Sometimes the most powerful people in a company do not hold a high-ranking role. Instead, employees with backdoor power run the show.
There might be a leader that everyone wants to work for, because her direct reports always seem to get promoted. Think about the employees at your company who know the shortcuts. Maybe they seem to always get their projects approved or seem to always be chatting with the boss.
Backdoor power
The article ‘Improve political skill by identifying backdoor power’ introduced the idea of backdoor power.
Employees with backdoor power carry influence in a company, but their power does not come from an official job role. Instead, it comes from their relationships, style or the ability to whisper into the ear of a senior executive.
Seven types of employees with backdoor power
Backdoor power type 1: Gatekeeper
Gatekeepers hold power by controlling access to others.
The classic example is the CEO’s Executive Administrator. She provides a variety of administrative and secretarial services to the CEO – including management of the calendar.
CEOs, like all senior executives, juggle jam-packed schedules. If you need to get on the calendar, it requires finesse, favors and sometimes begging. Build a personal relationship with key EAs in your company.
They can help you schedule meeting and also provide intelligence on things like the executive’s current mood, priorities, travel schedule and more.
Backdoor power type 2: Talent Exporters
In any corporation, certain leaders stand out for their ability to get their direct reports promoted. These leaders who develop direct reports and then support them as they move to bigger roles are Talent Exporters.
They believe in importance of helping other people grow in their jobs and careers. These leaders hold responsibilities in other areas like Operations, Finance, Sales, Supply Chain but embrace the leadership responsibility of developing team members.
Talent Exporters highlight the importance of the ‘Multiply as Coach’ competency of the Magnify Impact Coaching framework.
Generally, talent exporters are later in their careers and have learned to navigate politics and drive results. They choose to share their expertise and build the next generation of leaders.
Backdoor power type 3: High Potentials
Another group with unofficial influence power is the up and comers, often described as high-potential leaders.
These are fast-rising superstars who often have access to senior leaders through work and mentoring.
High-potential superstars are often very ambitious and aggressive about their careers. Some of them will fall into the overly-political bucket.
Be wary of anyone who seems focused on his or her own career to the detriment of others and the company.
Backdoor power type 4: The Old Buddy
‘Old Buddy’ certainly is not a job title, but these people still hold power. An Old Buddy has a long-time relationship with someone who holds power.
You’ll see this play out in companies that have long-tenured employees. Two people worked together early in their careers – sometimes decades ago – and trust each other. One of them grows into an influential role and stays connected to the Old Buddy.
The Old Buddy may or may not have achieved the same level of success, but the influential leader still trusts them. Trust gives weight to the Old Buddy’s opinions – even beyond that person’s scope of responsibility.
This relationship can drive decision-making such as allocating more resources, time and attention to the Old Buddy’s projects.
Example of an Old Buddy relationship
I witnessed a powerful Old Buddy relationship in one organization.
Twenty years ago, two people worked together at one of the remote locations. One ran the facility and the other functioned in HR/ training. They worked well together, had success and both eventually moved on to regional and then corporate roles.
In the corporate role, the business leader climbed the ladder to become one of the top leaders in the company. The business leader deferred to his Old Buddy on many topics – even ones that were outside the scope of responsibility.
The Old Buddy wielded a power beyond the scope of the role and had the ability to change directions of projects and undermine other work.
Those of us outside the tight Old Buddy relationship found ourselves in the position of sometimes being undermined and having to navigate complex relationships to get things done.
Backdoor power type 5: Loudest voice
Backdoor power also flows to the person with the loudest voice.
In this case, the loudest voice is the one who pushes hard and aggressively for their projects and their points of view. They often dominate meetings and discussions.
The loudest voice relentlessly pursues their goals. Sometimes their goals are the best ones for the company and sometimes they are not. But the people with the loudest voices often get their way.
Others defer to them. Often because loudness and passion can get interpreted as competence and confidence.
In some cases, others just get tired of fighting or trying to be heard and get pulled along by the loud voice.
Backdoor power type 6: Looks the part
Unfortunately another type of power comes from a source of unconscious bias. In this case, a person can gain power form the fact that he looks like a leader.
Bias research shows that many people still unconsciously equate a certain look with the idea of a leader – and that look is a good-looking, young or middle-aged white man.
If you watch the dynamics in a meeting room full of strangers, you will generally see people start deferring to the men who ‘look the part’.
Example of ‘Looks the part’ power
In my corporate career, I managed large budgets for Fortune 500 companies. In that role, I hired and managed vendors and consultants.
I experienced this ‘looks the part’ scenario play out. A group of people from a vendor company would come to meet with me and colleagues.
Although I was the decision maker, the vendors would often direct their comments and questions to white men in the room. Many times those men reported to me or they were peers who were not making the decision.
The unconscious bias played out and the white men became the center of attention.
Backdoor power type 7: Talent Developers
Talent developers have ownership over the leadership development processes and programs.
Different from Talent Exporters who develop their own teams as part of their leadership role, Talent Developers have a job that focuses on developing a broad spectrum of the employee population.
They build the programs, help with Individual Development Plans, teach classes and more. Their power springs from the fact that they get to know employees at all levels and often work closely with senior leaders.
Talent developers hold the power to advocate for employees, nominate them for opportunities and share good and bad feedback with bosses.
In a future article, I’ll go deep on Talent Developers and provide some scenarios in which this type of backdoor power influenced careers.
Questions
How many of these types of employees with backdoor power exist in your company?
Have you witnessed other types of backdoor power?
Do you hold one of these types of power? If so, do you consciously think about how to use it?
Conclusion
Backdoor power is not inherently good or bad – that depends on how it is used. Your organization might contain all of these 7 types or only a few.
You can more effectively navigate politics by understanding and watching for these types of employees with backdoor power.
