By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN
Over the past decade, we have seen most hospitals in the US merge into larger systems. I am now hearing from nurse leaders working for hospitals in these systems that their sphere of influence in many operational decisions has declined over time. Innovative practices that used to be initiated at a hospital level now require systems approval. Nurse leaders within these systems are having to redefine their spheres of control and spheres of influence in systems that have moved to standardize their operations. This change points out a reality in leadership. Spheres of influence and control can expand and contract in different situations.
Sphere of Control versus Sphere of Influence
There is an important distinction between a sphere of control and a sphere of influence. A leader’s sphere of control are things he or she directly and personally controls such as their teams, their budget, their projects. In contrast, the sphere of influence can be defined as influencing the behaviors and reactions of a person or an organization/system so that the outcomes mirror the visions of the leader. A sphere of control obviously makes it easier to quickly implement decisions.
Understanding Your Sphere of Influence
A challenge that leaders have in large matrixed organizations is determining what is within their circle of influence or control and perhaps more importantly, what is not. The late Stephen Covey in his book the, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, discussed the concept of Circle of Concern versus Circle of Influence. He advised that there may be things that we feel are in our circle of concern but a leader’s time is limited and should be spent on problems that lie outside one’s circle of influence. He advises that leaders should challenge their judgement on whether or not “concerns” are really worthy of their time and the political capital they invest. This is especially important for new leaders to understand as their sphere of influence may initially be very narrow. There may be situations in large organizations where a leader feels strongly about an issue or initiative but has little influence to impact it. I worked for the Department of Veterans Affairs for 25 years. There were times that we had to implement decisions that we had little or no input into. This ship had left the dock we used to say and there was little point in investing political capital to fight it.
Expanding Your Sphere of Influence
A sphere of influence is built over time. It is not having 500+ contacts on your LinkedIn profile. Rather, it is about establishing high quality relationships built on trust that will allow you to call the right person in a given situation to influence a decision. It is about seeking opportunities to create mutual benefit by building and nurturing relationships that help make others successful. Some key ways to expand your sphere of influence include the following:
- Take a sincere interest in the success of others
- Look for opportunities to help others shine
- Work on your likeability factor
- Help others secure things of value that are scarce
- Choose to lead in situations where others won’t
Wise leaders understand when they have influence in a situation and when they don’t. They also understand that to build influence, you must be generous. The more you have to offer (and willing do it), the more quickly your influence will grow and with it your leadership effectiveness.
Read to Lead
Covey, S. (2004). The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. New York: Free Press
@ emergingrnleader.com 2017
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