Do you know your ‘Circle of Influence’?

In his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (1989) Stephen Covey reminds us that we all have a certain amount of influence within the world. We can affect people and things—even when we cannot fully control them. Even tiny babies very quickly learn that they can have an influence in the world. They learn to ‘control’ their parents by smiling, or crying; and older babies soon learn they can make someone ‘fetch’ the things they drop or throw.

As adults the things we can affect, or influence, (either directly or indirectly) through our words, actions and behaviours fall within what Stephen Covey calls our ‘Circle of Influence’. For some people this circle is larger than it is for others—but everyone has their own Circle of Influence.

We also have a wide range of concerns in our lives—we may be concerned about the environment, housing, our own health, or the health of others. We may be worried about personal debt, interest rates, racism, or third world poverty. There are many things we may be concerned about and many of them are outside our control. This is our Circle of Concerns.

Stephen Covey reminds us that we have a choice about how we carry our concerns—and how we choose to respond to them. We have a choice about where and how we direct our energy and attention. We can choose to focus our attention on things which are outside our Circle of Influence. So we can complain about prices, interest rates, the government, war, racism, poverty and so on. We can be annoyed and resentful about many of the things beyond our control. We can blame others (we have already talked about ‘Why blaming doesn’t work’ in this space). This negative thinking and lack of action to change the things we are concerned about is dis-empowering. Blaming others and complaining actually causes our Circle of Influence to shrink.

Alternatively we can choose to focus on things that are within our Circle of Influence. If we are concerned about the environment, for instance, we can choose to use less water, or to reduce, re-use and re-cycle material goods where ever possible. We can choose to ‘think global and act local’ in all sorts of ways. We can focus our energy on those aspects of big problems or global concerns that we can influence through our own daily actions, words and deeds. We do not need to be in control of everything (or everyone else). We need to be in control of ourselves and we need to make choices, to speak and to act in ways that will make a positive difference. Even if it is in some small or indirect way, we can have influence in the world.

The more we act in this positive way the more our Circle of Influence grows. By working within our Circle of Influence, our circle expands outwards to address our wider Circle of Concerns. We don’t waste energy on things we can do nothing about. Instead, we direct our energy and attention to things (even if they’re small things) that we can change or influence. This process is empowering—it builds confidence, self-esteem and it builds even more influence. The more we behave in this way, the more we see our Circle of Influence expand.

We invite you to exercise your Circle of Influence—think ‘big’ and act within your ‘circle’ to make a difference. Tell us your story. We look forward to hearing from you.

Dr Peter Waterhouse
'Work-Doctor' at Workplace Learning Initiatives Pty Ltd

Related Articles: 

• Why blaming doesn’t work
• Is your workplace sick?
• Symptoms of a sick workplace
• Curing a sick workplace: Coffee and cake, or onions?

Curing a sick workplace: Coffee & cake, or onions?

In previous postings ('Is your workplace sick?' and 'Symptoms of sick workplace') we discussed how a workplace can become unhealthy and unproductive. We also considered various workplace ‘symptoms’, such as Occupational Health and Safety incidents, accidents and ‘near misses’; high levels of staff turn-over, or absenteeism. These symptoms can indicate that a workplace has problems.

So if we can identify the symptoms of a sick workplace can we provide the cure? Sure, but it’s important to remember that something is causing these symptoms. We need to get beyond the symptom to the cause of the problem. The right ‘medicine’ for any given workplace will depend upon the true nature of the problem.

Some time ago, one of our consultants told us about the frustrations he was having in a client’s workplace. There was constant tension and bickering within the workplace. It seemed few of the issues were really serious, but there were petty squabbles and arguments between workers almost every day. The poor communication was eroding goodwill and there was little cooperation between the work-teams. The symptoms of this workplace dis-ease were problems with product quality, failure to meet delivery deadlines and ultimately, dissatisfied customers!


Our consultant was visiting the site every week. He began to bring cake to the morning coffee breaks. He encouraged shopfloor operators and their team leaders to get together over coffee and cake and talk about their issues and concerns. Through group discussions and separate one-to-one conversations, both on and off-the-job, he identified key issues. He also began to see that the key people involved had different understandings of the production process and what was required. After several weeks of informal investigation and coffee and cake conversations, he brought all of the key players together at the same table. He explained to them what was happening, what he had learned, and how he perceived the situation. “You guys need to talk about this stuff and sort out these misunderstandings,” he said. ”I can’t keep buying cake forever!”

It would be nice if coffee and cake could cure all our workplace problems—but that’s unlikely unless the conversations get to the real cause of the problems. “What’s really going on here?” can be a useful question. Finding the cure for workplace ills involves sussing out the causes beneath the symptoms and surface appearances. What’s really going on is often quite different to what appears to be happening. Root Cause Analysis may be needed to get to the bottom of things and really understand the cause(s) of problems.

Most workplaces are a bit like onions—there are several layers, one inside the other. Peeling away the layers can reveal misunderstandings, communication difficulties, people not really listening, workers learning (but sometimes learning the wrong things), and relationships which need maintenance and/or repair. Peeling the layers can also reveal everyday work practices causing waste. There may be waste of time, materials, energy and effort. There may be all of the Seven Wastes commonly found in workplaces, but they are overlooked or accepted because they’re ‘normal’.

So finding the right approach might involve coffee, cake and peeling onions! There are multiple layers and points of view to be explored. Without proper ‘diagnosis’ and understanding of the root causes of problems, we are unlikely to come up with a permanent ‘cure’ or sustainable solutions.

Dr Peter Waterhouse
Work Doctor at Workplace Learning Initiatives Pty Ltd


Related Articles

• Is your workplace sick?
• Symptoms of a sick workplace
• Why blaming doesn’t work
• Why focus on workplace learning?   

Why blaming doesn’t work

In a previous posting we referred to the idea that a workplace can have a culture of blame. In such a workplace, when things do go wrong (as they inevitably do in every workplace) the accepted strategy is is to blame someone (or something) else. Blaming becomes the norm. This is an unhealthy work environment.

Blaming someone else for a problem can sometimes give the blamer a sense of claiming the high moral ground. He (or she) stands proud—seemingly above the problem: “It wasn’t my fault!” they say, pointing the accusing finger ‘down’ at somebody else. The blamer feels self-satisfied that he or she is ‘safe’ and someone else will cop the wrap and a ‘blast’ from the manager.

However blaming is rarely an effective strategy. Blaming doesn’t help to fix the problem or facilitate change. There are several reasons for this:

• Blaming generates resentment & defensiveness
• Blaming erodes relationships
• Blaming compromises effective communication & cooperation
• Blaming doesn’t help get to the root cause of a problem or issue
• Blaming is just another form of ‘passing the buck’—in the end people need to accept responsibility if things are to change.

Blaming in the workplace is more about point scoring and power politics than it is about problem solving or continuous improvement. Embarrassing and putting people down in public is no way to win respect. Even if the person being blamed secretly admits, or knows, he or she was responsible for the problem, ‘rubbing their noses in it’ doesn’t help. Casting blame leads people to be more hostile, more defensive, and less open to ideas, suggestions and effective communication.


Often too, the person casting blame is effectively side-stepping his or her responsibilities and not addressing what they might have done (or could do) to prevent such problems from occurring.
When we engage with people in workplaces we sometimes need to ask: “Do you want the satisfaction of the problem being solved? Or do you want the satisfaction of being able to blame someone else?” You can’t have both.

Do you have a culture of blame in your workplace? Or have you seen this happening in other workplaces? Share your stories and experiences with us. We look forward to hearing from you.

Peter Waterhouse
Work Doctor at Workplace Learning Initiatives Pty Ltd



Related Articles:

• Is your workplace sick?
• Symptoms of a sick workplace
• Curing a sick workplace: Coffee and cake, or onions?
• Why focus on workplace learning?