If you don't shape the story about you, someone else will.
And that someone is usually your opp.
Welcome to The Trill NBA Show, the career management podcast teaching black women how to become unstoppable at work.
I'm Felicia Ann Rose A.
Nuhaw, AKA The Trillist NBA, delivering the inspiring truth through strategies and tactics so you feel protected.
confident and ready to conquer your career.
Hey guys, welcome back to the show.
Listen, if you've been following along, we started out season nine with the series on power.
And this is our last episode with rule number seven in Dr.
Pfeffer's book, The Seven Rules of Power.
And rule number seven is what we're gonna talk about today.
Now, just to recap quickly, we talked about
getting out of your own way, rule number one.
Rule number two, break the rules strategically.
Rule number three, show up in a powerful way.
Rule number four, create a powerful brand.
Rule number five, network strategically and relentlessly.
And then rule number six is use your power.
So today we're gonna tackle a crucial question.
How do you keep power once you have it?
Power isn't just about reaching the top.
It's about staying there.
It's about ensuring that your success isn't temporary and that you don't fall off once you've made it.
Basically, stay ready so you don't have to get ready.
Here's the hard truth.
Once you're in power, you will face resistance.
People will try to take away your power.
There will be people who want your position.
People who will try to take your power, they will try to discredit you.
And even people who once supported you, some of your allies, you may see that they start to resent you and your success.
That's why today's episode is all about sustaining success.
reinforcing your position and making power work for you long-term.
So let's get into it.
First, we gotta talk about the reality of staying in power.
Gaining power is one thing, but keeping power, that's a whole nother ballgame.
For example, let's take LBJ for instance.
He moved fast after becoming president because he knew power doesn't last forever.
I mean, let's face it, the presidential term is only four years.
Hopefully it stays that way.
So before he could get any real opposition, he pushed through major reforms.
When you think about it, and you think about our current climate, you can see power plays all around you.
But I don't want you to get distracted by what's going on outside of you.
I want you to get strategic about what you're gonna do for yourself.
Again, this whole series has been how do you keep yourself safe and shored up in all kinds of situations and storms?
And that answer is amassing power.
Here's the key takeaway.
Success doesn't protect you by itself.
You have to actively maintain your position and keep proving your value.
So whatever you did to get power,
You need to continue to do those things.
If you build and amass a powerful brand and you build this amazing network, because you've been networking relentlessly, there's no time to rest on your laurels.
Keep going, keep doing the things that got you where you are, because human behavior doesn't change.
And you're going to notice once you get to a certain level of power and influence, you're going to have a target on your back.
So you have to strategically prepare for that.
And how do you prepare for that?
Continue doing those actions that you did that got you that power.
And don't be afraid to do whatever you gotta do to keep your power within legal reason.
I wanna put that out there as a caveat.
I don't want y'all saying, well, Felicia told me to lie, kill, steal.
No, you don't have
to lie, you don't have to steal, you don't have to stab people in the back to amass power.
But what you do have to do is you have to speak up.
You have to use your voice.
You have to make connections.
You have to do things that may make you uncomfortable, like opening yourself up to build a relationship with a potential ally.
Those are the things when I say do what you have to do.
That's what I'm talking about.
Now, I want you, while we're gonna take this break, to reflect during this time on what your long-term strategy is going to be for sustaining your power.
So I recognize that you not necessarily built an amazing power base in these last seven weeks.
I get that.
But I hope you've started.
And what I want you to do is think short term and long term.
Tactically, what am I going to do the next week, the next month, the next quarter, and the next year?
What are the actions I'm going to do consistently that will help me amass power?
Building relationships takes a little bit of time.
Building your network will take a little bit of time.
Getting comfortable being a power brand
will take a little bit of time, but you have to start today.
Right?
Start now.
So I want you to think through what is the long-term plan of all of those culminated actions together.
They have a cumulative effect.
So while we take this break, what's the long-term strategy for sustaining your power?
Just think through it when we get back.
We'll talk about how to sustain power and your long-term success right after this quick break.
Hey guys, so we're just beginning the new season.
We're off to a running start, but we have digital tools that accompany each episode to help you work through some of the tactics and strategies that you need to put into place
so that you're thriving at work.
So go to Trillinba.com and if you haven't already, sign up for our freebies and you'll get access.
to not only these digital tools that go with these episodes, but you'll also get access to every digital tool I've ever created that's free to you to help you in your career.
Now, let's get back to the show.
back from the break, I thank you for being here.
And I'm so excited for us to wrap up with the last rule of power, which is once you gain power, whatever you did to gain it will be forgotten, forgiven, or both.
So let's talk about how do we sustain this power and have long-term success?
So what do we need to do to stay in power once we've achieved it?
Well, here are some key strategies.
One, you gotta keep delivering results.
Now we already know this, this is brass tacks, okay?
Power holders stay relevant by continuously adding value.
So in addition to continuing doing all the rules of power, you have to deliver and add the value.
For example, CEOs who maintain their roles for decades,
consistently innovate, bring in revenue, and solve big problems.
And they do that over and over and over again.
The other thing they also do all the time is to continue to shore up their relationships with board members and key leaders.
They also groom the next levels of leadership, and they create succession plans that help to keep them in power.
It's something to think about.
So what is your power move?
I want you to identify your next strategic move before people start questioning your impact.
So I want you to think through it.
And if you haven't had a strategic move, I want you to think about what your first strategic move is going to be for you to gain power.
It could be as simple as speaking up in the meeting, sharing your POV.
saving the company some money or making the company some money.
Or maybe it's putting yourself out there to build that key strategic relationship you've had your eye on, but you've been afraid to approach the person.
They don't even know who you are.
It's time for you to show yourself.
Now, the other thing you need to do to stay in power is control your narrative and reputation.
Again, this isn't about people liking you.
It's about creating a reputation that carries currency and weight in the organization that you're in or the organizations that you want to work in.
If you don't shape the story about you, someone else will.
And that someone is usually your opp.
We don't want that.
For example, powerful figures understand how to craft a consistent
compelling personal brand that commands respect.
It comes off in the way you dress and how you show up, your confidence, how you walk into a room, how you exit a room, how you make eye contact with people.
Confidence can carry you a long way in creating power moves.
So be bold and be confident.
Do not be afraid.
Now, your power move here is to be proactive about
managing your professional reputation and public image.
Again, if you focus on creating your power brand and networking relentlessly, this will be something that will naturally happen.
You will naturally be sharing your story and your narrative.
You'll naturally be sowing those seeds as you build those relationships as you network.
Don't make it hard, okay?
Third strategy you need is to build and protect your inner circle.
The right allies will keep you in power and the wrong ones will bring you down.
Think about politicians, executives, and even creatives that curate their teams and networks carefully.
You see how Beyonce move?
She's had the same PR person for I don't know how long.
can't imagine all the things we don't know.
That's some good PR.
Keep your circle close.
The fourth thing and final thing that you need to work on strategically to keep power is to make yourself indispensable.
The most powerful people create systems where removing them is difficult.
So again, when we think about Rekia Adams and how she made herself this information node deep in the organization, it made it hard to get rid of her because basically she figured
out where all the bodies were buried, because everybody told her.
One example though is that many CEOs structure their companies so that their leadership is seen as essential, whether it's true or not.
Sometimes the smoke and mirrors really work, y'all.
Now here's your power move.
Ensure your work, leadership, and impact are deeply embedded in your organization's success.
This is something we've talked about previously in making sure you're in a line function, working to make sure that the work that you do directly impacts how the company makes
money.
Now for all those people who are in roles that are support functions like HR, sometimes it's finance, sometimes it's operations.
Sometimes those are not line functions, they're actually support functions.
Sometimes marketing is the function that controls the P and L and thereby controls how the company makes money, at least optically, right?
Sure, we all know the truth.
All of us
in a company, all the functions need to, i.e.
function, in order for the company to make money.
But there are just some functions that have so much power and control that if they all went away, the company would come to a halt.
And so you want to make sure that you're in that function.
Now, we're going to take a quick break, pay some bills.
But when we get back, we're going to talk about
How do we turn this knowledge into action?
What does the last part of the seven rules of power teach us when we come back from the break?
Hey guys, I am so excited that you are here watching this series on power.
Please share this with your friends.
This information is so crucial to you having a career that brings you peace and joy and ease in life.
It truly is a game changer to you and dips power in your career management strategy.
So follow along.
These next episodes are all about Dr.
Pfeffer's book, The Seven Rules of Power.
You don't wanna miss it.
I have digital guides.
Go to TrillNBA.com and sign up for our freebies.
And there you will find all of the resources I've created over the years and the digital guides that go along with these episodes.
Now let's get back to the show.
guys, welcome back.
Before we wrap up, we're gonna talk about how do we turn knowledge into action?
The last chapter in this book is called the Coda.
So we're gonna walk through what Professor Pfeffer basically said there.
One of the things he says is that power requires practice.
Simply knowing the rules of power isn't enough.
Like you've got to implement them.
You've got to consistently.
Do all the things that you know to do, right?
Consistency is key.
That's with everything, y'all.
I mean, with everything.
One of the examples in Dr.
Pfeffer's book is of Rajiv Pant, who lost a power battle when he was working at Conde Nast and realized that he needed to study power deeply to avoid the same mistake in the future.
He not only bought multiple books of power to relearn and internalize the lessons, but he also activated those lessons when he took on a new role at a new company and he was able
to turn his whole career around.
Now he enjoys the career he has and he has more control over these power situations.
He knows how to handle himself now.
That's so important.
I think half the battle is just knowing how to respond to situations as they come up and knowing that you have allies to help you when things get sticky.
A key takeaway is that success isn't just about learning, it's about the execution.
Power requires ongoing effort, adaptation, and reinforcement.
So I want you to reflect.
often do you revisit your career strategy and reassess your position?
I hope that like your resume, your career strategy and how you're thinking about your career is something that you look at at least once a quarter or at least twice a year
every six months.
Like this isn't a set it and forget it, just like your resume.
Every time you do an annual performance review, you should update your resume at the very least.
But actually, if I were you, every time you got a big project or milestone complete or done or you got a win, I would go put that bullet point on my resume.
When you have your mid-year review, update your resume.
Same thing with how you think through your career strategy.
The people you need to be meeting and networking with, the...
things you need to do to solidify your brand narrative.
If the company culture changes because there's a bunch of leadership changes, how do you have to reposition yourself and reposition your narrative in order to stay alive in that
company until you're able to move around and do something different?
These are things that you need to consistently be working at as you're working to gain power.
and move up.
If a company doesn't want to promote you quickly and you see that they promote other people quickly, you need to go back to your career strategy and reassess and reevaluate
what you can be doing and what you could be doing differently.
So basically, what do you need to start doing, stop doing and continue doing in order for you to be treated like the outlier?
that some other person is and they're getting promoted every one to two years when most people aren't even getting promotions at all or they get promoted after five or six years.
You always wanna make yourself the exception and amassing power helps you do that.
you
Before we wrap up, I wanna talk about practical strategies for maintaining power.
So what can you do to reinforce your power long-term?
Here are three actionable strategies.
Number one, create a personal board of directors.
Just like companies have advisory boards, you need trusted mentors and allies who hold you accountable.
For example,
Successful professionals regularly meet with mentors, coaches, and advisors for insight and strategy.
Now I will say, I know a lot of people are like, well, I don't really have the money to invest in a coach and blah, blah, blah.
Basically what you just said is I don't have money to invest in myself.
If you don't have money to invest in yourself, I need you to hustle it up and I need you to save up your money so that you can make that investment.
that investment will 10x at least your personal ROI and what you can bring to the table.
A lot of us are sitting stuck because we think that we need to figure it out or some of us are waiting on Jesus when Jesus has told you to go get some help, girl.
So if you're waiting on Jesus, here's the message, ask for help, ask for recommendations.
and do not be afraid to put in some money on yourself.
You can go trick off that money to go get on a plane and fly here and fly there.
You can go spend that money at the mall.
Some of you like them labels, that Louis, that Gucci, that whatever.
I feel like you're way more important than all of those things.
And if you invest in yourself, it gets so much easier.
to acquire all of those things, especially as you gain more power.
A lot of times more power means more money.
Think about it.
Your power move here.
I want you to identify three to four trusted people who can serve as your informal board of directors.
And I want you to send them a note and I want you to say, I'm working on growing professionally and
I know that I need help and I am inspired and encouraged by what you've done in your life and I really value your point of view and I'm hoping you would be willing to be on my
personal board of directors.
What that means for you is that once a quarter or two or three times out of the year, I'm going to schedule time with you.
I'm going to set the agenda.
And I just want to have a conversation with you to discuss with you my career strategy, how I'm building my personal brand and to get a fresh set of eyes on what I am doing to
drive my career.
And this person will hold you accountable to that and they will help you.
They will give you insights.
They will show you your blind spots.
You need these people and it should be three to four people because
Three to four is better than one.
And having those trusted insights are important.
We are all we got.
So use your network.
Now, the second strategy that's actionable to help reinforce your power long-term is to develop a power posse.
Surround yourself with people who challenge and uplift you.
You know that saying like you're the sum of the five people that are your friends.
Evaluate your friends.
Where are they going and what are they doing?
I remember I have had a couple of clients over these years that were similar to me.
They were from a small town, but unlike me, they hadn't really moved around much and they've done a lot and they've got all the education.
but they just stayed where they were from.
And maybe the town wasn't as small as mine, but they just stayed where what they knew around their family, around the people they grew up with.
Nobody was moving around.
Nobody was moving up and out.
And yeah, we love the people that we grew up with and we love our family.
But if you have a dream or desire inside your soul, there's something burning in you, something that says,
I am here for greater, especially in your career.
You are doing not just yourself a disservice, but all the people that you were intended to help along the way by staying put because it's comfortable, because you're afraid of what
people are gonna say, because somebody's gonna say, you changed, you different.
you think you better than us?
I'm gonna tell you right now, I don't hang around people
that I don't admire.
Everybody I hang out with, they doing a damn thing and they inspire me.
They help me to be a better person.
I want you to challenge yourself to do that.
Women in Professor Pfeffer's class formed power groups where they met weekly to discuss and apply power strategies.
Use this podcast to do that.
Say, hey, you listen to Felicia's podcast.
You listen to the Trillin BA show.
Did you get all that on power?
Have you gotten the seven rules of power book?
Have you read it?
Do you want to get together?
Make yourself a little book club of people who are trying to go where you're trying to go.
And they're trying to do what you're trying to do.
Right?
I hear Issa Rae say it all the time.
Like, don't try to like talk to the CEO before you've got this power posse around you of people who are
at your stage in career and life and are working towards the same type of things you're working towards and striving for, they're gonna be your biggest asset because y'all are
all gonna grow together, y'all are gonna help each other.
You're gonna lift as you climb.
It's gonna be amazing, but you have to cultivate that.
You have to be open to that.
And you can't be afraid to be the person, to be the catalyst, to start that group for yourself.
and don't listen to the ops.
Like let the haters and the ops do what they do.
Stay focused.
Okay?
Now, your power move here is to form or join a professional group so that you can exchange ideas, discuss challenges, strategize, and keep each other accountable.
Now for the last strategy, I want you to commit to lifelong learning and relearning.
Information is power and power isn't static.
You have to keep sharpening your skills and knowledge.
For example, most successful leaders regularly revisit their strategies and adapt to the changing environments.
Again, you stay ready, so you have to worry about trying to get ready when you need to be ready.
So here's the power move here.
Set a plan to revisit power principles quarterly.
and evaluate how effectively you've been using them.
Cause I know you're going to use them.
Okay.
Same thing in that same quarterly time block that you're going to plan for this.
You want to reevaluate your career strategy, your relationship building plan.
You want to look at all of those things at the same time and make sure that you're on track.
Keep your metrics like,
How many people are you trying to add to your network this year?
How many contacts is that a month?
How many calls is that a week?
Are you getting that on your calendar?
Like do the work.
You're already a bad ass.
That's why you listen to this show.
You just gotta do the thing, okay?
Now, before we get out of here, I want you to understand.
You didn't come this far to lose your position.
So once you've amassed power, you've got to hold onto it.
And holding onto power means that you're consistently delivering, you're controlling your narrative, and you're protecting your position or striving for the next position.
All of this sums up to mean that you keep playing the game strategically.
You don't opt out of the game.
And listen.
I know some of us don't even wanna play this goddamn game.
I get that.
But here's the thing.
You can opt out, but understand, you gonna get played.
Either you gonna be the queen of your chessboard or somebody else is gonna try to be the queen of your chessboard.
And that's your chessboard, girl.
So do what you gotta do.
Now, this is the last episode in the series on power.
Come back next week, we're gonna have a guest and we're gonna have some great discussions on some practical things that we can do to exert power, gain power and influence in our
workplace.
So you don't wanna miss that.
In the meantime, if you haven't listened to all the seven episodes where I break down Dr.
Pfeffer's book, The Seven Rules of Power, go and check them out.
download the worksheet for each episode.
You can find it at TrillinBA.com and sign up for the freebies and you'll have access to not only these worksheets, but you'll have access to every tool that I've created or
shared over all nine seasons.
And you don't wanna miss that.
It's a treasure trove at this point.
The other thing I want you to do is look out for an email from me.
that'll tell you about a live Q &A session where we're gonna talk all things power strategies.
I want you to come with some of your situational problems.
I want you to let me know and we're gonna workshop some things in real time to help you set yourself up for power success.
And lastly, share this episode, share this series, share this podcast.
We have amazing tools, we have amazing content.
and we've been helping people manage their careers, level up, get paid and promoted.
That's what we're here for.
I'm here to help you get your best possible career outcome.
That's been my mission this whole time.
Now, we're not stopping here.
So make sure you're subscribed on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Make sure you leave us likes and comments on how you feel that this information is gonna help you.
and we have even more game-changing career tips, tricks, and tactics coming your way.
We're going to have some guests on the show coming up next.
It's going to be amazing.
I can't wait for you to check out the next episode next week.
So until next week, keep it true.
Well guys, that's a wrap on another great episode of the Career Management Podcast for Black Women.
Yes, girl, this show is just for you.
We're here to tell you how to play that chessboard at work, So, subscribe, comment, like, follow us on social media at Trillin' BA Show.
Listen, every time you tell one of your friends, you share this information, you share this podcast, it helps us to grow and make even more dope content.
just for you, unapologetically.
That's why we're here.
Now, if you are facing a workplace dilemma, such as a performance improvement plan, or you're not able to secure your promotion and raise that you have worked for and you have
deserved, basically, if these people are play playing in your face, we are here to help.
Go to TrillNBA.com slash coaching,
to schedule a one-time one-on-one call to workshop your specific dilemma with me.
Or schedule a consult to get more information about the consulting packages that I do offer on a longer-term basis.
As always, you can reach out to us with your listener letters and your questions at trillmba.com.
Until next time, guys, focus on your best possible outcome.
Ask for help when you need it.
Please, please, please ask for help.
And as always, keep it true.
I'll see y'all next week.