Influence. It is one of the primary currencies in the world of business. It’s the reason that so many people fanatically network the way they do. It’s why people present themselves as more than what they are. The more you seem like a person of influence, the more influence you actually have.
Similarly, the quiet, confident people in the office that just get things done and are always turned to when things go bad also have influence. It’s the influence of “no.” If they say no to something there may be no other way for it to get done. Ability to accomplish work is a huge area of influence – if you are willing to use it.
Role on paper is also an influence. If you are regarded as in charge then you have influence with people reporting through you on the org chart – even if you don’t want that to be the case. I have seen many a manager throw out a half thought through suggestion only to see it suddenly become real as people ran with it. It can be a shock for these people to realize that their words are given more weight than they intended.
All this is to say that there are lots of ways to have and yield influence. Every person in every business has a level of influence – often more influence and control than they think. The key to influence is being willing to use it. This is why so many brash talkers end up in higher positions; they are the ones yielding their influence into something bigger than they currently have. The quiet ones end up in good positions but not as high as they could go because they don’t use their influence.
This has become a topic close to me recently because I have seen people who could yield a lot of influence give it away by not saying no simply because someone is higher on an org chart. They say yes to absolutely needless projects that waste time and yield almost no additional benefit. All of these eat away the time that could be spent on business critical improvements. But instead the influence goes to waste with no greater value being achieved.
Influence should not be used daily. Over reaching can be one of the best ways to lose what influence you have. You have to pick your battles and choose when you want to spend the capital that you have built up. Don’t do it on everything but don’t do it on nothing either.