3 examples of backdoor power influencing careers
If you are looking for another way to boost your career, get to know the Talent Developers in your company.
Most of the seven types of employees with backdoor power, do not hold sway due to their formal role. One type – the Talent Developer – does combine a specific role with backdoor power.
As a Talent Developer is my corporate career, I held this type of backdoor power, and I’ll share some career secrets with you!
What is a Talent Developer?
Talent Developers have ownership over the leadership development processes and programs.
I held this type of role – generally called Leadership Development or Talent Management. Talent Management people usually work through the Human Resources (HR) department and focus on the long-term, strategic development of employees and leaders.
Responsibilities often include running succession planning processes, facilitating leadership training programs, doing executive coaching, creating individual development plans, overseeing employee engagement surveys, recommending employees for high-profile opportunities and more.
These responsibilities cut across all departments, functions and locations and touch many elements of work and careers for employees. Talent Developers interact with employees in many different situations and collect data points.
Behaviors in one area create an impression – a data point – a dot. Sometimes the dots get connected in unexpected ways.
You are being watched
When you are at work, you are being watched. Your boss, peers, direct reports, colleagues in other departments, people on the elevator and everyone else you meet watch you and form opinions. It pays to remember that you are on stage and consciously consider how you want to be perceived.
You probably interact with Talent Developers all the time – in classes or team building or processes. What you might not realize is that they are always evaluating and assessing. I don’t mean that they are stalking and judging, but they do observe behavior.
Due to the nature of their roles, the observations of Talent Developers can influence employee careers.
Examples of the backdoor power of Talent Developers
Working with employees and senior leaders in multiple companies, I often had the opportunity to connect dots. Sometimes I uncovered hidden gems of talent and made them more visible. Other times, negative interactions became discussion points in later succession conversations.
As I got to know certain people, I could connect them to mentors or help them think through career choices. When employees reached out to me and expressed interest in developing, I was thrilled to help.
Here are three examples of scenarios that I influenced in my corporate career.
Example 1: Under-the-radar leader gains visibility in succession planning
Many years ago, I facilitated a succession planning discussion for some senior field leaders. They were choosing a slate of 6-8 district leaders to be considered for a regional-level role.
These candidates would participate in an interview process and an assessment center to choose the new regional leader.
The field leaders agreed quickly on most of the candidates, but kept passing over one.
I knew this leader. She posted strong results for the previous few years and expressed interest in the bigger role. As a Talent Management person, I had watched her contribute great insights in a leadership program and work through a challenging Individual Development Plan.
But her style did not fit the typical mold. She had an intense, extroverted and feminine style, which was unusual, but it worked for her, her team and the results. But the senior leaders around the table that day struggled to see past the unusual style.
I had the privilege of being able to advocate for her in that meeting. After hearing specific details about her leadership qualities and learning agility, they agreed to add her to the candidate pool.
In the interviews and assessment center, she blew away the competition, won the promotion and continued to have a successful career.
I was able to use my backdoor power to open the door for her. She took over from there.
Behavior in leadership programs can work for or against you
Classroom-based leadership programs provide a great opportunity for demonstrating curiosity, ability to learn and leadership skills. The facilitators and program owners notice who participates and who does not. That information can work for you or against you.
Example 2: Positive participant gets external nomination
In one positive example, a participant in an internal leadership class got nominated for a prestigious, external program.
This participant came to class with an enthusiastic mentality, asked questions, participated in discussions and got to know the facilitators.
In short, this person stood out in the class and showed a deep interest in learning more about leadership and how to apply the learning on the job.
A few months later, we started screening names to nominate someone to represent our company at an external leadership program. In this program, the participants went offsite for a week, got to network with executives from many companies and got taught by some of the finest leadership thinkers in the country.
This person got nominated and chosen based on the outstanding participation in the internal class. Visibility to the facilitators and program owners clinched the nomination.
Example 3: Disruptive student tanks his own promotion
By contrast, poor behavior in a class can harm you. In most classes, there is at least one disruptive and negative participant. Trust me – you don’t want to be that person.
One disruptive student found that it caused him to lose out on a promotion.
This employee’s boss signed him up for a leadership development program in order to prepare him for a bigger leadership role. The employee thought he knew everything and did not need the class.
He showed up late and came in and out for phone calls. He did not participate in group discussions and made snide comments. He became disruptive enough that the facilitators asked him to not return for the future days of the program.
As the program owner, I called his boss to report the situation. The boss was embarrassed and dismayed. I don’t know how the conversation went between the boss and employee. But I do know that the facilitator received an apology and the employee did not get the promotion.
Value of knowing the Talent Developers
In addition to these direct interventions, Talent Developers can also point you to courses and resources that you need, consult with you on leadership challenges, help build an Individual Development Plan (IDP) and more.
Consider doing some sleuthing in your company to identify the Talent Developers. If you have an opportunity to reach out and meet them, it could benefit your career!
Related Articles
For a definition of backdoor power, check out ‘Improve political skill by identifying backdoor power‘.
For a description of under-the-radar people with backdoor power, checkout ‘Watch for these 7 types of employees with backdoor power‘.
