Are you stuck in the leadership gap?

It’s time to power up your influence

Source: The BrandMap®, Kimberly Faith

When was the last time your boss called to offer you a promotion and a generous raise because you were doing such a fantastic job?

As you can imagine, this is not a common scenario for many of the women leaders I work with, even though they are clearly knocking it out of the park.

Many of them come to me feeling very frustrated that they are not being more recognized or rewarded for the value they bring to their organizations. Despite getting excellent feedback in their performance reviews and successfully managing significant projects and portfolios, they are not being tapped to move up.

They are stuck in what I call “the leadership gap.” (See chart)

Let me explain.

As we gain knowledge and experience throughout our career and we become adept at engaging others and generating results for our employer, we build credibility. Others start to see us as experts who add value to them and to the organization. And the more we build a reputation for consistently delivering on our commitments, the more we are seen as trustworthy and the more credible we become.

But credibility on its own is not enough to help you stand out and become that next-level leader.

You also need to be seen as a powerful influencer.

Leaders who are high in credibility and high in influence are known and respected across the organization for their ability to engage and inspire others. They believe in their value, and they are not afraid to speak up and share their views. They build allies who support them to achieve their goals and they are always looking for ways to add strategic value to their organizations.

These leaders stand out and get noticed, and they often move up more quickly than their peers.

Are you looking to build your influence? Here are four things you can do right now:

Do less, be more: Most women I know are so busy performing and taking care of their teams that they often forget to focus on their own career development. Many of my clients acknowledge they need to delegate more and take on less so they can focus more on being the leader they want to be. Ask yourself, how do I want to show up today? Then figure out how to trim your to-do list so you can concentrate on your “to be” list.

Boost your value: As you move up in your career, having influence is less about bringing your technical or functional expertise to the table and more about being seen as a leader who is always adding strategic value to the broader business. This means sharing your ideas and perspectives at meetings and initiating more strategic discussions with key leaders in the business. The more value you bring, the more influence you wield.

Build your visibility: You may hate the idea of self-promotion, but the reality is that being a top performer is not enough to stand out. I have a client who was turned down for an internal role despite having the qualifications to do the job. Why? Because she was not visible enough in the company. Building influence can only happen when you are making yourself known. This means taking time each week to expand your network internally, so you can listen, learn, and share ideas and become a valued ally in the business.

Ask for what you need: Great leaders don’t wait for their next promotion; they ask for it. Learning to ask for what you need to be successful and for what you know you are worth is another way to demonstrate your ability to influence. This shows that you are not afraid to have the difficult conversations every leader must navigate.

You’ve got this!