Expand your sphere of influence

Have you ever noticed that there is always someone on your team that people constantly turn to for information, or who seems to be able to make things happen? These are your team’s go-to people, and to your organization, they are the keystone of turning plans into reality. For someone who is new, or perhaps looking to gain some influence in an organization, it can be hard to figure out how they do it so effortlessly. If you are someone who wants to have this reputation, and wants to grow their sphere of influence like these individuals have done, there are a couple of things you must do.

The first is to raise your level of credibility. The best way to do this is to gain experience and knowledge over the product and processes. This takes time! When you are asked a question about the status of a project, it’s okay to say “I don’t know.” This should immediately be followed with “but, I’ll help you find the answer.” Ask those with more experience lots of questions, and become a sponge for knowledge; look at every interaction with your co-workers as an opportunity to learn something new or to work on building trust.

As you become more credible, your co-workers will naturally raise your level of trustworthiness. Being trustworthy is not the same as trusted, yet both take lots of time to build, and seconds to destroy. When you are trustworthy, it means that people will start small with extending the branch of trust to see how you perform. Being trustworthy simply means being capable of being trusted. Over time, as you build more trust, you will move from trustworthy to trusted. This is as easy as being accountable for doing what you say you will do. Be careful — there is a trap here! Do not become the person who says “yes” to everything. The key here is to understand your own capabilities, and to deliver on your word. Over extending yourself and dropping the ball is a quick way to destroy all the hard work you put into building trust.

Building credibility and trust takes time and is a fragile relationship that can take years to make happen, and seconds to destroy. As your credibility and trustworthiness grows, your sphere of influence shall grow. To summarize ways to grow your sphere of influence:

1. Use every interaction with your team as a chance to build your credibility and trust.

2. Saying “I don’t know” is perfectly fine but use this as an opportunity to help find the answer. It will grow your knowledge and help build trust within your sphere of influence.

3. Saying “no” to something is saying “yes” to something else. Explain why you can’t help and offer alternatives.

4. Do what you say and say what you do. Once you make good on your promise, communicate that it is done.

Remember that building both trust and credibility takes time. You won’t become that go-to person overnight. Be patient and remember that small wins lead to big wins.

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