With the 5Cs of The Influence to Thrive Model, perhaps the one which causes the most problems for people is Grasp Your CONTEXT. This has major consequences because unless you are intimately aware of the context in which you build and implement your vision, you’ll likely get nowhere fast.
Quite why Grasp Your CONTEXT is so difficult is unclear to me, but certainly, many struggle because of the often nebulous and subjective nature of this area. Aside from the professional agendas which are usually fairly straightforward to determine (well, at least the official version!), it takes confidence, determination and the right attitude to really dig into the detail – and an ability to handle the emotional aspects too. Yes, context is full of emotion!
So, to get you moving in this area, here are the seven most common mistakes I encounter, and remedy, in my private client coaching work:-
No. 1: Personal Bias
When gathering intelligence, it is unfortunately almost the norm that people hear something and immediately map it to their current version of reality. Then decide how to interpret what they have heard (filtering is a common term for this). Put simply, if I think the world is flat, and I think the individual saying it is round is a bit of an idiot, in all probability I will completely discount any evidence offered by that individual. Overcoming bias takes time and discipline but can be done.
No. 2: Intellectual Arrogance
Extending the previous point, being so enamoured with ones own beliefs about reality that evidence contrary to that reality is not even seen. The brain is wired to work this way, to seek out the evidence to support current beliefs and to ignore or discount anything that challenges those beliefs. This mindset is often accompanied with the words, “no-brainer.”
No. 3: Face Value
When gathering intelligence, a question is asked and the answer is accepted. Rarely is the first answer the correct one, and this is not because of any attempt at duplicity. Sometimes it takes a few moments for a brain to engage fully with a question, especially a surprising one. The first response is usually superficial because they have not had the time to consider a full answer, nor the pros and cons of revealing as much as they know.
No. 4: Guesswork
Oh so clever. When I’m coaching, most clients seem to have pretty convincing answers to my contextual questions until I ask, “How do you know that to be the case?” Educated guesses are inevitable though laden with risk.
No. 5: Ignoring Personal Agendas
Personal agendas always trump professional agendas – always. Yet so many are nervous about enquiring at this level. In some arenas it almost seems like professional agendas count for nothing except as a masquerade for the naive.
No. 6: Hijacked by Self-Interest
Similar to some of the points above, often I need to call out a client’s pursuit of the answers they want to hear because it is convenient to their own personal agenda. That comes later, first you have to nail an accurate picture of the context.
No. 7: Ignorance of Trust
Unless adequate attention is paid to fostering high-levels of trust, any intelligence gathered carries a high risk that it is inaccurate or incomplete. In most relationships the level of trust is assumed and dare I say it, taken for granted. Failure to take steps to maximise trust could be fatal.
To be honest, overcoming most of these just takes disciplined practise of good processes. Over a period of time, keep coming back and checking in with these mistakes and be self-critical, “How are you doing on each of these?” If you’ve got a coach or mentor, ask them to remind you of them regularly.
The bottom-line, as with much of The Influence to Thrive Model, it’s a matter of habit. If you build and practice all of the processes and techniques I’ve assembled behind this model, you will soon embed them as part of your Modus Operandi, and pick up speed towards your goals.
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