Informal networks: Strategies for middle managers to boost their influence

As ever, leadership is getting harder. Managers no longer simply pass orders down the hierarchy and pass information back up it. Instead, they have to make things happen through other departments which have different agendas, different priorities and needs, and are competing for the same limited pot of management time, support, budget and promotions.

My current research is on people who thrive in these conditions – the stars who make things happen beyond their formal span of control and budget. 

The curious finding from this research is that the most successful strategy is to be highly collaborative. In a competitive world you can not succeed alone: you need allies. It’s no longer enough to be smart (IQ) and good with people (EQ), you also need to be able to acquire and use informal power – which is based on trust and respect – to make things happen.