Many people struggle to develop their influence and voice at work. Minoritised people in particular.
Even when people do speak up to offer ideas or challenge accepted ways of thinking they can get slapped down, sometimes unintentionally, sometimes intentionally.
For example:
- Women of colour experience pressure to modify their communication styles, appearance, and cultural expressions to fit organisational norms. Williams and Okafor, 2024
- Half of women of colour and white women reported having their ideas stolen, compared to less than a third of white men and men of colour. The Center for WorkLife Law, 2021
Being good at your job is not enough to get you into leadership. Having influence is essential.
So how do you develop your voice and influence at work?
Prepare for meetings
I don’t mean flick through the papers and have a casual glance at the agenda. Below are a few examples of how to prepare in ways that grow your voice and influence. Do these things consistently over time and your influence can’t help but grow.
Identify what you bring that no-one else does
People rarely articulate how they make a difference to their team or organisation. I am not talking about your functional expertise. I am talking about things you are better at than anyone else.
- Are you great at spotting trends in your industry before anyone else?
- Are you great at forming networks and relationships outside your organisation that benefit your team?
Work out your USP and milk it for all it’s worth.
Decide whether you need to be at a meeting or not
Depending on where you are in the hierarchy of your organisation, you will have more or less power to say no to meetings.
If you can say no to meetings which are not essential in achieving your objectives or being a team player, you will free up SO much time that you can then put to much better use.
Even if you don’t attend a meeting, you can still contribute and in many ways stand out more than if you do go.
- E.g. Give the chair a quick call or drop them a voice note to download thoughts on the most important agenda item
- E.g. Annotate the agenda with some key points and email them to attendees
A good chair will refer people to these notes to ensure they are included in discussions, which gives you prominence.
In meetings
Position yourself visibly to the chair
In real-life meetings, particularly internal ones, people tend to sit in the same place. Remember where the chair usually sits and position yourself so they can easily see you. If you are online, have something on screen that makes you easily visible. A bright coloured top, a distinctive background, anything you feel comfortable with that draws the eye to you.
Not only will the chair be able to spot when you want to make a point, if you use your body language to convey enthusiasm, focus, attention etc, it will not go unnoticed. This gives you a lot of “capital” and you are far more likely to be listened to.
Speak early in the meeting
If you hear your voice in the space early, it gives you the confidence to speak up later when it really matters. Even if it is “pass the water please” or “thanks for your email yesterday” – anything so you can recognise your own presence in a room.
Conscious use of language
If someone interrupts you: “I’ll hand over to you but before I do, let me finish my point…”
If someone takes your idea: “Thanks for building on what I said earlier…”
If you can use humour to handle situations like the ones above, all the better.
Most importantly, train yourself NOT to use language that:
- Is self deprecating (I’m sure you’ve already thought of this…)
- Is hesitant (I was just wondering…)
- Softens what you say (Maybe we could…)
- Apologises for speaking (Sorry can I just add…)
- Asks for validation (Does that make sense…?)
If you are a woman of colour, we go into the topic of voice and influence in a lot more detail on our Next Level Leadership Programme.
To find out more click here.
To book a call click here.