THE BIG IDEA
Let’s play a little game: take a moment and think about the capabilities of an HR professional, make a quick list.
Now, on your list, put an F next to those capabilities that you view as functional, such as recruiting, training, etc.
(don’t worry, we’re not grading a paper!)
Once you have your Fs done, put a B against those capabilities that are behavioral.
You may have a some knowledge listed, put a K against those.
For process capabilities, put a P.
Systems get an S.
Everything else gets an X.
Now, where did influencing appear on your list?
If it’s there at all, I’m willing to bet it’s there because the title of this article “led the witness”.
You see, I’ve carried out this exercise with hundreds of HR professionals and influencing is rarely listed as a standalone capability.
I’ll go further – influencing is a blind spot for our function. Period.
Let’s grab a quick definition:
INFLUENCE (v)
- to affect or alter by indirect or intangible means
- to have an effect on the condition or development of…
Influence is how we get things done:
- Recruiting? Influencing the candidate to accept the role.
- Coaching/Mentoring? Influencing the person to change their behavior.
- Team building? Influencing a group to reshape their working practices.
- Union Negotiations? Influencing for acceptable compromise.
- And on, and on, and on…
In the broad light of day, HR directly controls very little in an organization – yet we have the potential to impact nearly everything in an organization. How do we do that? Influence.
Yet, it’s a blind spot.
Take a look at SHRM’s 9 HR competencies:
All good stuff, and worth diving into for greater understanding – however look at any of those hexagons and ask yourself “how do I do it?” and/or “how do I use it?” and the answer is influence.
In fact, influencing is so core to our performance that it occupies an autonomic blind spot, just like breathing.
If we as people stop breathing, we die.
If we as HR stop influencing, we fail.
Simple as that.
TRY THIS
The breathing analogy is really useful in this instance, because the first step of mindfulness is to gain control of your breath; with control emerges the opportunity to use breathing patterns to shape mood, presence and, as a result, impact.
So it goes with influence – if we can become mindful of the influencing strategies we use, we can identify where we’re missing opportunities to impact beyond our direct reach. We can also spot where the strategies and techniques we already use are falling flat, or even inappropriate.
The first step in illuminating a blind spot is to accept that the blind spot exists.
So, let me ask you a question: how did you learn to influence?
More specifically, in your HR career, what specific learning activities shaped your influencing strategies and techniques?
When did you last engage in a targeted learning experience (classroom, coached or experiential) with specific learning objectives in mind for your influencing capability?
How is influencing reflected in your personal development plan?
How is influencing reflected in your annual performance appraisal?
These questions may be difficult to answer easily, if at all.
The first step in illuminating a blind spot is to accept that the blind spot exists.
And accepting our blind spot means asking: where am I failing to influence for impact?
Or, more bluntly, who is doing something that I would rather they didn’t do?
(ooh, I bet that one made your stomach drop a little! 😀)
What would you rather they DID do?
What strategies/techniques have you tried that failed?
How can you learn alternative approaches that might work?
Once accepted, a blind spot can be illuminated with simple questions such as this – and questions can lead to answers
(BTW, knowing how to use questions as an influencing technique is a really good place to start!)
USE THIS
In this article, we’ve spent a lot of time accepting the blind spot and, in doing so, there’s a risk that we remain in the theoretical/abstract space.
Let’s choose not do that – after all, influencing is a lived and practiced skill-set.
As Tony Robbins says, the first step in influencing someone is to know what already influences them – so it’s important to identify usable models/frameworks for motivation and psychological needs that you can study and apply both in preparation to influence and to pick apart previous interactions.
For my work, I regularly lean into the following motivation/need frameworks depending on situation:
- 6 Human Needs Psychology (Anthony Robbins)
- Human Motivation Theory (McLelland)
- Strengths (Gallup/Buckingham)
- Transactional Analysis (I’m OK… You’re OK)
- Expectancy Theory (Porter-Lawler)
While these are my frameworks of choice a) I deploy them based upon situational context; b) I’m always learning more about them through that use; and c) I’m an ongoing student of “why people do what they do…” so always sponging up new stuff.
The trick here is to have a consistent reference point that you refine and adapt as you gain more experience.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
“To influence others, you must know what already influences them. That’s how to reach them and make real change.” ~Anthony Robbins
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