Key takeaways
- Describe one workplace concern and the people affected before choosing an action.
- Separate changes you own from changes that need other decision-makers.
- Name the information and people needed to influence the issue.
- Assign a next step and review date, and monitor or escalate concerns that remain unresolved.
The circle of influence is associated with Stephen Covey’s Habit 1, which distinguishes concerns from matters people can affect. FranklinCovey’s explanation focuses on directing effort toward things you can influence.[1]
This guide adapts that idea for HR discussions: describe one concern, separate direct actions from changes needing other people, and decide what to monitor or escalate. These practical categories are the guide’s exercise, not a claim that the original model has three named circles.
Describe the concern precisely
Use a specific workplace problem, such as new employees receiving conflicting instructions. Record what happens and who is affected rather than beginning with a broad label such as poor culture.
For an illustrative Implementation hire at a fintech infrastructure company, the concern might be that the employee cannot start a planned practice activity because an account is pending. HR can confirm the task owner and correct the journey instructions. The authorised IT or Security owner decides what access can be provided; the manager chooses an alternative activity or revises the plan. If the dependency remains unresolved, record the blocker and use the agreed escalation route. The fintech infrastructure employee journey shows the broader people and learning dependencies.
Identify what you can change directly
Review the processes and information you own. HR may be able to correct an induction reference, assign a contact or arrange a conversation.
Check the decision rights before promising a change. Employee satisfaction or wellbeing are not outcomes that one person directly controls.
Identify who can help you influence the issue
Some changes need a manager, another department or a budget decision. Name those dependencies and prepare the information the decision-maker needs.
Internal communication can help explain the problem and invite relevant input. Avoid treating a person's concern as a failure to be positive.
Choose a next step and revisit it
Give the action an owner and a date to review progress. Record any issue that remains outside the team's control and decide how to monitor or escalate it.
Revisit the exercise when circumstances change. Influence depends on relationships and decision rights, so an issue may need a different route later.
- 01
Direct action
Which specific change is within your assigned responsibility, and what will you do next?
- 02
Shared decision
Who owns the decision, and what observation or proposal do they need from you?
- 03
Unresolved concern
What must be monitored or escalated, through which route and when? Being unable to resolve it alone does not make the concern unimportant.
Sources
- FranklinCovey. (n.d.). Habit 1: Be Proactive. https://www.franklincovey.com/courses/the-7-habits/habit-1/
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