Influence and Impact. George B. Bradt

people risk falling back on what Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman describes as intuitive thinking.^iv You revert to established knowledge from the last job you had. Kahneman summed up the argument in his 2002 Nobel Prize Lecture. In it, he described intuition as “thoughts and preferences that come to mind quickly and without much reflection,” as opposed to a more controlled, structured way of thinking things through.

      If you are using your intuitive or “System 1” thinking to solve the problems of a new job, you are likely managing at too low a level, underutilizing your team, or responding with short-term moves rather than proactive efforts to drive the business forward.

      Kristy was a skilled product development leader who understood the systems and processes needed to bring products to market. Her manager, Aaron, valued her work and knew he could count on her to deliver on their quarterly objectives. At the same time, Aaron knew that customer needs were rapidly evolving and saw Kristy focusing on the short-term rather than the mid- to long-term. As a result, Aaron had concerns that Kristy would not be able to help the firm take advantage of new technologies to accelerate change and anticipate new trends.

       Kristy and her team were working on 12 product development initiatives, but she made the vast majority of decisions herself. She was frustrated that her people were not stepping up to take responsibility. I (Bill) asked her what would happen if she had the right people to lead these initiatives, and she half-joked, “I'm not sure I know what my job would be.”

      In reality, Kristy's job would become what Aaron was looking for: forward-thinking, change-focused, and strategic. As she grew to understand that, she reworked ten of the 12 initiatives into four major strategies, and stopped two of the initiatives that did not fit the framework. Team members each led one strategy, and they clearly defined the decision rights and escalation criteria.

      Kristy's team meetings shifted from weekly tactical decision-making to bi-weekly oversight, challenge and course-correction, while bi-monthly meetings became more future-focused and talent-focused. After a few weeks, Kristy found that she had free time, and began working on an innovation white paper that became a potential roadmap for a new product framework for the company.

      Doing What You Expected

      Doing exactly the job in your job description, rather than the job the company or your manager needs you to do, does not help you influence anyone. The need for flexibility is common in start-ups, where most job descriptions say, at the bottom, “…and any other responsibilities as they are identified by your manager.” Successful people in start-ups and fast-growth companies often need to learn new skills, shift between two different sets of responsibilities, or multi-task. In more stable, large companies, a “can-do” spirit is invaluable, but people often learn to only do what their job description says. Unfortunately, this does not build your reputation as a problem solver or “go-to” person.

      Sarah took a job at a cloud-based technology company as a software trainer. Her job was to learn how the software works and put together and deliver training programs to the end users. She enjoyed getting in front of a group, using technology, and showing them how to use the system. She found it gratifying to see people learn the skills she had to teach.

      When her company was bought by a larger software company, a number of people left, and her new manager asked her to take responsibility for implementing the software as well as do the training. She politely but firmly refused, stating, “I'm a trainer. I don't want to do implementation. It's boring.” Her manager explained that the implementation team was stretched thin, and in order for her to have enough training to do, she would need to help with the implementation as well. Despite this, she again refused.

      You can imagine what happened. In three months, as soon as the amount of training work decreased, she was the first to be let go.

      Doing It “Your Own Way”

      Influence comes when you can work and communicate with colleagues in ways that say, “We are on the same team.” Your organization has a set of cultural norms that determine how people share information, make decisions, and work with each other. These mores are rarely explicit, but they are widely shared and reflect the organization's needs, motivations, and beliefs.

      In particular, people often think about their relationship with their manager differently from how the manager defines it. Your manager, and your manager's manager, have sets of implicit norms that are usually subsets of the organization's rules. For example, if your manager is insecure, they may rely on you to support them rather than supporting you. If the functional head is a “bias to action” leader, they may think everyone should operate the same way.

      Many times, the company's explicit values are different from the behaviors and attitudes they reinforce in reality. Learning the organizational and team culture will increase your cultural agility, which has value in any new setting. Listening and communicating effectively is essential to increasing your influence and impact. Adapting to the culture-as-is is critical to getting the types of rewards and reinforcements you are looking for.

Whom We Tend to Blame—And Why It Doesn't Work

It is human nature to want to blame other people for the problems in which we find ourselves.^v Our sense of self tells us we are right, and that problems arise because others have misunderstood our intent, or because they are unfair or have ulterior motives. Some people blame themselves, but the majority maintain personal equilibrium by externalizing problems, even though that may not lead to the best solution.

       Linda had been brought in by the president of a small company, Akito, as his head of HR. In reality, he really wanted Linda to handle many tactical and operational issues that he, as CEO, did not want to deal with. She sat in on meetings and frequently provided direction to other team leaders, even though she had no involvement in their work. If anyone challenged her, she pushed back by drawing on the CEO's authority. “Akito made it clear to me that he expects this from you.”

       The team was clearly unhappy with her ambiguous role, and developed a noticeable passivity toward her directives. I (Bill) was brought in by Akito to help Linda be more effective, but when I tried to help her find ways to give direction, through influence or from her own authority, she rejected the idea that she should do anything different. “They just resent my relationship with Akito. If they don't improve, we may have to find other people who will listen.”

      Focusing on Your Manager

Managers make or break a job experience.^vi The problems with managers are legion—from micromanagers to laissez-faire, from domineering to passive, and from abusive to neglectful. Some managers are poor managers. Some were promoted because they were a strong front-line worker, or they have seniority. Others are given unrealistic responsibilities and are browbeaten themselves. More have the right technical skills but have no training or experience in managing. Management is, after all, a learned skill rather than an innate talent.

      At least as often, there is a mismatch in style or misalignment of objectives between manager and employee. When the two expect different things, or have different workstyles, problems are likely to follow. A hands-off manager may be exactly what one person, who is self-confident, risk-taking and focused, needs to be successful. That same manager may be exactly the wrong one for a person who needs clear, specific direction, tries to avoid missteps, and works best with detailed plans and timelines.

      When you and your manager are misaligned, tensions grow. It invariably leads to anger and disappointment for both. For example, an employee thinks their job is to collaborate