However, people often create unnecessary stress for themselves. They do it when they try to make changes in areas they’re not responsible for. Their opinions and advice are not appreciated or used. They assign themselves responsibility for an area over which they have no control.

Understanding your area of influence

Within each organization each of us has a certain level of authority to invoke change. It may seem that the changes you have jurisdiction over are not very important, especially when you are aware of bigger problems, outside of your authority. You might be thinking, “There are no real problems in my area”, or “The problems in my area are so small compared to those in this other area. Why not fix them first since the solution is so clear?” or “I can’t fix my area until they fix these.” However you will find that focusing on problems over which you have no authority on will bring you stress and political tension. Alternatively, focusing on what you do have responsibility for will make your more influential and surprise even the biggest sceptic.

One of the leading causes of stress is having responsibility for something that you don’t have control over. This is a bad situation when you have a control freak boss who won’t let you make decisions but holds you accountable for the results. You have no control over your boss so it is difficult to change the circumstances.

However, people often create unnecessary stress for themselves. They do it when they try to make changes in areas they’re not responsible for. Their opinions and advice are not appreciated or used. They assign themselves responsibility for an area over which they have no control.

The next time you find yourself under stress, consider whether you have been assigning yourself responsibility for that which you can not control.

Besides causing stress, trying to make changes in areas that you do not have authority for will also bring political problems. If you start talking about perceived problems in others areas and sharing your opinions about how to correct them, you are in effect saying that the individual who does have responsibility for that area is incompetent. If you try to implement changes then you are also undermining his authority. Either action is going to bring resentment and in most cases political retaliation.

Politics have been described as conflicting agendas colliding. If you try to implement changes where you don’t belong you will cause a collision. Because you are not in your area you probably don’t know all of the facts and you may be trying to make decisions based on ignorance. In such a situation it is not difficult to determine who will lose the political game. You will.

So what is the answer? Obviously it is to focus first on the areas that you do have responsibility for. Do the best job that you can in leading your own people. Remember to continue leading by focusing on the three characteristics of leadership; integrity, competence, and enthusiasm.

When you discover other areas of the organization that impact on your area of responsibility, work with their leaders so that both teams will benefit. Avoid focusing on your own team’s results so much that you get into competition with other teams. That attitude does not benefit the organization as a whole.

As you are dealing with the leadership of other teams, remember that you are trying to influence them. You are trying to help them to see how working together will benefit their team, your team, and the whole organization. In essence you are trying to lead them, so don’t forget to act like a leader with integrity, competence, and enthusiasm.

As you focus on changing, improving, and leading in the areas where you have influence rather than those that you do not, you will discover something. The areas in which you have influence will grow. Soon you will have the ability to lead effectively in areas that you originally did not have any influence over.

You may not be granted official authority over these areas, but as you deal with people with integrity, competence, and enthusiasm you will gain their trust and they will allow you to influence them. Steven Covey does a great job of describing this phenomenon as the Circle of Influence in The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People
[The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People, Steven R Covey, Covey].

How does this help you when it comes to public speaking? Consider first what the point of your speech is:
• What is your theme?
• What is your desired response from your audience?

Do the answers to these questions fit with your area of influence? If not perhaps you should consider adjusting them – it might make your speech that much more effective and help avoid political repercussions in the future.

… and who knows, speaking effectively within your area of influence know can open up a host of opportunities for the future.

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Copyright © 2007 David Mudie All Rights Reserved

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