Want more stakeholder influence?

The word influence has been front of mind for the finance professionals I have been having conversations with lately.

 In particular…

“How can I get my stakeholders to act on the numbers presented?”

To become a person of influence, you need to be trusted or trustworthy.

In his book “Hidden Potential”, Adam Grant breaks down trustworthiness into three components:

o   Care (wants what’s best for you)

o   Credibility (has relevant experience)

o   Familiarity (knows you well).

When all three categories are met, there is trustworthiness.

This got me thinking about how these three categories of trustworthiness might look like for finance professionals and how it may impact their ability to influence.

Credibility would be front of mind for most finance professionals. Timely data captured accurately and allocated correctly. Tell a finance professional that their numbers are wrong and they will go into meltdown (speaking from experience).

It may be useful to think about familiarity and care through the eyes of the stakeholders.

How well does finance know my business?

How well does my business partner understand my needs and concerns?

How well does finance speak the language of “non-finance”?

The next time you ask yourself:

“How can I get my stakeholders to act?”

A better question to ask might be:

“How can I help my stakeholders understand what’s really going on so that they can generate their own solutions?”

When you think about stakeholder influence…

What excites you?

What challenges you?

I’d love to hear from you.

Robert