Thought Leadership

A DEI Coach's Guide to Influencing Without Authority

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A DEI Coach’s Guide to Influencing Without Authority
By Kendrea Tannis, Member of ALFDP


Having expertise and experience without authority to make decisions is an incredibly pesky problem that we’ve all faced at one time or another in our careers. It’s an issue that surfaces frequently when I coach attorneys and diversity professionals. And it leads to a special kind of frustration – the kind that makes you feel like your hands are tied and everything is out of your control. But when handled correctly, this predicament doesn’t have to be a dead end.

Keep reading for four actionable steps you can take today to leverage your influence and get better results, even without authority.

Step One: Check Yourself 

I’m aware that I may have already described you – the person seeking to influence others – as the person with the answers, the person who knows the proper path forward and just needs “those other people” to listen. But the first step in influencing others is actually pausing for self-reflection.

Ask yourself the following questions: “What result am I working towards?” “What role, if any, is my ego playing?” “What does a win in this situation look like?” and, “What do I want the person I am influencing to actually do?”

Considering these critical questions early in the process is crucial to understanding your own role as an influencer and it’s also good practice for identifying the requests you might make of others later. 

Step Two: Identify the Decision Makers and Scrutinize Your Relationships

The next step in leading through influence is identifying the decision makers and scrutinizing your relationships with them.

Take the time to determine who the decision makers are and, importantly, what they truly value. For example, a firmwide managing partner might have different values and priorities as compared to a local partner-in-charge. Put yourself in the decision maker’s shoes and think about the metrics, initiatives and principles that person values and why.

Additionally, think about which voices the decision maker values (i.e., who has the decision maker’s ear) and how your efforts might include those people as well. In doing this, be careful not to overlook those in seemingly low-power positions like administrative assistants, who often have significant influence on the leaders with whom they work.

Scrutinizing your own relationships is also crucial for influencing through experience. It is frighteningly easy to fall into the trap of viewing professional relationships as stagnant and to forget the potential reach and network of those you work with daily.

When scrutinizing your relationships, ask yourself the following questions: “Who am I overlooking that might be helpful in achieving my objectives?” “How can I leverage the strong relationships I already have?” “What are the strengths and weaknesses of those I work with daily and how might I leverage those?” And, depending on your timeline, ask yourself, “Which relationships can I begin investing in now, given my goals?”

Step Three: Speak the Decision Maker’s Language

Now that you’ve identified the decision makers, this information is only as valuable as your ability to align your goals with their values. Think of it as learning to speak a language that the person you seek to influence will recognize and identify with. For example, if your objective is to influence a senior marketing professional, it is critical to frame your solution or idea in language that a marketing professional will recognize – or, even better, language you know the marketing professional uses.

Additionally, don’t assume that it’s obvious how your agendas align. Make it plain how your interests overlap and how supporting you will specifically benefit the decision maker. And be explicit about what supporting your agenda looks like. Use language like, “Supporting this initiative would look like…” or, “I think we can partner together by doing …” or “What other ideas do you have?”

As a professional coach, my clients are routinely surprised by the direct accountability questions I pose, such as, “What time commitment are you willing to make in order to achieve your goal?” and, “How will you hold yourself accountable?” Consider asking similar questions to those you seek to influence. For example, “When should I next check in about the steps we’ve discussed?” or, “What timeline do you think is reasonable for this project” and “What ideas do you have about maintaining our momentum?”

This accountability step presents another opportunity to speak the decision maker’s proverbial language as you consider whether they prefer to communicate in person, via email, by phone or messaging. Or, for example, if the person you seek to influence uses language like, “There’s so much on my plate right now,” you might consider framing the accountability you seek in terms of “taking things off their plate” by scheduling check-ins or by following up at a mutually agreed upon time.

Step Four: Don’t Go Ghost Once the Objective Is Achieved

Congratulations! You’ve successfully achieved your objective using these steps. Now what? As a busy professional it might be tempting to disappear with your spoils and not surface again until another need arises.

This is a big mistake.

Instead, if you’re able to achieve your ends, circle back to decision makers and provide a brief synopsis of measurable success.

For example, if you were able to influence the senior marketing professional in step three, provide an update regarding a shared win – even if it’s something small like an email from someone who benefitted from the collaboration. Or, if you successfully influenced your firm’s director of recruiting to conduct on-campus interviews at a new law school, circle back when one of those summer associates experiences a victory or when the firm’s diversity statistics are positively impacted by a student from that law school becoming an associate.

Find ways both large and small to maintain the relationships you’ve worked so hard to cultivate during this process. Be strategic about reporting wins in terms that will be recognized and appreciated. And finally, remind yourself that your hands are not tied: you have authority. There is always a move you can make and a question you can ask to move closer to the outcome you desire. Can you feel the frustration subsiding? I can.

Additional information on ALFDP, can be found here.

Kendrea Tannis is a certified professional coach and Founder of The Pivoting Lawyer. She is also the Associate Director of Diversity and Inclusion at an international law firm and a member of the Association of Law Firm Diversity Professionals (ALFDP)

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