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[00:01:32] Once again, that's the talent trust.ca. See you there. Welcome back to Talent Management Truths. I'm your host, Lisa Mitchell, and I'm here with you for another ultra quick solo check-in. Have you ever truly loved your work? I have . I loved my work in the corporate world so much. I spent over 20 years in talent management leadership roles. So learning hr od employee experience, talent acquisition even operat.
[00:02:04] and there was just so much opportunity to make a difference. But you know, sometimes all that opportunity felt like a double-edged sword. There was often so much potential to influence an organization's culture that it could actually feel scary for any given initiative. There's so many choices in terms of where you could start and such a variety of opinions from stakeholders on where you should start.
[00:02:28] We. after all working with really complex, diverse humans and a whole multitude of wants and needs and opinion. . The danger is that it can feel easier to remain in the status quo with nowhere to go fighting fires, running with short-term uncon, uncontroversial band-aid solutions. So it's not really influencing the culture forward on top of the overwhelm with all that potential for influence.
[00:02:53] I think that for many leaders becoming more influential sounds. , we want it, but it seems somehow a bit slimy or difficult. It's kind of kind of like a swamp eel, . I don't know why that came to my mind, but it did. Anyways, I digress. The sense that it is scary or somehow hard to attain, you know, influence comes from many conversations that I've had with clients and colleagues frontline employees across all industries and.
[00:03:22] Influencing is such a critical, yet misunderstood ST skill. For instance, many people assume that it's just the most charismatic or extroverted amongst us who are able to influence, well, this is a myth. Influence does not just lie in the C-suite, and influence can be learned. Now, others believe that influencing somehow involves the manipulation of others or being inauthentic.
[00:03:47] Again, this is a myth. The twisting of arms is not required. . Now I know there's an expression that's, you know, to exert influence. As in he exerted his executive powered influence and was able to get a bigger office or get the project done earlier. My belief is that the, you know, while there is such a thing as this positional influence, influence that is truly created effectively with trusting relationships on a daily basis is fundamentally about partnership and dialog.
[00:04:19] So what I mean is that influencing can, and ideally should include that the other party who ends up being influenced by your solution or business case wants to buy into it. They're doing so by choice. So to influence effectively, you're offering value, not snake oil that no one needs. . Ultimately influencing requires intentionality, getting clear on what we need or want to influence, and then making clear steps towards our goal. No manipulation required. So what does this look like for talent leaders in action?
[00:04:54] as I said a moment ago, it's not about arm twisting. It is about deep listening skill for probing questions that unearthed root causes and avoiding assumptions, and from there offering a selection of appropriate solutions up for discussion. ultimately influence for talent leaders does not mean that you have to have all the answers or be the expert in everything being discussed.
[00:05:16] I see so many people getting tripped up by that. For example, let's say an internal client indicates a problem in their division and they give you their prescription for what they want your team to do. Ever had that happen? I, I certainly have. Now, if you make the assumption that you don't know enough about the problem and that the client already has the right solution, you may go and simply build that solution and even get as far as implementation only to find that, nope, it's not impacting the right things after all.
[00:05:46] And back we go to the land of we WeWork, and nobody likes it. Nobody likes that place. So to avoid the land of re. , you need to become a valued, influential business partner by focusing first on your inherent curiosity, your commitment to being of service, and your skill of facilitation. partner with your client to help them, not just you get more clarity on what the problem really is, looking at it from all the angles, and then collaborate with them to identify clear desired outcomes.
[00:06:20] So I like to ask, what would success look like? What would we see if we were to peek through the window six months from now? Okay, so there you have it. My thoughts for today anyways on I. Bring these attributes of curiosity, service and facilitation to the conversation about a new request for support, and I guarantee that the solution you both land upon will end up being infinitely more successful.
[00:06:46] And the r o I far higher. Thanks for listening.
