The Power of Choice. Michael C. Hyter

the options you can command for yourself will be severely limited.

       Technical Skills Are Not Enough

      Although technical skills are necessary, I am continually struck by how many of us have been socialized by our families, our education systems, and even companies' professional development processes to believe that hard work and credentials are all that matter. Credentials get us in the door, and solid job expertise establishes our credibility. But technical proficiency isn't enough to earn us appreciation or get us promoted.

      I recently counseled a young Asian American woman I'll call Joy. Joy worked for a well‐known consulting company as a tax consultant. She had an Ivy League education and worked sixty to seventy hours a week as a matter of course. In her group, she was recognized as the go‐to person for questions about tax law. She recognized the need to broaden her expertise if she was going to be considered for leadership positions within her organization, and she was outspoken about her frustration at being assigned to the same client with the same demand for long hours and little development opportunity. Joy was particularly bitter that a white male peer, whom she saw as being much less capable, had just been reassigned to a highly visible client engagement.

      It's tempting to look at this situation and cry foul given Joy's depth of expertise and impressive work ethic. However, as we talked more, I learned that Joy seldom delegated work to others on her team. She told me, “My reputation rests on my work, and I can't risk letting someone else mess things up.” When I asked if she interacted with anyone other than her client and those on her team, she said, “Given how much work I have, I have to prioritize how I spend my time.” As her frustration grew, she was also vocal about her belief that “this company promotes incompetence.”

Let's look at this from her leaders' point of view. What incentive is there to promote someone who works tirelessly at her current level and who has demonstrated limited capacity to support and develop others? Furthermore, she comes across as cynical and bitter about the organization in general.

      Joy was correct that others with less impressive credentials and time on the job were getting promoted. She made the mistake of believing that her expertise should automatically lead to expanding career opportunities—and that if it didn't, discrimination was at the root of her failure to advance. What she didn't see was that she had not provided any basis for her leaders to trust her with positions where she would influence and manage others. In addition, she had few connections who could provide access to additional opportunities and champion her candidacy.

      In most organizations there are many technically proficient individuals. Decisions about who gets stretch assignments, special projects, or promotions generally involve the more subtle components of relational and influence skills.

Relational Skills

      The second important area of professional development is relational proficiency: the capability to relate to others and have them relate to you. Imagine, for example, that you are heading up a project and you can hand‐select your team. Wouldn't you be more likely to choose individuals you knew you could work with well? Wouldn't you want a group that you believed would accomplish its mission with a minimum of tension and discomfort?

      It's human nature to prefer working with people you're familiar and comfortable with, which is often easier to do when you think they're “like you.” It can be terrifying to walk into a room where there are few others like you. It takes courage to introduce yourself to a group of executives, especially when they are different from you in ethnicity or gender. For too many people, this discomfort means they avoid making the contacts and connections that could help build their careers. Instead of figuring out how to relate, they write off these relationships as too difficult or not worth the time. Then, unfortunately, they wonder why opportunities go to others.

Three years into my first job out of college, I attended a number of meetings where the company's chief financial officer spoke to the group. CFO was a really big job to my young eyes. In addition, this fellow had been working in the company for a long time, had a larger‐than‐life personality, and was widely revered. Despite our being in a couple of meetings together, he would pass me in the hall and never say hello.

      One day, after attending a company‐wide meeting where this CFO spoke about the current quarterly results, I felt compelled to approach him. I went up and introduced myself, acknowledged how much I appreciated hearing from him as a young professional, and said I would love to meet him again some time to become better acquainted. I was shocked to hear him say, “That would be nice. I'll have my secretary give you a call to arrange it.”

      To my surprise, she called me later that same day to schedule a personal meeting with him for the following week. We spent an hour getting to know each other, sharing stories about our backgrounds and opinions about the company. A relationship was born that grew and lasted for years. His mentorship was invaluable as my career progressed.

      A few years later I asked him why he agreed to meet, given how low I was on the organization chart. He said, “Because you asked me. No one else at your level had ever asked to meet with me, and it impressed me that you would.” He also shared that he enjoyed getting to know me and as he learned more about me, it made him more aware of how he could support my dreams.

      It was at that moment when I realized the significance of building relationships at all levels of the organization. Such relationships help build your understanding of the culture, how things get done, and what you have to do to add value. Relationships allow you to be present in the minds and actions of others. They expand the number of individuals who represent you in critical conversations about your contributions and potential. I know my company seriously considered me for opportunities because of the CFO's support. And he was better able to assess how I could add value because he was familiar with my skills and capabilities. Who would be willing to support your development if you reached out to them?

The development of relational skills is critical—perhaps even more critical than becoming technically proficient. Like the development of any skill, these take time and effort, but the payoff is mutually beneficial relationships with people who will champion you and your goals.

Influential Skills

      The third necessary area of professional development is influential: the capability to shape opinions, inspire action, and successfully navigate the formal and informal processes of an organization. Influentially skilled people understand how systems work. They leverage situations and manage relationships to achieve desired outcomes. They position themselves and their ideas to elicit the support of others.

      Being influential is often undervalued and derided as brown nosing. People are criticized for playing politics. Yet those who can sell ideas, shape opinions, and engineer mutually satisfactory solutions to problems bring more to the table than those who are only technically proficient. Wouldn't you rather partner with someone who can secure the necessary resources or provide challenging learning opportunities instead of someone who is knowledgeable but ill‐equipped to make things happen? Wouldn't you prefer to work for a leader who can influence a team to work together productively rather than one who is merely an expert in the field? Wouldn't you rather surround yourself with individuals who will advocate for you? Securing resources, bringing a project to fruition, guiding a cohesive team—all these things require influence skills, and most of us want to be involved with others who can exert this kind of leverage.

The capability to influence situations, outcomes, and people increases your value to an organization. When you have the capability to do your job well, your value equals that of your independent contribution. When you are also effective in understanding what motivates others and can increase their engagement and productivity, your value equals your contribution plus theirs. (See Figure 1.2.) Mastering the art of influencing others, regardless of their level or rank, differentiates the average from the great.