Week 7: Leading through Relationships
As Jack counsels, leading is not about power and control; leading is about achieving results through
others. These others include, not only your employees, but also your boss and colleagues. Your
colleagues, especially in large multinational organizations, can be widespread and may be located in
different business units and different countries. Further, in businesses of any size, you may have to exert
influence over employees of other companies that are part of your supply chain, or you may have to deal
with virtual teams. As such, our focus this week is on achieving results through leading upwards and
laterally, and on getting work done in situations where you don’t have formal authority.
Lateral Leadership and Persuasion
Lateral leadership focuses on the particular capabilities all leaders must hone to ensure their effectiveness
in today’s organizations. The key capabilities include:
Networking
Determine whose support you will need to achieve your current and potential initiatives, and
build those relationships.
Persuasion and Negotiation
When bargaining, focus on mutual benefit. This will increase your influence and build solid
professional relationships.
Consultation
Talk to people whose buy-in you need for an initiative about the best processes to achieve
results, and what will create support for the initiative and its implementation.
Coalition Building
Alliances are more powerful than attempting to influence by oneself, so gather together the
people you need to support the initiative.
Honing these skills requires a leader to focus on the organization of the system, rather than focusing on
one functional silo. Clearly, all lateral leadership capabilities revolve around a conscious focus on
building relationships. Developing solid and enduring relationships is the surest way of building the trust
required to effectively influence.
JWI 510: Leadership in the 21st Century
Lecture Notes
© Strayer University. All Rights Reserved. This document contains Strayer University confidential and proprietary information and may not be copied, further distributed, or otherwise disclosed, in whole or in part, without the expressed written permission of Strayer University.
JWI 510 – Lecture Notes (1206) Page 2 of 4
The Art of Persuasion
The key capabilities of lateral leadership are closely tied to effective persuasion. Persuasion is a
necessary approach to achieving results in today’s flat, multi-generational, team-oriented organization.
What you may think of as persuasion – a one-time, hard sell, well-reasoned, firm approach – is a recipe
for failure.
There are four factors necessary for effective persuasion (Conger, 1998):
1. Credibility
To persuade someone, they need to trust you. Be aware that you might think you are more
credible than you really are; this factor is about expertise. If you do not have a history of being
knowledgeable and making sound decisions, you need to learn more about your position, hire
someone who has the expertise needed, or support your position with respected outside sources.
Reflect on your relational history and, if there are gaps in your relationships, you may need to
meet personally with key individuals or gather groups of allies who have relationships with those
you want to persuade.
2. Shared Benefits
It is important to understand your audience and how they will perceive the issue presented to
them. This depth of understanding requires asking questions and carefully listening to feedback
from those impacted by the issue. Persuasion may transform during this process; some
adjustment is a positive step toward a successful outcome. Once the audience is understood, the
issue must be presented so that the advantages for your audience are clear.
3. Memorable Evidence
To effectively persuade, present the audience with a story that will make a meaningful impact and
be memorable. One of the most effective approaches is to vividly describe a comparable situation.
4. Show Emotion
Just as Jack advocates for passion as an essential quality of great leaders and good employees, it
is also important for effective persuasion. It is essential to show an emotional connection to the
issue presented – the audience must feel it. It is equally important to understand the mood and the
emotional state of the audience, so you can adjust tone accordingly.
Persuasion is difficult. It takes time, but it is a powerful force that can move an organization forward. Next
week, we will explore the topic of getting results. Try and weave what you have learned about persuasion into
what you will learn about leading an organization that executes to win.
JWI 510: Leadership in the 21st Century
Lecture Notes
© Strayer University. All Rights Reserved. This document contains Strayer University confidential and proprietary information and may not be copied, further distributed, or otherwise disclosed, in whole or in part, without the expressed written permission of Strayer University.
JWI 510 – Lecture Notes (1206) Page 3 of 4
The Five Laws of Managing Up
If you are working, you are either self-employed and the owner of your business, or you have a boss. Just
as your lateral relationships are a central focus, so, too, is your relationship with your boss. The most
effective leaders know how to make the most of this. They know how to manage up.
In an age when you spend the majority of your waking hours at work, bosses can have an enormous
impact on your daily life and self-esteem. They hold power over your compensation and career. They can
make or break your ability to do your job well in terms of resources and coaching. In sum, a good
relationship with your boss can make work, not just deeply rewarding, but downright fun. A bad one can
cause misery. Either way, remember that upward relationships require special tending. With that in mind,
we now turn to five laws for effectively influencing your boss, developed by management expert Michael
Feiner (2004).
1. Make Your Own Bed
You are 100% responsible for the quality of your relationship with your boss. Sure, some bosses care
deeply about building a connection with each direct report, but most are too busy managing their own
jobs and their own bosses to care nearly as much as you do about forging a healthy and productive
personal bond. Do not expect your boss to jump in and “own” your relationship. You must jump first.
And why not? You most likely have more to gain than lose.
2. Get Behind the Mask
You can only influence your boss when you understand your boss. What motivates them? What
are their priorities, objectives, goals, and ambitions? What are their points of contention? And,
most importantly, what are their expectations of you? So, how do you find out about your boss?
Often, it can be as simple as asking them directly, but careful and dedicated observation also
helps. To whom does your boss talk most often? To whom do they listen? What do they read?
What makes them laugh? What drives them nuts? Each one of these details will open your eyes to
your boss’s values and concerns, showing you the path to a relationship that surpasses the
superficial.
3. Commit to the Success of Your Boss
This law is easy if you really like your boss. In such cases, of course, you’ll do everything you can
to assure their admiration and assent. But, even if you do not like your boss, you have to discipline
yourself to respect the position that they hold. That’s professionalism. That’s doing the right thing.
Keep your boss continually informed. Meet your obligations. Make sure you are dependable.
Nothing is more likely to enhance your relationship with your boss than seeing that their goals
were achieved because of you.
JWI 510: Leadership in the 21st Century
Lecture Notes
© Strayer University. All Rights Reserved. This document contains Strayer University confidential and proprietary information and may not be copied, further distributed, or otherwise disclosed, in whole or in part, without the expressed written permission of Strayer University.
JWI 510 – Lecture Notes (1206) Page 4 of 4
4. Speak Truth to Power … Carefully
The most successful supervisors understand that people at high organizational levels are
sometimes cut off from what people really think about them and the company. The best leaders
do want to hear the bad news along with the good. They know that leaders cannot deliver their
best performance if the people who work for them will not relay the information they need to
make good decisions. You can confront your boss with unpleasant news by, first, ensuring the
information you want to convey is accurate. Next, make it clear that you are not seeking a gripe
session or a confrontation, but rather trying to raise important questions or share information you
think your boss should have. Lastly, know when and how to begin the conversation.
5. Act Like a Grownup
There will be times in your career when you have done all you can and tried everything you can
think of to build a solid relationship with your boss to no avail. It may seem to you that the boss
does not care about anything but their own success, that you are regarded as merely a factor of
production or some kind of inanimate object. You may conclude that your boss has no interest in
your personal growth and professional development. However accurate your perceptions, you
cannot feel sorry for yourself. You cannot play the victim. Confront your problem with a healthy
and productive mindset, and find an equally healthy and productive solution. And do not quit
abruptly, leaving your team in the lurch. If you are tempted to quit, remember that you can often
learn more from a bad boss than from a good one.
We do not want to leave you with the impression that most bosses bring you down. Indeed, many bosses
are good or even great, and, surely, most strive to be. But the quality of your boss’s management is
something you have little control over. You can only control the quality of your relationship. Own that
responsibility, and you’re managing up.
Your Leadership Journey
If you are new to leadership, learn about why lateral leadership works
If you are a team leader, consider how to solidify your boss-subordinate relationship
If you are a senior/veteran leader, think about how to ask the right questions of your managers to help
them build the skills they need to appropriately manage up to you
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