Influence and Impact

CHAPTER 13A Primer for Managers: How to Coach Your Employees to Increase Their Influence and Impact

“After 23 years of work…when I look back…what I remember and get the most joy from [is] the team members I have helped finding the right career track, or helped to get more pay for their great work, or conversely, those fewer I have pushed gently to find a more suitable career. Each time, it was a lot of time and intense discussions, but it was always worth it.”

—Elizabeth Ling Decitre

Whether you are a manager of a small team, or the leader of a whole business, the objective of this chapter is the same. For you to be successful, your people—one, ten, or ten thousand—need to be successful. Our guidance here is intended for you in relation to your direct reports or your skip-level report (one layer down). But the same guidance applies even if you are focused on someone deep in your organization. Help them to understand what the job entails, and what the culture expects, so that they can do the work you need from them the most.

Recall our fundamental premise from the first chapter: Many people who are struggling in their job are not focused on the most essential, mission-critical business and cultural priorities that give them the most influence and impact. They may not even be aware of what those are! This drives how they spend their time, how they think about their job, and how they do that job. And just as important, the way they do their job is inconsistent with the culture ...