INTHEBLACK April 2022 - Magazine - Page 59
STORY LINDA MOON
CIRCLE OF
INFLUENCE
ACROSS ALL SECTORS, INDUSTRIES AND GEOGRAPHIES, THERE IS
G R O W I N G R E C O G N I T I O N T H AT T H E A B I L I T Y T O P E R S U A D E A N D C A R RY
P E O P L E A L O N G W I T H YO U I S A C O R E C O M P E T E N C Y I N B U S I N E S S .
F
or many people, having influence at work,
being listened to and effecting change bring
a sense of personal fulfilment. For accountants
and finance professionals, the ability to exert
a positive influence can have a huge impact on project
outcomes and a company’s overall financial wellbeing.
“As organisations have become flatter and less
hierarchical, the opportunities to wield influence
have grown, says Dr Tim Baker, managing director at
leadership and performance development consultancy
WINNERS-at-WORK.
“Influence can flow top-down from leaders to
employees, but also upwards to senior management
and, increasingly, sideways.”
The ability to manage up and across can help you
get more done and advance the projects you care
about and are responsible for, which in turn raises
your profile and leads to promotion and better pay.
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IS ANYONE LISTENING?
While it may seem that effective influencing is the
purview of the most confident, the most charismatic
or the most eloquent, that is not the case.
Andy Burrows, a former finance director who
now runs Supercharged Finance, a coaching
business for finance professionals, believes there is
a misunderstanding about what having influence
actually entails.
“People tend to think of influencing and persuasion
as ‘having a way with words’ – being able to form an
irrefutable argument that makes people do what we
want. Influencing, in fact, comes from credibility, trust,
good listening and a win-win mindset,” says Burrows.
“Credibility is a function of integrity and intent
– you honestly and transparently want to help the
business – as well as of capability and results – you
have the skills needed to help the business and have
a track record of being helpful,” he says.
Understanding your “higher purpose” in the business
can open the door to becoming someone whose ideas
are listened to, adds leadership coach Sara Garcia.
“When your behaviour demonstrates why you exist
within the organisation and reveals you as a team
player who makes a difference to the bottom line, then
you find others start to change their relationship with
you. You begin to be taken notice of, get consulted,
invited onto projects at an earlier stage, where you can
have influence and make an impact on the business,”
says Garcia.
Approach influence building strategically, advises
Ilona Charles, a leadership and HR expert. Charles
advocates pinpointing key people in the organisation
who will enable you to do your job better and are in
positions of influence themselves, who can support
you in your role.
“It runs a risk of sounding manipulative, but like
other aspects of your personal development, it should
be planned for.”
BUILDING RAPPORT
Cultivating relationships is key to success for those
who seek to increase their influence in the workplace.
Having a good rapport with colleagues won’t
necessarily directly translate into influence, but it will
make them more willing to pay attention to what
you’re saying.
intheblack.com April 2022 59