Map What Matters To People With Power

If you're going to deliver for someone, make it your priority to deliver up. That gives you breathing room to deliver for everyone else.

Figure out who holds power

You know where to start: your boss, plus your boss's boss and/or board of directors.

To determine the rest of your list, ask:

• Who above you in the organization will freak if you fail to deliver on commitments? This probably includes some of your boss' peers.

• Who, if they slacked off for a month, could destroy your ability to deliver? This includes most, perhaps all, of your directs.

• Who else must continue to cooperate for you to meet your significant commitments? Consider key customers, firms running important and hard-to-replace outsourced operations, and suppliers of critical components.

I call these people "powerholders"—the subset of your stakeholders who can make a real difference in your ability to deliver and reap rewards.

Map what you want from each other

Create a "Power Map." Make a spreadsheet, with a row for each powerholder or group of similar powerholders. Add these columns to your spreadsheet and drop in some bullet points. Or, if you're comfortable with mind-mapping or organization chart software, make an org chart and annotate it with this information:

On what bases are they formally rewarded: Sales? Variance from budget? Share price? How often: Quarterly? Annually? On what sets of data: Accounting data? CRM monthly reports? An industry report?

• What informal rewards are important to them: Industry visibility? Support for their "brand"—running a tight ship, being a great mentor, pulling off the impossible?

• What do they want from you/your role: No surprises? Achieving the quarterly sales target? New products to market faster than their peers' divisions?

• What do you want from them?

Catalog what you can do for (and to) each other

How could they help you get what you want? How could you help them get what they want?

Make sure to consider this question both from the capabilities you have today and from possibilities for the future. For example, your head of R&D wants external visibility as a leader in green materials. Later this year you'll be starting work on next generation, eco-savvy products. You could offer her the opportunity to become the public face of this initiative. In Influence Without Authority, Cohen and Bradford catalog ways you can build your power by helping others get what they want.  Make a habit of noting what's important to the people you meet and identifying early and appropriate opportunities to use your resources to be of service.

If you're in a tough environment, you'd be wise also to keep an eye for the rough stuff. What could they do to you (especially below the radar) if they want to turn up the pressure on your group? Refrain from labeling people as "friendly" or "unfriendly" to you and your team; instead identify the current and potential flows of information, money, and support between your group and theirs.

Now, identify other stakeholders and their interests

When you can take a few more minutes, add the other groups of people who are interested in what you do and could help or hinder, but don't meet the power criteria above. Often these include:

• People who were passed over for your job

• Junior players who want to hitch to your star

• Diversity groups across the firm

• Customers (if your own customers are internal)

• Consultants who have worked with your group

• Who else is relevant for you?

Update your map as power shifts

Calendar a meeting with yourself at least quarterly to update your map. Consider the relationships between your powerholders and other stakeholders— who listens to whom. Determine your next actions to delight, satisfy, or minimize damage for your powerholders.