Exert Your Influence and Move Up in Your Organization

By Megan Martin

As humans and as employees, we need to feel that our jobs are important and that we have influence not only within our organization and our lives, but in the world. But there are times in every career when we feel that our efforts and talents are going unnoticed and thus preventing us from moving forward. Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be this way.

Dave Crenshaw, President of the National Association of Productivity Coaches and author of the American Society for Training and Development article, “The End of Job Security as We Know It,” notes:

“Employees can not only secure their jobs but advance their careers in any situation or economy. It’s a matter of asking the right questions, understanding the rules of the company and the boss they work for, and then delivering results beyond their current pay.”

In other words, you have the power to increase your influence within your organization and get noticed. Here are some tips on how to harness your power and move ahead.

Create a Career Plan

Whether you’re satisfied in your current position, want to move up in your organization, or feel that you need to seek a new position elsewhere, you need to have a career plan. Randall S. Hansen, PhD and founder of Quintessential Careers explains:

“Every [one] needs to take the time to step away from the day-to-day grind of work and spend quality time reflecting on your career and developing some plans for your future… Think of career planning as building bridges from your current job/career to your next job/career.”

Identifying the tools, personal strengths and skills that will help you get noticed and move ahead is crucial. What are your strengths as a leader in your organization? Whether you’re bold or laid back, you have them. Do you have deep knowledge of your area of expertise? Incredible communication skills? The ability to motivate others? Consider practical strengths such as excellent problem-solving abilities or a flair for social networking. Also consider your people skills and personal qualities such as integrity or creativity.

JP Morgan, the famous financier and banker, is a great example of a leader who used his strengths to gain power, even when those strengths were not in line with his work history and experience. Majoring in art history and inheriting the family business from his father, JP Morgan used his quick wittedness, thoughtfulness and ability to react quickly to changes to become a banking and corporate trailblazer. He was one of the first to buy distressed businesses and merge them – a common business practice even today.

As you consider your own qualities, think beyond your current position and take note of those traits that help you thrive in life.

Make a list of goals that will help you use your greatest strengths to create influence. Consider how these fit into your short-term and long-term career plans. How can you use these skills today to get noticed, and how will they help you move ahead in your future career? What new skills do you need to develop and how can you best develop them in your current position?

Master Your Current Position

If you’re ready to start building new skills that will get you noticed now and prepare you for the future, the best place to start is with your current position.

Crenshaw says that employees need to focus on their current position before taking on new responsibilities. While you may be eager to jump on building new skills by taking on a multitude of new projects, this can be a mistake.

“Before you make suggestions or present new initiatives, you must first accomplish the job assigned to you, and do it well,” says Crenshaw. “Doing your job and doing it well are critical steps to gaining permission to expand your responsibility and make suggestions.”

Completing assignments early and improving the quality of your current tasks is a great way to get noticed by superiors. Think about how you can make some of the tasks within your current position more effective or efficient, while utilizing some of your key strengths that you noticed as you created a career plan.

If you come up with ideas for change that don’t require a green light from your boss, go ahead and implement improvements and then share them with your manager. This will show that you’re a self-directed go-getter.

Crenshaw notes: “Invaluable employees...demonstrate their ideas in action.” Take the initiative rather than waiting for approval. The results of your hard work will often be apparent to superiors without your having to explain how and why your idea was a success.

Know What Your Organization Needs

Understanding your organization’s needs and goals is crucial to increasing your influence in the workplace. Consider how you can work with your manager to expand what you do in your current position and gain new skills that are in line with your career plan.

Start by practicing open communication with your manager. Set up a lunch or meeting to discuss how you can use your position to highlight your strengths and help the organization reach its goals.

Crenshaw recommends asking your manager how you can make his or her job easier or what you can do to make yourself or your position more valuable to the organization. If you have ideas for ways that you can collaborate with co-workers on a project or ways you can expand your position, don’t be shy: Tell your manager what you have in mind.

In an interview with Leander Kanhey of Bloomberg BusinessWeek, John Sculley, former Apple CEO, recalls an anecdote about Steve Jobs. When Jobs first conceived the Macintosh computer, he explained the following to Sculley: “If I asked someone who had only used a personal calculator what a Macintosh should be like, they couldn't have told me. There was no way to do consumer research on it, so I had to go and create it and then show it to people and say now what do you think?"

We can learn two lessons from Jobs: First, don’t be afraid to try out your most innovative ideas and actually create them. Second, don’t be shy: Express your ideas to co-workers and managers. Whether you have created a new way of doing something, or if you want the opportunity to develop new skills by expanding your duties, say so. If there is a position within your current organization that you’re interested in, ask your manager what you can do to prepare for it and if he or she would be willing to help you.

Build a Reputation

Although talent is important, you have to let the world know about it in order to gain influence.

Building a strong reputation for yourself within your organization and in the larger world is one of the best ways to gain influence.

If you don’t consider yourself a “natural” when it comes to putting yourself out there, remember that building a reputation doesn’t necessarily come natural to most people.

“Don't find excuses for not doing what you know you should because it doesn't feel "natural." Once you practice and get good at something like networking, it will become natural!” Pfeffer says.

Pfeffer recommends taking into account all potential avenues of exposure. Start with your personal contacts — who can you call to set up a speaking engagement or Q & A session with other professionals or up-and-comers in your field who would like to learn from you? If your contact list isn’t especially strong, network with other powerful professionals by using LinkedIn or other networking websites. Reach out to the media by volunteering to write articles for business publications or seeking out interviews in local news publications. Start a blog in your spare time. Mary-Lane Kamberg, writer of the Women in Business article, “Getting Noticed at Work,” recommends volunteering at high profile company events. If you can volunteer to be a chair or have a major role, all the better, but volunteering period is better than nothing.

“Volunteering to lead such a project gains you high visibility at work and in the community, as well as shows your ability to delegate, organize and produce,” says Kamberg. “Upper management usually is involved, so your name is before them in a positive light.”

Again, projects like these can be great for developing new skills that you don’t use in your day-to-day position. As you build your own reputation outside of your organization, your boss will notice and your company’s reputation will be enhanced as well. You will also be seen as a credible role model for colleagues and employees — and showing your power to the larger world will make others more open to your ideas. These activities will look great on your resume when you do apply for future positions and the visibility may even attract new job offers.

Think Outside the Box

If your current position isn’t allowing you opportunities to expand your skills or move forward, get creative. Volunteer on the weekends with an organization that will let you build these skills. Take classes, read books, go to seminars, and network with others who are involved in your area of interest. Keep your career goals at the forefront of your mind. Bring any new knowledge or skills you acquire into your workplace and show them off.

If you want more influence around the office, you have to be willing to do whatever you can to get it. Develop your strengths, enhance your skills and get noticed today!

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