On Stanier (2020), 9th chapter:
Ways to expand your influence as a manager
We can identify 3 activities with potential when it comes to expanding your influence
Building your network within a company
- Map out people that you want to be connected to. Try to be smart about it and encompass areas that you normally would be in contact.
- Reach out proactively. Introduce yourself, no offense will be taken, people not interested will just politely decline or ignore your message.
- Check in regularly. Define frequency on a per case basis.
Modes of conversation
There are two modes of conversation:
Directive: It's a push action. You give instructions.
Following interest: It's a pull action. You listen to the person and ask meaningful questions, so people can figure out the issue by themselves.
Mentoring
Mentoring is a relationship in which one party shares what they know with the other party. It consists mostly of a series of directive conversations (see Modes of conversation).
Mentoring is an opportunity of easing the way into new skills and should always be initiated by the mentee.
For some guidance look into:
Asking better questions
Mentorship agreement
Similar to the idea of About doing contracting with your staff, having an agreement with your mentee/mentor might come in handy to establish expectations. The author suggests the following items for the document:
- Time constraints. Does it have a fixed period to happen or is it indefinite? When and how often?
- Flexibility of contact (is it OK to get in contact outside of sessions?)
- Confidentiality. All is private, unless stated otherwise
- Boundaries in the relationship: how far is each party willing to go
- Parameters for reviews and evaluation, so both can see if it's a worthwhile thing to maintain (also opens space for feedback)
- An exit plan in the case in which the mentoring sessions do not click.
Mentorship matrix
One way to start rocking that mentoring practice in a company is creating a mentorship matrix in which everyone can put their:
- Name
- Job title
- Team
- Contact info
- Skills they want to be mentored in
- Skills they can mentor
As with any political endeavor, please measure the water and get buy in before starting to spread it widely.
Coaching
On a very high level, coaching is the act of helping people to amp up their performance. One can go back and forth between Modes of conversation, but following interest should have precedence (in lots of way, it looks like a focused form of psychology).
As a coach, you should strive to keep a thought bubble over your coachee, meaning you direct them through questions (we tread dangerously close to the Socratic method).
A good framework for coaching is following the GROW model
Also read Further reflections about coaching and Asking better questions
GROW model
GROW:
Goal: what's the goal of the session
Reality: What's the situation like now?
Options: Different ways to tackle the problem
Wrap-up: Make a choice and discuss support needed for achieving it