This is a chapter from my newly published book, Digging for Dhub Dhubs: Leadership Lessons From 30 Years in the U.S. Air Force.
Gaining Influence and Using Power
The military has a well-earned reputation for moving people around a lot. The Air Force has added an element to that, at least in my experience. Somewhere in the dark passages where the wizards of the personnel system lived, an alarm would sound whenever I was really enjoying an assignment. Immediately, the wizards would spring into action. That’s how I ended up working at the Air National Guard headquarters. The Guard is an interesting organization. There are Guard units in every state, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and the District of Columbia. Those units have a wide variety of missions, but unless activated by the president or an act of congress, they work for, and report to the state’s, or territory’s governor. There is a national headquarters, the Air National Guard Readiness Center (ANGRC), located in the Washington D.C. area, with responsibility for supporting all Guard units. It has no authority over any Guard units.
Unlike the rest of the military, there is no direct line of authority from this “headquarters” and the units we supported. To complicate matters, the action officers at the ANGRC were supposed to maintain the normal Air Force standards while also providing the support each unit might require. But the individual units could listen to us or not as they wished.
It was in this environment that I learned about influence. Shortly after arriving at the ANGRC, I was hit with a problem. Several of the units I supported were not properly storing their aircraft munitions. The discrepancy had been discovered by a Department of Defense inspection team and so it had to be addressed. In the complex world of Active Duty – Guard relationships, the Department of Defense could cause action that I couldn’t, even though the units didn’t answer to them either.
Perplexed in how to deal with this, I sought my boss’s council. He too was an active duty officer but had been working at the ANGRC for several years. His answer to was, “Have you been out to visit the units?”
“No,” I said.
“You can’t make them do anything. But you can help them do what needs to be done. They know there’s a problem and there’s probably a reason why they haven’t fixed it. They know you don’t know anything about the Guard. They want you to help them, but they won’t work with you if they don’t know you.”
So, off I went on a national tour of Air National Guard units. A few had their own separate areas but many of them operated out of civilian airports and did not have the kind of real estate a normal military base does. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to abide by the munitions storage requirements. Their problem was simply a lack of available space.
Over the following months we were able to work together to solve the problems. At no time did I tell those units what to do or issue directives in an attempt to get them in compliance. We were all working towards a common goal. Orders weren’t necessary. Cooperation was.
I will pause here to say that in my time with them, I gained a deep and abiding respect for what the National Guard brings to our nation’s defense. They are a critical part of our military capability. Years later, in command of a deployed maintenance squadron that included both active duty and guard Airmen, I could not tell the difference between the two. They are every bit a professional, and essential military component.
After my purgatory in the ANGRC (it actually wasn’t a bad assignment: I certainly learned a lot) I was allowed to return to an operational unit and assume my first squadron command. Now I had the authority that I had previously lacked. I could tell people what to do and they had to do it! But an interesting thing happened. I didn’t have to tell people what to do. Instead, I could discuss what needed to be done and how best to accomplish it. Yes, I had the authority. Everyone knew that. But I found that power is usually less effective than influence.
The military provides its leaders with an element of power. That power is actually enshrined in law, and military commanders have the legal authority to prosecute misbehavior. That’s a lot of power that should be used sparingly. Unfortunately, for some, that power becomes almost like a drug and they get drunk on its trappings. The more senior the officer, the more power they possess and sometimes the corresponding opportunity and temptation for abuse.
As a military commander I had a staff of people who wanted to keep me happy. At least that’s how it seemed. It’s true that an unhappy commander can make for an unhappy unit, but in fact, the staff’s job was not to keep me happy but to keep the organization running smoothly and accomplishing its mission. Some leaders failed to understand the distinction.
As a result, some become little dictators and tyrants, and rather than developing influence to lead, they attempt to use power to push and pull. This is not unique to the military. I’ve seen this many times. Leaders who refuse to listen to their teams and just give out directives and then blame others when things don’t work right. Some leaders take advantage of their position, having staff members run personal errands for them.
It’s also becoming common of late for leaders to insist on team members subscribing to their own religious or political views. Unless you are running a church or an election campaign, you cannot expect everyone to agree with your views. That does not mean they aren’t a valuable member of the team. In fact, when everyone agrees and there is never any debate, a team becomes ineffective and in some cases even dysfunctional
During the follow-up coaching with a workshop participant, she told me she was happy with her position. She didn’t really see herself rising any higher in the organization, not because she lacked the ability — she just didn’t want to. Having made that decision, she was interested in learning how to develop more influence within the company without having to pursue promotions.
Influence is an interesting concept. With power naturally comes influence. That kind of influence often comes from fear of the power rather than mutual respect. Good leaders develop influence based on mutual respect. This type of influence can be earned by practicing a few behaviors.
• Get to know people. Get to know as many people as you can. I don’t just mean their names. Make every effort to really know them. People like to feel valued and will usually appreciate your efforts.
• Ask questions and listen, really listen, to the answers. You should never be the smartest person in the room. Always seek out other’s opinions and expertise. Asking questions and paying close attention to the answers demonstrates that you are interested in them and what they have to say. They will appreciate your interest and besides, you also gain knowledge
• Seek feedback. Then accept it when it comes. We all have blind spots; behaviors and characteristics that we may not realize we have. Some leaders feel that asking others for feedback can diminish their standing, but the opposite is actually more accurate. Others appreciate that you are not so wrapped up in your own ego that you can’t accept suggestions.
You may notice these steps can be applied to peers as well as your team. In fact, developing influence requires constant use of these steps with everyone you work with.
How do you know if you have influence and what do you do with it? You will know you have developed influence when things that need to be done get done simply because you asked.
Now, what will you use that influence for? Influence carries its own power and it must be used wisely. Never make it about you. It should be about how you can better help your team and your organization. Strive to become influential to better lead your team and to more effectively work with others for the good of the team and the organization. That’s the last step towards gaining influence.
When you help others they will be more willing to help you and your team. You always receive more when you give more.
