The people aspect of work can often feel chaotic with such different personalities, interests, and relationship dynamics among employees. Leaders and HR professionals often spend more time reacting to conflicts, productivity backlogs, and organizational culture crises than achieving goals and advancing the organizational vision. 

 

This is rarely the fault of employees or employer; more often, it is because nobody has ever addressed the structural ways that power and interests are handled in the organization. A DEI officer may have been hired to fulfill a mandate without the power to achieve it; a team may have been formed without thought to whether and how their interests align; a habit of responding first to “squeaky wheels” may have sent the message that employees only have power to change things by complaining. These structural oversights are a recipe for conflict and discontent. 

 

Fortunately, there are frameworks and tools from the fields of systems design and conflict resolution to better align your employees. Megan’s interactive session will focus on one particularly helpful skill: “mapping” your organization in terms of power and interests. The map reveals things like whether power needs to be reallocated, where mentor/mentee relationships may be useful, and whether a promising employee’s potential is being inhibited by his or her position in the hierarchy. You will learn how to create your own map and identify strategic takeaways. 

 

In this session, you will learn: 

- What is an influence map is and how it can increase collaboration and impact at work 

- The best 2 opportunities for strategic influence or alignment based on their map and analysis 

- Feel empowered to address challenging situations at work relating to conflict, power, or a lack of employee cooperation.