increasing your power base and influence...• passive style and strategic focus • views cio as...
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Increasing your power base and influence
2Copyright 2019 Anthony B. Gerth, D.B.A. All Rights Reserved
Building relationships and influence is critical for IT leaders
Technology leaders have a critical role to play in achieving organizational goals, especially in digital transformation
Technology leaders are rarely formally taught how to influence others or take a systematic approach
How do IT leaders influence others?
3Copyright 2019 Anthony B. Gerth, D.B.A. All Rights Reserved
The insights today are the result of 10 years of CIO research
Interviews with 150+ IT leaders
(CIO, VP, Director level)
Interviews with 50+ business
leaders (CxO, VP, Director level)
Survey of 600+ IT leaders (CIO, VP,
Director level)
100+ attendees of an IT leadership
program
4Copyright 2019 Anthony B. Gerth, D.B.A. All Rights Reserved
A quote from a non-IT executive explaining why an IT leader failed
“He [the IT leader] proceeded to try to understand all the systems, but –the guy fundamentally forgot that there are people behind all those
processes and systems. He totally ignored the relationships, the informal mechanisms, the informal systems.”
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It is no surprise that IT leaders need to “play well with others”, but how…
Source: Gerth, Anthony B., and Joe Peppard. "The dynamics of CIO derailment: How CIOs come undone and how to avoid it." Business Horizons 59.1 (2016): 61-70.
Influencing others requires building relationships and choosing your tactics based on the person
5Copyright 2019 Anthony B. Gerth, D.B.A. All Rights Reserved
Tactical
Strategic
Interaction with IT leader
Bus
Part
ner f
ocus
Passive Active
Master
Coach
Director
Collaborator
My research reveals four types of business partners the IT leader must address
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Source: Gerth, Anthony B., and Joe Peppard. "The dynamics of CIO derailment: How CIOs come undone and how to avoid it." Business Horizons 59.1 (2016): 61-70.
6Copyright 2019 Anthony B. Gerth, D.B.A. All Rights Reserved
These two dimensions create different perspectives of each type of executive stakeholder
Master
Director
Coach
Collaborator
• Passive style and Tactical focus• Views CIO as service provider, not peer
• Active style and Tactical focus• Tries to influence CIO priorities as a Service
Provider. Does not view CIO as peer
• Passive style and Strategic focus• Views CIO as Solution Provider, will help if
they ask, does not view CIO as peer
• Active style and Strategic focus• Considers CIO a peer and a Strategic
ContributorSource: Gerth, Anthony B., and Joe Peppard. "The dynamics of CIO derailment: How CIOs come undone and how to avoid it." Business Horizons 59.1 (2016): 61-70.
7Copyright 2019 Anthony B. Gerth, D.B.A. All Rights Reserved
You can assess how much they matter with a simple dashboard
Name of stakeholder
Level of influence
Level of support
Total (influence x support)
Action Plan
Tony Gerth 2 3 6 Build on support by enlisting as coach/collaborator
Debbie Downer 3 -2 -6 Proactively address reasons for lack of support to improve
Tigger Jones 1 3 3 Maintain support
Ernie Eeyore 1 -1 -1 Address lack of support as needed
Influence: 1, 2, 3 Support: -3, -2, -1, 1, 2, 3
8Copyright 2019 Anthony B. Gerth, D.B.A. All Rights Reserved
Relationship building tips
Give more than you get and never, never keep score
Treat EVERYONE you meet with respect…you never know where they will be…especially administrative people!
Care more for others than you care for yourself
Build your network before you need it
There are no guarantees! You will experience failure…shake it off and don’t worry!
9Copyright 2019 Anthony B. Gerth, D.B.A. All Rights Reserved
I recommend these books on building relationships
• How to win friends and influence people –Dale Carnegie
• Never eat alone – Keith Ferrazzi
• Dig your well before you’re thirsty –Harvey Mackay
10Copyright 2019 Anthony B. Gerth, D.B.A. All Rights Reserved
Influence styles and tactics vary
See for example: Buchanan, D., & Huczynski, A. (2004). Images of Influence: 12 Angry Men and Thirteen Days. Journal of Management Inquiry, 13(4), 312–323.
11Copyright 2019 Anthony B. Gerth, D.B.A. All Rights Reserved
Passive: soft spoken, often gives in, non-threatening
Juror #2
12Copyright 2019 Anthony B. Gerth, D.B.A. All Rights Reserved
Assertive: states case without going “over the top”, listens to others but holds firm
Juror #8
13Copyright 2019 Anthony B. Gerth, D.B.A. All Rights Reserved
Aggressive: uses intimidation, loud vocal or physical gestures
Juror #3
14Copyright 2019 Anthony B. Gerth, D.B.A. All Rights Reserved
There are multiple influence tactics to deploy
• Stating: states opinion without wavering, does not use data or consequences (pundit method)
• Legitimizing: states conclusions and presents supportive evidence • Socratic: uses questions to test assumptions and move a decision in a
certain direction (can be combined with stating or legitimizing)• Personal: attempts to link emotional and personal arguments (do it for
me)• Social: seeks connections to others as motivation for change (do it for
the group)
15Copyright 2019 Anthony B. Gerth, D.B.A. All Rights Reserved
You can tailor style/tactics to the matrix we just reviewed
MasterPassive/Tactical
DirectorActive/Tactical
CoachPassive/Strategic
CollaboratorActive/Strategic
• Style: Be assertive• Tactic: Legitimizing, Socratic
• Style: Be passive / assertive• Tactic: Legitimizing, Personal
• Style: Be assertive• Tactic: All tactics can be used
• Style: Assertive, passive• Tactic: All tactics can be used
Note: that the Aggressive style is not generally recommended
16Copyright 2019 Anthony B. Gerth, D.B.A. All Rights Reserved
IT leaders need to tailor their relationship approach to their business partners in order to influence outcomes
Understand your business partners’ interaction style and focus
Find business partners that will collaborate with you (types Coach & Collaborator) and turn them into “IT advocates”
Leverage that collaboration to demonstrate that IT can add value (maybe move a Master/Director to Coach/Collaborator)
Minimize the impact of Master/Director by “meeting them where they are” and proactively delivering excellent IT services. The good
news is their expectations are low!
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Source: Gerth, Anthony B., and Joe Peppard. "The dynamics of CIO derailment: How CIOs come undone and how to avoid it." Business Horizons 59.1 (2016): 61-70.
17Copyright 2019 Anthony B. Gerth, D.B.A. All Rights Reserved
The next webinar…
Thursday, February 21 at Noon EST
Topic: Strategic storytelling
Same Zoom meeting room
18Copyright 2019 Anthony B. Gerth, D.B.A. All Rights Reserved
To learn more about the value of executive coaching, let’s chat
Dr. Tony Gerth
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.abgexecadvisors.com
Mobile: +1 812-272-3069