| | | | Welcome to Momentum, our monthly look at what's changing in the world of work, with practical ideas for productivity and wellbeing and free webinars to help you be more focused and in control.
This month, we look at a skill that has become central to getting good work done: influencing.
When the people you need don't report to you, and more often they don't, influence is how the work actually moves.
In this month's blog we look at why influence has become so central to getting work done, and what it asks of the leaders building the skill in their teams. Read it here: Everyone You Need Works for Someone Else | | | | You Ninja Nudge 6 small moves to get things done through people you don't manage | | Three for you:
Find out what they're measured on Before you ask another team for anything, find out what their own success looks like this quarter. You can't move someone when your ask cuts against the thing their manager is grading them on, and usually you can just ask. “What are you on the hook for right now? I want to make sure what I'm asking doesn't get in the way of it.” It turns a favour into something you can shape to fit.
Have the conversation before the meeting Don't let a decision that needs several people happen cold in the room. Talk to the people who matter one at a time first, so objections surface somewhere they can change their mind without losing face in front of everyone. By the time it reaches the group, you already know where the resistance is and you've handled most of it. “Before I bring this to the group, what would make this hard from where you sit?”
Ask for advice, not just a yes People back a plan they helped shape. Instead of presenting a finished ask for approval, bring someone in while it's still forming and ask how they'd approach it. They spot problems you'd have hit later, and they become part-owner of the outcome. “I'm trying to make this work across both teams and I'm stuck. How would you approach it?” | | Three for leaders
Coach the ask, don't make it for them When someone on your team needs another group to move, the fast thing is to make the call yourself. It works once, and it teaches them they can't do it without you. Talk it through before they go instead: who they need, what they'll offer, where the resistance will be. You're building the skill, not just clearing the blockage.
Tell them who to go to, not just what to do When you hand off work that crosses teams, share what you know about the people: who actually decides, who has weight with whom. Your team starts cold on relationships you spent years building. A minute of “go to Priya first, not the ticket queue” saves them a week.
Check whether you reward the help you keep asking for You ask people to support other teams, then measure and pay them on their own numbers alone. Look honestly at whether your scoreboard punishes the cross-team work you say you want. If helping costs your best people and never counts, they'll stop, and you won't find out until they burn out or leave. | | | | | | This Month's Free Ninja Skills Booster | | Managing Upwards: Maximizing Your Personal and Positional Power | September 29, 12:00–12:30 PM ET
Managing up isn't about following your manager more closely. It's about building a productive working relationship with them and shaping the decisions that affect you and your team, so you're influencing direction rather than just receiving it. Join Ninja Nick Aiello for 30 minutes on how to read the gap between how you see your manager and how they see you, and how to close it.
| | | | | | | | Spotlight Workshop | Influencing & Persuading | | Good ideas meet silence, resistance, or polite nods more often than anyone likes to admit, and in cross-functional work, getting a yes from people you don't manage is most of the job.
This hands-on workshop builds that skill in your team: how influence actually lands, what drives decisions and resistance, and how to build trust rather than apply pressure. Ethical influence rooted in understanding people, not tactics, and 97% of participants rate it 4 or 5 out of 5. Learn more | | | | One more thing, our website has a new look. Same team, same work, now much easier to explore our workshops and register for our free Ninja Skills Boosters. Have a look at thinkproductivena.com.
And a warm welcome to Erin Stashin, who joins us as a bilingual (English and French) Productivity Ninja. Erin brings a background in adult learning, organizational development and performance improvement, and a practical, human approach to helping teams focus on what matters and turn good intentions into lasting habits. We're glad to have her as part of our Ninja team!
If something here feels useful for your team and you'd like a chat, you can get in touch here.
Until next month, The TPNA Team | |
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