It's tempting to believe that doing a good job is enough to get you noticed – and promoted. Unfortunately, this is often not true.

Organizations are complex social structures where personal relationships matter and where good performance is multifaceted and somewhat subjective. They are also inherently competitive – there are fewer opportunities for promotion than there are qualified candidates, so you don't just have to be good; you have to better than others.

Another way to make the same point is to put yourself in your boss's shoes for a minute. She may have half a dozen other people reporting to her, she has deliverables and projects of her own, she is worried about her own career prospects, and she may have nonwork interests and distractions as well. How much attention does she actually pay to your individual performance and your career prospects? The answer is “Probably not as much as you would like.” The onus, therefore, lies with you to build visibility and influence in the wider organization so that you get the opportunities you deserve.

Doing this isn't just about getting promoted. There is a second and equally important benefit, namely that many of the projects you are working on require coordination across departments. To be effective, you have to rely on others, and the more people know and value you, the easier it is to get their willing cooperation.

This section offers five techniques designed to help you work more effectively within the wider organization. The first is about understanding and shaping how others in your organization see you, using the PVI (perception, visibility, influence) model (#86). The other four focus in detail on different parts of the PVI model. To improve how others perceive you, it is useful to learn how to ask for feedback (#87) and to become better at building honest rapport with others (#88). Then there are two practical skills for broadening your influence: One is developing effective networking skills to improve your visibility (#89), and the other involves influencing your peers to get things done (#90).

86. Understand and Shape How Others in Your Organization See You (The PVI Model)

It's a sad truth that you can work hard, be good at your job, be a great team player – but still not get noticed. This can result in less well-qualified people being promoted ahead of you, which is obviously very upsetting.

It's tempting to put this down to office politics (#78), and sometimes you may be right to do so. However, it can also be that others are presenting themselves better in the workplace and, quite legitimately, developing more influence within the wider organization. Rather than just hoping to be noticed for their hard work, they've taken control of the situation and have done honest, straightforward things that help them stand out.

So how can you do this yourself? This is where the PVI model, developed by executive coach Joel Garfinkle, helps you get the recognition your talents deserve. PVI stands for three things – perception, visibility, and influence – that you need to address to get ahead:

• Perception – This is about how others see you. There can be a wide gap between how you want to be seen and how people actually see you, and you need to make sure that you address this gap before you try to raise your profile in other ways.
• Do this by making a list of the characteristics you want to be known for. Then ask for honest feedback on these points from your boss, your clients, your colleagues, and your friends (we look at a great technique for doing this next).
• Where gaps exist between what you want and reality, set yourself SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound) goals to close these gaps, and record these on your action program (#10).
• Visibility – Once you're sure you'll be recognized for the right things, it's time to raise your profile. Remind yourself of the wonderful things you've done so that you can do this while still being authentic and feeling self-confident (#4).
• Make sure your boss knows what you and your people have achieved. Send short progress reports when you've hit a key goal, or highlight the achievements of members of your team, gathering reflected visibility at the same time (the URL below gives more tips on this).
• Networking (#89) is also important for increasing visibility. Try volunteering for challenging projects or relevant committees, cross-train people on key skills, and volunteer to do presentations on key projects to important stakeholders.
• Influence – One important way to build influence is by becoming an expert in an area that matters to your organization. A good way to do this is through a growth mindset (#7): Take every step you can to build strong skills (see the link below), and reflect on and learn from the use of those skills, perhaps with journaling (#5) or with post-completion reviews (#31).
• Another way to build influence is by developing high-quality connections across the organization. We discussed aspects of this in #63, and we'll discuss building rapport, alliances with peers, and wider networking later in this chapter. Finally, we'll explore at an elegant approach for influencing people when we look at the influence model (#94).

Source: Adapted from Garfinkle 2011. Reproduced with permission of John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

87. Ask for Feedback (The SKS Technique)

We saw the importance of managing how others perceive you in #86, and getting plenty of feedback is a key element of this technique – it helps you learn from the people around you, understand what is and isn't working for you, and adapt your approach accordingly. Without feedback, your learning will be much slower, and there will be things you don't know about that you can't address. Any performance problems will persist, and you may annoy people who are important to you without realizing it.

Managers often avoid giving feedback because it takes time, and it is hard to do well. Giving feedback also goes against cultural norms in many organizations and countries, and this, again, means you may get very little of it from your own manager.

This is where the SKS technique is useful. Credited to Phil Daniels of Brigham Young University, SKS refers to three questions you can ask of your manager or the people you're working with to invite feedback. These are:

• What should I stop doing?
• What should I keep on doing?
• What should I start doing?

The stop doing question highlights things you are doing wrong and allows you to take quick actions to get back on course. Make sure that you fully understand why these things are wrong, and then act on them right away!

The keep doing question shows what people appreciate about the way you work. It can also highlight talents you may not be aware of. Think about these carefully, and build on them.

The start doing question highlights gaps in what you are doing and areas where you can improve. Examine your emotions around these things to see if you are uneasy about them – perhaps because they go against your natural personality (#1), you're scared of doing them, or you're procrastinating (#13). In many cases, there are ways to overcome these barriers and take the necessary steps forward.

SKS is great because it's simple and it fits comfortably into regular meetings such as one-on-ones. If you actively ask for feedback like this, it makes it much easier for your boss to give it because it has been asked for and it needs little preparation.

As such, SKS puts you in control of getting feedback, and it allows you to make changes right away, rather than waiting many months for a formal review. It is also a way to get recognition for things you're doing well, which feels great, and it ensures your contribution is recognized.

Source: Adapted from Delong 2011. Reproduced with permission of Harvard Business Publishing.

88. Build Honest Rapport with Others

Another aspect of how others perceive you is the personal rapport you build with them. Researchers Linda Tickle-Degnen and Robert Rosenthal identified three things you share with someone when you feel that you have rapport with them:

• Mutual attentiveness – You focus intensely on what the other person is saying or doing, and they do the same with you.
• Positivity – You are warm and friendly to one another, and you enjoy one another's company.
• Coordination – You are responsive to one another, and your body language and tone of voice move in sync.

Some of this comes naturally as we show dependability and trustworthiness with others and come to understand and trust them too. However, there is also some scope to actively develop rapport in an honest, nonmanipulative way.

Let's imagine you're going to meet someone for the first time. You want to start by getting the basics right, so you make a strong first impression by being well-groomed and by dressing appropriately – perhaps a little smarter than the person you're going to meet, but not too much so. Relax, smile, remember their name, and listen mindfully to what they say.

Next, try to find common ground. Get a conversation going with small talk (see the link below for more on this); ask open, unchallenging questions; and disclose harmless information about yourself, your interests, and your experiences.

Your aim is to try to find common experiences and interests with the other person. As you find these, explore them politely and noncontroversially, and share your own thoughts about these situations. (If you're at an event, ask why they are attending or what they found interesting about a particular presentation; in other situations, you might ask where they went to college or what got them into their line of work.) Depending on the context, that may be all you want to do. Good relationships take a while to build, and you don't want to seem pushy.

However, at an appropriate time, you may want to find an experience to share. Perhaps buy this person coffee or lunch, or work together to solve a problem that matters to you both – perhaps your teams work together, and you can devise a process that people can use to interact effectively, or suchlike.

In time, you can build a strong relationship with this person, and this will stand you both in good stead for the future.

Source: Adapted from Tickle-Degnen and Rosenthal 1990. Reproduced with permission of Taylor & Francis.

89. Develop Effective Networking Skills

Once people have healthy perceptions of you, the second stage in the PVI process is to increase your visibility. Networking effectively – both inside and outside your organization – will help you do this.

This sounds fine and obvious in principle; the benefits of networking in terms of expanding our sphere of contacts, developing opportunities, and building a positive image are undeniable. But many people see networking as cynical and self-centered, and they feel “dirtied” by it. As a result, they struggle with it.

You need to reflect on your own attitude toward networking. If you see it purely as a way of advancing your own career, then, yes, you are likely to approach it cynically, and it is unlikely to be effective. If, however, you approach networking as an opportunity to learn new things, meet interesting people, and uncover new opportunities, then you can be much more positive and successful in your approach.

So, how can you set yourself up to network effectively? These simple steps can help:

1. Identify your networking objectives. Think about what you want when you network. Do you want insights to help you work better? Do you want to get to know people in your wider organization? Do you want to understand your industry better? Or do you want to identify opportunities for your business? Make sure that your objective is positive and focused on the good of other people, not cynical and self-serving.
2. Identify relevant events or networks. Next, find the right activities to take part in to give you the greatest potential impact. For example, are there internal committees you can volunteer for, professional associations or chambers of commerce you can join, or networking events you can attend? Online groups are another option, but of course these virtual relationships tend to be quite shallow – you'll build the strongest relationships face to face.
3. Think about what you can offer. Successful networking is based on generosity and reciprocity – people will quickly see through you if you're just out for yourself. So think broadly about what you can offer that is interesting or of value while protecting your organization's confidentiality. (If you're new to an area, you may struggle with this, but you can at least be positive and appreciative of people's time, and that may be all that's needed.)
4. Prepare. Before each event, memorize a concise “elevator pitch” that says who you are and what you do (the link below will help you do this). Think about questions you can ask that will encourage people to open up, such as “So what do you like best about…” Practice answers to similar questions so that you can talk eloquently about the things that inspire you.
5. Keep your objective in mind when you network. When it comes to actual networking, here are a few tips to keep in mind.
   • In a crowded room, look for individuals standing alone or small, open groups of people chatting casually rather than closed groups of people talking intensely.
   • Focus on building a good relationship with people rather than grilling them to see if they'll be of benefit to you. Then, before you run out of things to talk about, close the conversation – you can ask for their card, for example, say what a pleasure it's been to speak, and then move on.

90. Influence Your Peers to Get Things Done (Yukl and Tracey's Influencers)

The third part of the PVI model looks at influence, and this is particularly important when you're working with your peers, because you'll typically have no formal authority to insist that they comply with your requests.

There are good ways of influencing people and there are bad ways, and it's useful to understand the difference. This is where it helps to know about Gary Yukl and J. Bruce Tracey's 11 influence tactics, 6 of which are positive and 5 of which are negative.

The positive tactics don't harm your relationship when you use them. These are:

1. Rational persuasion – This involves using solid facts and logical arguments to make your argument; for example, you could put forward a well-researched business case for a marketing campaign that will benefit your business.
2. Apprising – Here, you explain how helping out will indirectly benefit the other person. For example, you might highlight how a coworker can raise her profile with the board by helping to make the campaign a success.
3. Inspirational appeal – This is about linking your idea to the values and ideals of the person you want to influence. Perhaps he cares deeply about environmental causes, and the product you want to promote has a positive environmental impact. By stressing this, you may be able to encourage him to contribute to the project.
4. Consultation – Here, you discuss your plan with key people before you firm it up so that they feel involved. Providing your consultation has been genuine and you've taken their views into account, this makes it more likely that they'll support it.
5. Exchange – This involves making an exchange – perhaps of your own time or some other necessary resource in return for the help of the other person. We'll look at this in more detail in #100 when we look at win-win negotiation.
6. Collaboration – Here, you do everything you sensibly can to make it easy for the other person to help you. In our example, you could do as much of the mundane and time-consuming part of the job as you can yourself so that they can do their part quickly and easily.

The negative tactics can leave people feeling manipulated, and this can damage your relationship with them. These are:

1. Legitimation – Here, you try to establish authority over the other person, perhaps by citing organizational rules and procedures. It is sometimes okay to use this approach, but it can lead to resentment or grudging compliance.
2. Coalition – This is where you “gang up” with others to push someone to take a course of action. This can leave the other person feeling bullied and that their opinion isn't valued.
3. Pressure – Here, you threaten someone, make strong demands, or continue to ask for something after they've said “no.” This can make the other person feel stressed and angry, and they won't forget this.
4. Ingratiation – This involves trying to make people feel better about themselves before you ask them to do something. However, it often comes across as insincere. The other person is likely to disregard your warm comments and also feel cynical about your motives.
5. Personal appeals – You may ask someone to do something because of friendship, loyalty, or kindness. But there is a risk people will feel you are taking advantage of them – and they may expect favors in return that you don't want to give.

Source: Adapted from Yukl 2012. Reproduced with permission of Pearson Education, Inc.