How can you use influence to drive program success?

Influence, in the context of program success, is the ability to inspire and guide others towards a common goal. It involves leveraging your credibility, communication skills, and expertise to shape decisions, gain support, and ultimately drive positive outcomes for the program and also to achieve mutual benefits.

In program management, influence is the ability to shape decisions, actions, and opinions to drive program success. It involves effectively communicating, persuading, and motivating stakeholders to support the program's goals. Influential leaders inspire commitment, navigate challenges, and foster collaboration, ensuring that teams and stakeholders are aligned and motivated toward achieving shared objectives. Successful influence in program management relies on strong communication, credibility, and a strategic understanding of stakeholders' needs and concerns.

Influence is crucial for program management as it enables leaders to effectively guide and inspire team members, stakeholders, and project contributors. By wielding influence, program managers can build consensus, garner support, and navigate challenges with agility, ensuring the success of the overall program. It fosters collaboration, facilitates decision-making, and enhances the ability to drive positive change within the project's scope.

Assessing your influence style involves reflecting on your communication approach, decision-making methods, and how you motivate others. Consider seeking feedback from peers and stakeholders, evaluating your ability to build consensus, and identifying areas for improvement. This self-awareness enhances your capacity to adapt your influence style based on the unique dynamics of each program or project. Also as mentioned in the article, you can take an online assessment to discover your styles and how they affect your communications and interactions.

If you are confident about your style and totally understand it, you can learn about how to adapt it. Mainly it is about understanding the context and needs of each program. Flexibility is key—observe the dynamics, assess the stakeholders, and tailor your approach accordingly. Whether it's employing a collaborative style for consensus-building or a more assertive one for decisive moments, adjusting your influence style enhances your effectiveness in guiding programs toward success.

One thing I've found amazing is having the right knowledge is key—it's the foundation for continuous improvement and skill enhancement. With the right information, you can adapt and upgrade your skills and methods, paving the way for success in program management. Leveraging your influence sources involves tapping into your network, expertise, and relationships. Cultivate strong connections with key stakeholders, showcase your knowledge and skills, and build a reputation for reliability. By strategically utilizing these influence sources, you can shape decisions, gain support, and drive program success.

In most complex projects, formal stakeholder management strategies need to be accompanied by 1-1 stakeholder pre-management or what my client likes to call “snaking” whereby one has to socialize perspectives individually ahead of big meetings to do a pulse check on stakeholder inclination, identify potential roadblocks and incrementally build buy-in. Imagine walking into a meeting where you know every stakeholder’s concerns and excitement about what you’re going to present.