You Are the Key: Owning Your Development in Any Environment
When I talk to people in Corporate America and around the world, I try to connect with them, to understand their challenges and successes so that together we can further unleash the capacity of their people. Recently I spoke to a group of people whom one would think would be operating at maximum capacity all the time: the National Naval Officers' Association (NNOA).
The NNOA is comprised of top minority officers found within the United States Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. They are extraordinary individuals who take risks and leverage resources in ways many of us cannot imagine to fulfill their missions. As I talked with them, I found that despite their collective strength and success, they are eager for additional resources to help them manage their career development.
For any professional, these officers included, sustaining high contribution and propelling one's career forward requires a distinct skill set. We identify technical, influencing, and relational skills as fulfilling that requirement. For many professionals, technical skills are a slam-dunk. Yet these same highly dedicated professional often give short-shrift to influencing and relational skills. They deride them as "political" skills, with an expectation that one's performance should speak for itself. But these relational and influence skills enable one to successfully contribute through others, to establish a voice in the organization, and to move good ideas into action.
Technical skills are the first requirement of professional success, but influence and relational skills are the ones that create career momentum and help us build trust, support, and credibility. Gaining confidence in these areas opens new doors for receiving feedback, coaching others, and developing a strong personal brand―leadership behaviors that are key to development and advancement.
Our influence and relational skills aren't innate, they need to be developed. For the NNOA officers—and all professionals—who already display technical excellence in their daily duties, expanding influence and relational skills is a new challenge. Learning to be intentional in their actions, and to understand that "politics" isn't always negative leverages the technical, influencing, and relational skills that are the "secret of success," no matter what kind of organization you are in.
How do you grow your influence and relational skills?
Think beyond your immediate area of responsibility; study how your assignment contributes to the overall mission of the organization
Talk to people at all levels of your organization; learn about their contributions and challenges
Consciously work on establishing a network of professionals with whom you share ideas, feedback and resources
Try out a variety of influence strategies and study what works best in each situation
Understand the perspectives/needs of others and shape your communications to address their concerns
Coach others to do something, rather than doing it yourself
With practice, you will develop the solid set of influence and relational skills that enable you to expand your contribution and impact.
