‘The greatest ability in business is to get along with others and to influence their actions.’

John Hancock, American politician

This chapter covers:

• what influence is and how it relates to power and authority
• the attributes of influential leaders
• group dynamics, alphas and the underestimated power of body language
• the importance of stakeholders and how to manage them efficiently to reach desirable outcomes
• the importance of multiple and diverse networks to sustaining performance and creating value for the company.

What conclusions can be drawn from these examples? Influence is irrational and somewhat unexplainable. It may have a negative effect when it plays on people’s fears or is not exercised in line with values. Equally, it may help to bring about changes for good and have a positive impact on the world. It is rooted in charisma, inspiration and credibility.

Increasingly, businesses need to develop sustainable alliances and competitive advantages in order to survive and succeed in highly competitive and globalised markets. Corporate structures face increasing numbers of interdependencies, which can lead to conflicting or competing priorities.

What does influence mean when applied to the corporate and business environment?

It can be defined as the ability to reach desired outcomes for your sphere of control when dealing with areas or individuals outside of that sphere or being confronted with resistance within it.

Influence is, first and foremost, founded on the intrinsic values of the individual, but is enhanced by two key elements:

• The capacity to assess the environment How can leaders quickly grasp group and stakeholder dynamics? How can they then transform the dynamics in a group to their advantage?
• The capacity to build diverse and long-lasting networks How can leaders increase their strategic and operational influences over time?

Stakeholders, group dynamics and you

Leadership is never exercised in a vacuum – it involves observing and ‘playing’ the environment. Establishing long-lasting influence comes from a deep understanding of your stakeholders and crafting specific strategies to manage them – ranging from looking for involvement to endorsement to merely informing. Influence is also built on an ability to quickly assess who are the leaders in any group – formal or informal – paired with the skill to play different roles, in different group dynamics. Finally, developing the ability to ‘read’ people by means of body language can create a competitive advantage by providing an innovative way to influence others.

Understanding how to increase and when to exercise influence is a powerful way to achieve faster decision making, enhance motivation and, ultimately, pave the way to more effective delivery.

Stakeholder management

Who will make the decision to promote me in the future? Who do I need to gain agreement from for this project to go smoothly? Who do I need to watch and manage to alleviate all the risks of delay or failure for this particular project? These are the questions that are prevalent in stakeholder mapping and require you to exercise your role of gaining agreement from people. This will show how efficient and effective you can be as a leader.

To undertake stakeholder mapping you need to understand who your stakeholders are, analyse them and then craft an adequate strategy to manage them.

Understanding who your stakeholders are

Take stock of the different layers of stakeholders and always remain aware of the less obvious ones. A ‘stakeholder’ can be defined as anyone with a form of decision making power or whose endorsement is needed or opinion is important for any effort undertaken.

In order to spot your stakeholders, keep in mind the following:

• stakeholders have some accountability in terms of what needs to be achieved
• they may differ or overlap depending on your objectives and deliverables
• they can be internal or external.

Consider systematically setting aside time to have a stakeholder mapping session whenever you are starting a new project, establishing yourself as the new leader of a team or any time you feel you need a clear understanding of politics in order to achieve quicker delivery.

The best way to gain full benefit from a systematic stakeholder mapping session is to reflect on the following questions:

• Who would be primarily accountable for the project?
• Who could have the biggest impact on the project – positive or negative?
• Who would most benefit from the project?
• Who would the project impact the most – positively or negatively?
• Who could derail delivery and execution of the project?
• Who could be the best endorser or supporter of the project and why?

Think about the answers to these questions from all possible angles – economic, social, regulatory, impacts and so on – to ensure that you are looking at it as broadly and completely as possible. For example, imagine you are the leader of a business unit and you want to change its strategic direction to comply with a change in the legal system. The window to perform the change is very short and execution is key. Your stakeholders will be:

• your own boss – he or she has the ultimate responsibility for the business unit’s profit and loss
• head of the legal department – a key person, who will allocate proper resources to explain the change
• head of investor relations – could be key if the change has a material impact on the results or if it triggers a new reporting structure that will be scrutinised by analysts
• if the latter is the case, the finance and controlling function and, potentially, your customers – they would need to be informed if the change has consequences on processes or costs.

Here’s another scenario: you are the CFO of the business and have been tasked with outsourcing 20 per cent of your workforce by the end of the year. Your stakeholders in this case will be:

• your team members – they will need to accept the decision and progress the necessary actions to make this happen
• the human resources department – it will need to be informed of the headcount changes and where the people are located to help plan potential consultations or redundancy processes and provide adequate information for recording of impending liabilities (redundancy provisions, retirement elements and so on)
• the legal department – in case of litigation.

Performing this exercise will lay solid foundations that will enable you to quickly grasp and navigate your environment.

Analysing or mapping your stakeholders

Once you have identified who your stakeholders are, it is necessary to ‘map’ them by looking at their:

• influence and power – this helps you identify who matters and who will be listened to
• interest – finding common interests enables collaboration and faster solutions or delivery.

Managing your stakeholders

This means being able devise strategies for what to do with different stakeholders to progress towards the desired outcome.

Once you have identified who your stakeholders are, using the previous questions to categorise them and draft a strategy to proactively manage them has proved to be useful. The ultimate outcome and purpose of the mapping and strategies that follow are to manage your time and effort so that you spend it on what will yield the best results in the least amount of time.

Figure 8.1 illustrates the four different categories of strategies there are and which ones to implement depending on stakeholders’ level of power and influence in combination with their interest.

Making the most of group dynamics

‘Group dynamics’ are any group boundaries, differences in power, emotions, understandings and leadership behaviour and how they impact individuals’ behaviours. Gaining and exercising influence in groups (team meetings, external meetings, conferences to name a few) has proved to be effective in establishing yourself as a leader.

Group dynamics is a huge subject in itself, but the two main points to focus on when applied to leadership and influence are the ability to spot the alphas and informal leaders.

What alphas are and how to influence them

One of the quickest ways to increase your own influence is to be perceived as an influencer of the alphas (male or female).

The term ‘alpha’ is inherited from the animal kingdom, where it is used to describe the physical dominance of some males over other males. In their article ‘Coaching the alpha male’ in the Harvard Business Review (May 2004), Kate Ludeman and Eddie Erlandson define the modern and corporate human alphas as highly intelligent, confident and successful people. They are bright, quick in their assessment of people and situations and do not change their minds easily. Both alpha males and females are truly happy when they are the ultimate decision makers, feel accountable and hold a high level of responsibility.

Identifying who are the alphas in group meetings is rooted in observation. They will always surface as the driving force of a group and demonstrate:

• a high level of energy and self-confidence
• eagerness to express their opinions
• self-confidence, bordering on arrogance
• unawareness or insensitivity to people’s emotions
• a focus on the flaws in others’ arguments
• curiosity about business challenges and data
• a lack of fear of conflict (or even a tendency to stir up conflict) – in the case of an alpha male
• a tendency to adopt a more collaborative approach and avoid clashes – in the case of alpha females.

Generally, the alphas are the formal leaders of any group – they will be easy to spot as they are the ones everyone naturally gravitates towards during breaks. However, this is not always the case, so observing who everyone naturally defers to for approval or endorsement is a good indicator of who the real alphas are. Other signs will be:

• the quality of listening in the group when some individuals speak – a sense of respect or deference will indicate the presence of an alpha
• how often the ‘formal’ leader of the group will address or ask for the opinion of another team member – if one person stands out, that person will probably be another alpha
• the impact of alphas on the body language of other people (see later in this chapter).

A beneficial approach is to define a strategy to manage and influence both formal and informal group leaders.

The basic principles for establishing rapport with team members (see Chapter 7) are equally useful for doing so with alphas. However, the following points need to be added when it comes to communicating with them specifically or attracting their interest in team meetings:

• Get straight to the point and be action orientated. Focus on the solution and come prepared to substantiate your recommendations as you will, more than likely, be challenged.
• Master ‘report talk’ as alphas are sensitive to establishing facts and gaining power. Deborah Tannen, author of You Just Don’t Understand: Women and men in conversation (Virago, 1992) came up with this term. Her research shows that men feel more comfortable with ‘report talk’ that focuses on status, independence, advice, information, orders and conflict. Women prefer ‘rapport talk’, which focuses on support, intimacy, understanding, feelings, proposals and compromise.
• Sound confident and authoritative – you want to be taken seriously.
• Sound in control of your team and actions by using active sentences.
• Engage their egos using approaches such as, ‘Have you considered …?’ This is a great way to get commitment and make the idea ‘theirs’.
• Be passionate – passion conveys power and power engages alphas.

What informal leaders are and how to influence them

Groups tend to rely on informal leaders to both influence members’ thinking and progress decision making and actions. They are not necessarily alphas, though they are well respected due to their personalities, specific expertise or simply perceived status in the organisation. Informal leaders are usually the quiet ones who everyone listens to in the end.

To spot who the informal leaders are, follow the same strategy as for the alphas, observing and taking mental notes. Who is the one who can swing opinion in a discussion? Who is the one to whom everyone defers when some smoothing over is required in any situation?

Also pay particular attention to who it is the alphas will naturally turn to for ad hoc checks or to see reactions, such as when something controversial or innovative is said. One common trait of informal leaders is that they are often the last to speak.

To influence informal leaders, it is critical to develop enough rapport with them to cultivate their behind-the-scenes support. Their commitment is vital if grass-roots support is to be generated for an idea – they can be relied on to sell the ideas to other team members.

The notions of alphas, informal leaders and how to influence are equally valid when you are in a group of leaders. Recognising these types of leaders will help you increase your own credibility as a good leader or a person with a lot of potential. This skill is equally useful when you are in a meeting with the team you spearhead. It is also a very useful skill when dealing with customers, suppliers or any external organisations. Furthermore, it can be a great help when playing the game of office politics.

Fulfilling a clear role in meetings

Increasing your influence is about having an impact in every meeting you go to. It helps with leadership branding and credibility (see Chapters 5 and 6 for more on this). It is important to keep in mind the bigger role you serve in the meeting, above and beyond your job title. The role you want to play will change depending on the type of meeting you are attending.

Choose an angle and make sure you act in accordance with the approach you have selected. This will definitely help you to have a greater influence in meetings. To test how efficient you have been, ask for feedback on how you came across in a meeting vis-à-vis the role you chose to play – this is also a good way to measure your level of influence.

Using body language to influence

‘When my current CEO flexes his eyebrows, I know I will not get him to agree with me, so when I am discussing with him I look for that very cue and know when it is time to back off. Interestingly enough, this helped me establish myself as a great influencer of our leader. People come to me for help and I am perceived as an important stakeholder to have on board when important decisions, even outside my area of control, need to be taken. It helped me move ahead’

Interview with Estelle Clark,
Group Business Assurance Director, Lloyd’s Register

Research suggests that approximately 55 per cent of the way human beings communicate is non-verbal. Regardless of emotional state, culture or gender, some key universal principles underpin body language.¹ Generally, we leak information about our emotional state in our body movements, making the body a more honest indicator of our state of mind than the face.

Being able to adequately read other people’s body language is key to being able to influence them. It helps to quickly establish trust with business peers, anticipate attitudes and behaviours and adequately adjust to other people’s signals.

There are four key principles to grasp in order to gain a basic understanding of how to use body language to influence people:

• understand an individual’s baseline
• freeze, flight and fight
• comfort and discomfort
• mirroring and matching.

Understand an individual’s baseline

This baseline is the default attitudes of an individual. We all have our own body language behaviours. These encompass facial expressions, hand gestures and body positioning. They appear when we are relaxed or in comfortable settings.

Establishing an individual’s baseline is the first step towards being able to read that person’s behaviour, by identifying any deviations from it. The best way to establish any baseline (for team members, peers, customers and so on) is to observe them.

It is also recommended that you work on establishing your own baseline in order to consciously control and use your body language effectively. Having one of the members of your feedback group specifically observe your body language while in different settings and subsequently debrief you is a good way to build this awareness and create an appropriate action plan.

Freeze, flight and fight

These are our primal reactions when we feel threatened or attacked. They translate into specific body language reactions you can look out for:

• Freeze involves restricting movement to avoid detection, so generally manifests as restricted or limp arms and/or a closed or stooped posture.
• Flight is characterised by blocking – in other words, protecting the front of the body, by crossing the arms, turning the torso or leaning away.
• Fight, naturally, presents as aggressive gestures, such as prolonged staring or leaning forward to invade others’ personal space or puffing out the chest.

Once you have established an individual’s baseline, looking for the above cues is a great way to detect when an individual is in a state of stress or emotional distress. Sudden changes in the baseline are highly telling of changes in emotional states.

Comfort and discomfort

A person’s level of confidence or ease can be assessed by how comfortable or uncomfortable they appear to be.

• Comfort = high level of confidence This usually translates into relaxed and expansive movements and the natural tendency to mirror those we are most comfortable with – in other words, to naturally replicate their body positions, hands, arms and legs. Displaying this kind of body language is a way to establish trust and understanding.
• Discomfort = low level of confidence When feeling discomfort, the body tends to restrict movements and engage in pacifying behaviours, such as touching the neck and face, stroking, soothing, whistling, and hugging the body. As levels of stress increase, so may the amount of neck and facial stroking. Males and females exhibit different pacifying movements. Females will particularly cover their neck dimple (indentation just below Adam’s apple), play with their earrings or a necklace and stroke their hair, hands or arms. Males will play with their tie or cufflinks, touch their face and engage in robust cupping of the neck beneath the chin.

Mirroring and matching

When someone displays body language similar to our own, it creates a sense of similarity and hence, trust. Mirroring is the act of getting in tune with another person by subtly echoing his or her movements and is a powerful way to alter the signals and, thus, the feelings of others.

Mirroring can be applied in different ways:

• pace of your speech – to create a sense of trust, adjust the pace of your speech for a short while, then change it again and, usually, the other person will follow suit
• vernacular – using the words said by another person is also highly effective
• tone of voice – even when a person is yelling at you, staying one tone below his or her level of voice will help establish rapport, then allow you to calm him or her down
• body positioning – if a person leans forwards towards another, generally the other does the same, but if, on the contrary, he or she leans back and relaxes, the other tends to do likewise
• gestures – if the other person crosses his or her arms or leans his or head on one side, reciprocate
• facial expressions – if he or she smiles or laughs, do so, too.

To be effective, mirroring needs to remain unconscious and subtle – obvious mimicking will create mistrust or a lack or rapport. Matching is based on the same techniques as mirroring, but a delay is introduced to the change of position.

Mismatching is also a skill that it is useful to master if you want to create some distance or end a conversation. You can do this by:

• breaking eye contact
• turning your body so it is at an angle to the person
• breathing faster or slower than them.

Being able to quickly grasp the emotional states or reactions of your peers or subordinates gives you a competitive advantage as you work to increase your influence.

A lot of elements can be considered or used, but the following seven are a good start:

• Feet do not lie. As human beings we are inclined to control what is clearly on display – face and upper body. As feet are generally hidden, they will be ‘truer’, naturally pointing to people we like or moving away from people we dislike.
• People lean, point or adopt open postures towards people or things they like (torso, head, arms). So, turning your head towards someone, not crossing your arms and so on are signs of comfort.
• Significant and/or abrupt changes in posture, leg and feet or hand movements and so on indicate a negative impact – that there has been a change in the comfort level for the person.
• Dominance is expressed by occupying a lot of space, so, standing straight, making a lot of arm movements, spreading out in a chair and so on are associated with alphas.
• Hand movements increase credibility and make people respond strongly. Steepling – palms together but apart, tips of fingers touching – is the most powerful gesture of confidence.
• Acting as a barrier to the other person or not expresses the level of comfort a person is feeling. The more someone angles him- or herself towards something or someone else, the more comfortable they are. The more discomfort is felt, the more obstacles he or she will put in the way, crossing his or her arms, leaning or turning away.
• Greeting a person with relaxed arms and open, palms visible, will communicate that you mean no harm. This posture conveys openness and being on an even keel.

These seven pointers can be used for different purposes and in different situations, such as the following.

To establish trust, pay attention to the following:

• mirror and match those you are in conversation with
• when greeting them for the first time, lean towards them and use a firm handshake, make good eye contact, then take a step back
• if they take a step closer, this means that they are favourable towards you
• if they step back or turn slightly away, they probably want to be somewhere else.

To influence your peer’s behaviours, the most efficient way is to first identify their baseline behaviours by spending some time observing how they carry themselves (arms, torso, hands), then match this, behaving as they do in terms of the positions of your hands, arms, angle of your body, then slowly introduce your own body language for them to respond to you.

To enhance communications during a meeting, follow a similar process as above, but stop short of mirroring the angle of their body (called blading) – just match what they do with their hands, head and gestures. This will create a feeling of trust as you will be perceived as ‘one of them’.

To improve negotiations, you can use body language to grasp the underlying power structure in the other team.

• Identify the leader by noting that when the leader shifts position, the followers will naturally match it after a short delay.
• Identify the ‘different’ one – the one who does not react in the same way or at the same pace. This person will not alter his or her behaviour when the leader does. Knowing this can be useful as it may be helpful to work with this particular individual in some other way.
• Create a sense of comfort and ease with your feet, voice and an open posture.
• Then recalibrate once you have observed other people’s reactions.

Reflecting on your own body language and learning to either control it or project what you want to are usually untapped techniques for influencing people that any leader might want to consider developing in order to become influential without others realising how it is done.

Building networks and alliances²

There is so much you can do on your own to increase the influence you have. Leveraging links with others around you by building networks is a critical step towards enhancing your efficiency. It requires time and patience to build a long-lasting network. It also entails the integration of three specific dimensions – operational, strategic and personal. Finally, it involves a mix of endorsers, allies and advocates. Establishing a network is based on one principle: unattached reciprocity. A network helps you to be better known, better equipped and better connected. It is an ongoing good investment of your time.

Aristotle taught us that, ‘Man is by nature a social animal.’

In an increasingly virtual, fluid and complex corporate world, one other thing also remains universally true: being successful as a leader requires you to invest in a proper networking strategy.

Networking is about having the ability to contact or put people in contact with each other to solve a problem fast or create value. It allows you to create a rich ecosystem of personal contacts, ready to provide support, feedback and resources to get things done.

To fully benefit from networking, having a well thought out strategy is critical. You need to:

• have the right attitude
• build the three required types of network
• invest time and effort to ensure long-lasting positive effects.

Developing the right attitudes towards networking

Regardless of whether it is internal or external to an organisation, networking is often perceived as a way of using people, of being manipulative, but this is not the case. ‘I started to understand the power of networking the day I stopped calling it networking and personally renamed it advice consulting – that is, seeking and giving’, recalls Venetia Howes, former Shell executive and Head of the Worshipful Company of Marketors.

It is important to grasp the real value of networking. It is about the inherent ability to see, attract and put together unique qualities to create tremendous value. Networking harnesses and leverages the power of diversity for the greater good. It helps you to know where to go to yield maximum results.

The best way to understand networking and build sustainable relationships is to, first and foremost, look at it as a way to connect with people for who they are and not for what they may bring to you. What you need to keep in mind is what you can give to your network, how you can help those in it reach their goals. When you meet people in different capacities in different settings, always ask yourself:

• What can I do for them?
• What can I bring them?

Think of it in terms of a balance sheet. Build your asset side first before your liabilities. This is good housekeeping in networking. One easy way to do this is to rapidly assess every person you meet or interact with in terms of the factors shown in Figure 8.2.

If you assess someone to be in the lower-right hand corner of Figure 8.2 on meeting, take action immediately. This might be by way of making an introduction or an ad hoc investment of time. It is a great way to call on your ‘unselfish gene’.³

The upper-right hand corner is where the value of your network will sit and will help you accomplish great things as this is where others will naturally reciprocate.

Networking can be considered the ultimate form of social sophistication. It requires you to be socially savvy and help and support in a genuine spirit. It also asks that you immediately assess where you are on the trust ladder. Building great networks is about true genuineness in the giving, regardless of it being reciprocated. It is absolutely not about keeping score. It is important to keep this distinction in mind if you are to succeed and build sustainable networks.

As building a network takes time, it is never too early to start. Take a look, you may not realise how much of a network exists in the communities you are already a part of – alumni groups, sports clubs and so on.

Working with the three types of internal networks

Building networks takes work and requires an important investment of your time, so establishing which is the right type of network to ensure your success is critical.

A professional network can be defined from two different angles:

• Intention – what intention will the network serve?
• Outcome – what problem will your network help you solve?

A network that serves an intention

Internally, a leader mainly interacts at three different levels – with his or her:

• superiors
• peers
• subordinates.

Every one of these levels plays a specific role and serves a specific purpose (see Figure 8.3). It is important to integrate these three dimensions into any networking strategy.

The role of advocate should be part of the equation at every level, not only the subordinates level. Advocates are people who will promote you, who you are and what you do because they want to, because they relate strongly to you.

Always keep all three dimensions in mind while building your network.

A network to help solve leader’s core challenges

Every leader juggles three main types of challenges.

Establishing and maintaining the right types of networks

As mentioned above, there are three main categories of challenges that leaders need to address in their career – operational, personal or ad hoc and strategic. Each of them benefits from contacting specific communities for support and help. Consequently, to build an effective network, a strategy that takes into consideration several dimensions needs to be devised.

At different stages in your career, you will have to rely more heavily on one particular part of your network than another, so the ability to quickly activate whichever network is required to reach the person you need will definitely prove to be a useful competitive advantage.

To build an effective strategy, consider setting aside some quiet time to reflect on the following questions:

• What is the purpose of the network I am trying to build? This will crystallise for you if you are thinking in terms of strategic, operational or personal networks, as they serve different needs.
• Where are the best places to find adequate people to join this network? This will help you map the different avenues to and pools of help available to you. Reminisce about your education, family background and previous work experience.
• How do I go about it? What actions should I take? This will turn your thinking into action and articulate how you allocate your time and commitment. It is this that will make the difference in the long run.

Table 8.1 summarises the elements of the most effective strategy to follow when building a network.

The strategy in Table 8.1 is underpinned by five key principles.

Practice, practice, practice

Not everyone is at ease with networking. What matters is establishing rapport and getting to know people.

Some of the exercises on building rapport in Chapter 7 can usefully be applied to networking. You can also try to identify a person you respect who networks ethically and effectively and observe how he or she does it – even ask, ‘How do you do it?’ You could also ask him or her to be part of your feedback group. If developing your networking abilities is one of your desired areas for improvement, factor it into your improvement plan.

Create reasons to network

To develop a network, you need to find occasions to network. Leaders need to use and create opportunities to interact with others, both within their organisations (other departments or business units) and externally.

Take advantage of your social interests, too, to set the stage for your strategic concerns.

Put yourself at the centre of your networking activities. For instance, if you are a music fan, consider sharing this with your stakeholders and customers, so you can learn things about them and use this subject to keep up to date with their thinking.

When you meet people, consider recording their names, professions, companies, interests. Specify how you met them and how often you have seen them. At a later stage, you can record other details, such as their birthdays. Indeed, record anything that will help you maintain genuine and respectful relationships with them.

Find connectors

Who you choose to include in your network may have a significant impact on how fast you can create and leverage it. In his book The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell defines what elements are necessary to create a pandemic effect for a product, concept or even a person. Among the seven key ones presented in the book, the connectors concept is particularly relevant for building networks.

Connectors are typically highly social people who usually interact with different types of groups with different interests. Their own networks usually stretch into a range of industries or areas of interest. Others will often come to them when they need something.

Connectors are particularly important when establishing a network as they are able to contact a wide array of people to solve problems or discuss issues. They are also able to broadcast important information to their larger audiences.

Maintain the relationships

Networking can be thought of as a different form of friendship and it works if you follow the same principles. Friendship is based on trust and care – we expect our friends to communicate with and care for us and not only when they are facing difficulties or need help.

As a leader it is important to give and take continually – do not wait until you need something from someone in your network to contact them. It is important to build into your schedule proper time to call other network members and to meet or interact with them (see Table 8.1).

Revise your strategy on a yearly basis

As you evolve or change roles, your needs – as well as those of your contacts – will also evolve, so keeping up to date is critical. Additionally, reviewing your strategy like this will ensure that you factor your prospective needs into how you develop your network. For instance, if you start to work in a new industry or shift from one type of environment to another, proactively developing your network in that field can accelerate your path.

Summary

It takes lot of research to develop a network as you need to understand what the environment looks like. You need to get to know who people are and what they need. Thinking, observing and listening are key.

It also takes a lot of patience and effort. You need to practise, invest time, be patient and be consistent in your interactions and strategy.

Networks also need to be maintained. You need to give and take continually to keep the relationships you have established alive and healthy. In the words of the twentieth-century English writer Elizabeth Bibesco, ‘Blessed are those who can give without remembering and take without forgetting’ (Haven, 1951).

Here’s a reminder of some of the key points from this chapter:

• influence comes from observing your environment and managing it, understanding your stakeholders and creating and using networks
• identifying clearly your stakeholders in everything you do via stakeholder mapping will give you a clear head start when it comes to projects or teambuilding, as well as helping to establish your leadership brand or credibility
• implement a strategy to manage your stakeholders – depending on their interests and influence, they can act as leverage, accelerators or blockers
• decide who you want to be in every interaction or meeting – whether an expert, decision maker or the challenger, make sure you have an impact
• observe your environment to find the alphas and informal leaders and invest time in getting to know them – building rapport with them will help you to create and expand your area of influence by association
• networking helps you become better known, better equipped, better connected, so it is important to craft a strategy to develop the three main types of networks needed
• three different types of network are necessary – operational, personal or ad hoc and strategic – they need to operate at different levels – superiors, peers, subordinates, bosses – and internally and externally, so a comprehensive strategy is needed to ensure this happens
• delivering your network strategy involves identifying its purpose, places to network, as well as require investing time in it and being disciplined
• networking is based on ‘unattached’ reciprocity – you are not in it for what you can get out of it, but what you can do for others, which then means you do get something out of it.

¹ Desmond Morris (1995) Bodytalk: The meaning of human gestures, Crown.

² With the contribution of Andy Lopata who was described by the FT as ‘one of Europe’s leading Business Networking Strategists’. He is the author of three highly recommended books on networking including and Death Came Third (co-authored with Peter Roper) and Recommended: How to sell through networking and referrals.

³ Yochai Benkler (2011) ‘The unselfish gene’, Harvard Business Review, July.