Colin Gautrey

Harnessing the Power of Informal Groups

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We normally view organisations as being split into formal groups such as marketing, operations, sales, etc. To this formal structure we can add cross-functional project teams created for specific purposes. This represents the way formal power assets are divided within the organisation. However, underlying this is an informal structure — groups of people with something in common. They could share common sporting interests, educational background, or even the fact they all smoke. These informal groups can have a massive impact Read More

The Structure of Your Leadership Arena

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Before you go too far establishing a strategy to achieve your leadership purpose, make sure you really understand the arena in which you are about to a successful leader. Arena, as a word, has been used deliberately in the book, Influential Leadership,  to cater for the diverse nature of the environments where leaders need to become more influential. For some, it will apply to companies or organisations while for others it may be more appropriate to think of industries, populations or even social settings. Regardless of the type of arena you are focusing on becoming more influential within, you need to get to grips with its structure. The best way of doing this at first is to Read More

What Is Group Power? How to Influence Strategically

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This is another of those simple concepts often over-complicated by well-meaning consultants in the realms of organisational psychology. Avoiding the complexity gives you more time to act. Once you understand what group power is, it will become easier to spot opportunities to influence more effectively. It will help you to magnify your influence and put the group to work. So, keeping it simple, in organisational realms, group power is:

"the collective capacity of a group of people to create influence"

There are four elements you need to think about with this definition. Read More

Exercise: Informal Groups in Your Organisation

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Without doubt, if you aspire to a senior or influential position in any organisation, you will need to open your eyes and see the social structures within it. This exercise will help you to apply your learning to the setting where you wish to be successful. It assumes that you have already read other articles, such as Navigating Informal Group Dynamics and Power and Informal Groups (see below). As with most exercises, it helps if you can get together and discuss this with one or more colleagues. What informal groups exist around Read More

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