage high energy levels when the situation is unfavorable?" 

True...Not all days, things will go as we like. Situations like customers firing us, colleagues or junior colleagues in agitation mode, conflict with peers, or inordinate delays in getting things done due to beyond our control lead to disappointment, anger, and frustration.

How do we maintain a high energy level, at least, to be in a balanced mood?

Experts in emotional intelligence suggest the practice of self-regulation.
 
Self-regulation means the ability/ skill to deal with our emotions calmly and deliberate about how we want to show up at work and move on.
 
One of the self-regulation practices is Acceptance.
 
Acceptance :

Acceptance of situations or people is a very powerful self-regulation practice.

For example, imagine a situation where you must meet your customer to propose solutions for a problem, and your important colleague is much more familiar with the subject than you need to accompany you. Last minute, he/ she withdraws from participation for silly or manageable reasons. You are wondering whether it happens by chance or by choice of a colleague whom you do not like much in general.
Now you need to face the customer independently and get the proposal acceptable. Else it would affect your creditability. That is reality.

Would you get upset with the situation, worry about the outcome, blame or get angry with your colleagues for last-minute withdrawal, feel helpless to manage alone, or accept the situation and colleague as such?

We often do not accept and tend to go against reality, putting more pressure on our peace.

When we accept the situation and acknowledge the feeling, we can mentally manage the situation relatively well. Acceptance will give you the mental strength to think about the next step.

In contrast, when we do not accept the situation or people as such, we are still in the mode of negative emotions, which further drains our energy level.

Misunderstanding about Acceptance:

Acceptance does not mean that we have given up and accepted the mediocre. It is all about grounding ourselves with reality, acknowledging the negative emotions at that moment, and preparing ourselves to think about the next actions rather than fighting against reality.
 
Is it easy to be in an acceptance mindset always?

It is not easy for all to accept the situation and people. However, when we practice in small events, it helps us to manage higher challenges in the workplace.

For example, when you are stuck in traffic, are you accepting the situation calmly or blaming/being restless? Those are the moments that test our acceptance capability.
 
That awareness of Acceptance is a self-regulation practice to be at a positive energy level.

Let us discuss some other self-regulation practices next week.
 
Have a great week ahead.