Section 19: Expand Your Impact Whenever You Can

Overview

After the previous eye-opening discussion, Grace pressed her manager further. He told her most leading-edge projects began life as a spark of inspiration rather than through the normal planning process. She found that discussions with certain key “thought leaders” in the organization would help her find and create opportunities to contribute when ideas were in formation.

Grace worked with her boss to identify specific ways she could contribute to other teams and the larger business. She didn’t have much time to invest because of the demands of her normal job, so she focused on a few areas that were most interesting to her and appeared to have high potential value for her division.

She set up weekly informal talks with a couple of influential people, Benjamin and Terri. Usually these conversations were over a cup of coffee in a relaxing setting. Surprisingly, she found that Terri valued the opportunity to talk with someone who was well versed with the day-to-day work, who would be supportive, and would not challenge her in front of her management team.

Grace and Terri spent some time talking about how to redesign the way customer inputs were handled, and a couple of months later the division manager decided to staff an investigation in the area. Because of a recommendation by Terri, her personal interest, and some good thought put into the subject, Grace became the top candidate and was selected to lead a small team.

Grace finally figured out, with the help of some mentors, how to make a larger difference to her division. Although it will not be easy, she is excited about the new challenges and opportunities to make a difference.

One way to expand the value of your current job is to focus on decision-making two or three levels above you. Depending on your current location, this may be the upper-management level, or an internal group, division, or function. Do not focus on visibility for its own sake: focus on learning, understanding, and applying your creativity. Quietly watch and listen until you have a good feeling for what is most important to those people, and then create opportunities for increasing your contribution at that level.

Ideally, it would be best to have the support of your boss in doing this. Even without that, it may be possible to increase your scope of focus and attention. Plus, if you help your manager to be seen as a stronger person by other managers, he or she will probably ask for your help again and further expand your scope of influence.

The key is to focus on the larger picture by making a contribution to the larger organization outside your immediate team and current job definition. It helps a great deal to learn how to communicate in the language of your boss and other leaders and to help them understand the impact you provide them.

You also can expand your sphere of influence by working in different jobs. Actively go after new job openings that would allow you to learn new areas and connect with more people. Find ways to give others information that will help them succeed in their jobs.

A life is not important, except in the impact it has on other lives.

—Jackie Robinson, athlete