Circle of Influence
Growth depends on how many people beyond your manager know your work and trust your judgment.
Hard work alone often grows a career more slowly than it deserves. A common reason is a small circle of influence: only your direct manager really knows what you do. Expanding it builds what I call organisational capital.
It grows in three stages:
- Information. Leaders in other teams know your name and where you sit.
- Insight. They know what you’re working on and what you’ve achieved recently.
- Interact. They’re comfortable coming to you to trade ideas and ask for your input.
The first two help, but only the third moves your growth, because that’s when other decision-makers become invested in you.
Ways to widen it
- Ask for 30 minutes to get someone’s input on a specific problem, with enough context that the request makes sense.
- Share a document and ask for their review.
- Follow up and show what you did with their advice.
The essay
Circle of Influence
Build your org capital to grow in the career
Many capable professionals sometimes face the harsh reality that despite their hard work and impact, their career growth is slower than anticipated. A major obstacle I've observed in my career is their limited Circle of Influence. While one's immediate supervisor is a key decision-maker, it's crucial for individuals to expand their circle of influence within the organisation to enhance their organisational capital. It has three stages:
Information: Leaders in other functions or business units (BUs) know your name and team affiliation.
Insight: These leaders are aware of your current projects and recent accomplishments.
While these two stages are beneficial, they alone won't drive growth because key decision-makers aren't sufficiently invested in your development. Therefore, it's essential to progress to the next stage.
Interact: Leaders across functions and BUs feel comfortable engaging with you to exchange ideas and seek your input. This stage helps increase your organizational capital and paves the way for growth. Here are some strategies to achieve this:
Request a 30-minute meeting to seek input on a specific problem. Provide proper context to avoid appearing random. This may be your only free 30 minutes, so use it wisely. Share a document for review and advice. Don't hesitate to ask for a quarterly 30-minute slot.
Demonstrate curiosity and offer assistance with their priorities, such as conducting interviews. This will build overall trust.
Discuss organization-wide initiatives they could sponsor and you could lead or execute.
The biggest mistake people make is initiating conversations with leaders solely for visibility. This approach won't work unless the intent is genuine and mutually beneficial.
Approaching this with the right intent, method, and leaders will significantly improve your visibility across the organization. This can help you advance in your current role or position you for new opportunities under these leaders.
In practice
- Read Own your Career Growth in Honest Gap Analysis, where it’s part of the story.