97% Effective

Learn more about Michael Wenderoth, Executive Coach: https://www.changwenderoth.com

Politics has become so divisive that many of us would rather tune it out altogether. But what happens when "I hate politics" follows you into work? That can have massive, unintended consequences for your career, says Silicon Valley executive coach Wai Poc. In this episode of 97% Effective, host Michael Wenderoth speaks with Wai about how to build political acumen without becoming manipulative: understanding agendas, building strategic relationships, earning trust, and using power responsibly. They also take aim at the popular leadership mantra of bringing your "whole" or "authentic" self to work – and argue instead that you should bring your best self. If office politics makes you recoil, this episode will make you think again — and help you get bigger things done. You can succeed with high integrity – just be savvy about how you go about it.

SHOW NOTES

When avoiding politics becomes dangerous:

• "Swimming and swirling": External political rancor and the retreat from conflict
• When "bring your whole self to work" went too far
• Why your best self is different from your authentic self
• How avoiding politics can turn into political blindness

Political acumen without the ick:

• Politics as advancing agendas
• First ask yourself: What are we going after?
• Why you need to know your agenda – and how to surface the agendas of others
• The role of trust and reputation in networks
• "If you want to be great at politics, have high integrity – but be savvy"
• Strategic relationship building means deciding who deserves your limited attention

Power, AI, and lessons from the trenches:

• 11 bosses in 10 years at Genentech
• What cultural anthropology taught Wai
• What Wai is seeing from AI leaders in Silicon Valley
• How AI has entered Wai and Michael's coaching
• Why leaders need to stop fearing or leaking power – and instead learn to wield it responsibly

BIO AND LINKS

Wai Poc is a Silicon Valley based Executive Coach with 20+ years of leadership experience from VPs at Fortune 100 companies to C-levels at pre- and post- IPO companies. He specializes in high tech, biotech, and fintech including at Google, Genentech, the Federal Reserve Bank. Wai has partnered with his clients to build strategic relationships and navigate political currents to get big things done. Learn more about Wai at Unleashed Leaders: https://unleashedleaders.com

Connect with Wai

• Website: https://www.unleashedleaders.com
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/waipoc/

Resources Referenced

• "Emotions are data" – interview with Dina Denham Smith, best-selling author of Emotionally Charged: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/97-effective/id1646325886?i=1000749192395
• "China Latino" and being global from the get-go: https://unleashedleaders.com/about-me/
• Cultural anthropology: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_anthropology
• Robert Caro's books on politics and power: https://www.robertcaro.org/books
• Ron Carucci's research on how leaders abdicate their power (97% Effective interview): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/97-effective/id1646325886?i=1000670619534

More from 97% Effective

• Michael's Award-winning Book: Get Promoted: What You're Really Missing at Work That's Holding You Back: https://tinyurl.com/453txk74
• Watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@97PercentEffective

Most professionals can describe their responsibilities in detail. Far fewer can explain who truly influences their success. This 97% Effective Essentials episode introduces my Power Map—a practical tool to help you identify allies, obstacles, and opportunities inside your organization.

Learn more about Michael Wenderoth, Executive Coach: www.changwenderoth.com

SHOW NOTES:

• POWER MAP Introduction: Why and When to use it
• Get practical: Download his Power Map tool and apply it to your own situation as you listen
• Context: When to use it in Michael’s 3-step framework “The Rock, the Map, the Snowball”
• 2 critical questions: How do you spend your time at work? With whom?
• “Strategy is a fancy way of what you say no to”
• The hard truth about how decisions are made in organizations
• Wisdom from Abraham Lincoln: What's the use of knowing True North?
• POWER MAP: How to use
• Step #1 (that most people can’t state clearly): What’s your Goal?
• Step #2: Which one person has the most power and influence to affect your goal?
• Step #3: List needs, backgrounds, connections
• How to harness “influence conduits” and “influence assets”
• “Being a detective”: What do you NOT know… and how can you find out?
• Step #4: Taking action
• POWER MAP: 3 examples
• Getting Promoted (Marta’s Power Map insight: getting critical senior people on her side, and where and how to provide value)
• Starting a New Role (Alex Power Map insight: getting hidden insight from an executive assistant, and the power of volunteer roles)
• Advancing a Cause (Greg’s Power Map insight: framing proposals in novel ways to secure key allies, and re-setting metrics)
• Additional situations where your Power Map will help you: Surviving a Reorganization, Leading Change, Making a Lateral Move.
• Additional Resources

BIO AND LINKS:

Michael Wenderoth is an Executive Coach that helps executives re-examine their assumptions about power, politics, and authenticity to get promoted, become more effective at work, and break glass ceilings holding them back. Having served 20 years in senior roles with companies across the globe, and then 7 years as a professional coach, he has helped accelerated the careers of clients from diverse industries, backgrounds, and levels of seniority, helping them get ahead – without having to sell their souls in the process. Michael is the award-winning author of Get Promoted, host of the 97% Effective career acceleration podcast, and a frequent speaker and media contributor on career advancement, leadership and navigating power and politics. His work has been featured in Harvard Business Review, Forbes, Stanford Business School Executive Education and IE Business School, where he collaborates with renowned professors, coaches, executives and experts. Michael holds an MBA from Stanford and trained as an executive coach at Columbia University (3CP).

• Michael on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelchangwenderoth/
• Download the FREE Power Map tool, on Michael’s website: https://changwenderoth.com/the-power-map/
• The Power Map, exampled in depth: Chapter 9, in Get Promoted: https://tinyurl.com/453txk74
• Summary of Michael’s 3-step Power framework (“The Rock, the Map and the Snowball”), in his Harvard Business Review article: https://hbr.org/2022/10/how-to-get-your-first-promotion
• Power Mapping, Sales and Key Account Management: Michael interviewed by Dr. Gary McGrath on Leading from the Front: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/michael-wenderoth-power-promotion-what-is-holding-you-back/id1495849139?i=1000553405238
• Power and how to use it to Get Promoted, interviewed on Kevin Eikenberry’s Remarkable Leadership podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccupXIhRQDg
• Michael fills the gap on what we’re often told to do to get ahead – and what we actually need to do -- on Gayle Allen’s Curious Minds at Work podcast: https://www.gayleallen.net/cm-218-michael-wenderoth-on-how-to-get-promoted/
• Powerlessness and Power Mapping, on the Business Simplicity Podcast, interviewed by Chris Parker: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqAEJv8vMMQ
• Michael’s Award-winning Book, Get Promoted: https://changwenderoth.com/#tve-jump-180481ecea3

Executive presence often feels mysterious and difficult to define. Drawing lessons from actors, directors, and performance experts, this 97% Effective Essentials episode explores practical ways to command attention and credibility.

Learn more about Michael Wenderoth, Executive Coach: www.changwenderoth.com

SHOW NOTES:

• Why your presence and communications matters so much at work.
• Hard truth: How you say it is more important than the actual content.
• Lessons from past guests, leaders from the world of acting and the dramatic arts.
• Insight #1: from Chip Davis, Acting and Voice Coach: Embrace fear to avoid tension.
• “Leaders need to perform competence.”
• Insight #2 from Richard Newman, CEO of Body Talk: The power of body language (research findings).
• “Think about congruency, not authenticity” when it comes to what your audience sees in your body language.
• Insight #3 from Tamzin Townsend, Queen Midas of the Theater: The importance of tone to bring energy.
• “Our voice can do SO much …a lot of energy is in the voice.”
• The power of silence in a noisy world.
• Bottom Line: Spend less time on your content, and more time on how you’ll deliver it.
• 3 things to do when preparing your next communication.
• Resources and Next Steps.

BIO AND LINKS:

Michael Wenderoth is an Executive Coach that helps executives re-examine their assumptions about power, politics, and authenticity to get promoted, become more effective at work, and break glass ceilings holding them back. Having served 20 years in senior roles with companies across the globe, and then 7 years as a professional coach, he has helped accelerated the careers of clients from diverse industries, backgrounds, and levels of seniority, helping them get ahead – without having to sell their souls in the process. Michael is the award-winning author of Get Promoted, host of the 97% Effective career acceleration podcast, and a frequent speaker and media contributor on career advancement, leadership and navigating power and politics. His work has been featured in Harvard Business Review, Forbes, Stanford Business School Executive Education and IE Business School, where he collaborates with renowned professors, coaches, executives and experts. Michael holds an MBA from Stanford and trained as an executive coach at Columbia University (3CP).

• Michael’s Award-winning Book, Get Promoted: https://changwenderoth.com/#tve-jump-180481ecea3
• Episode #32 - Chip Davis, Voice and Acting Coach: Leaders Need to “Perform Competence” (and How To Do That): https://tinyurl.com/bdhenxyz
• Episode #75 - Richard Newman, Founder & CEO at Body Talk: How to Master Your Body Talk to Elevate Your Leadership: https://tinyurl.com/4fe365jt
• Episode #69 - Tamzin Townsend, Acclaimed Theatre Director & Communication Trainer: Harnessing the Power of Acting & Theatre in Professional Communications https://tinyurl.com/3av52v56
• The expression, “You can’t buff a turd” - https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/you_can%27t_polish_a_turd
• Michael on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelchangwenderoth/
• Learn more about Michael Wenderoth, Executive Coach: www.changwenderoth.com

Smart people continually miss small, strategic opportunities to connect at work. This 97% Effective Essentials episode shows how seemingly casual conversations can strengthen relationships, increase visibility, and create career momentum.

Learn more about Michael Wenderoth, Executive Coach: www.changwenderoth.com

SHOW NOTES:

• The power of small talk
• Trivial conversations that are a waste of time? Why small talk matters in your career
• The science and art of small talk
• Practical Tip #1: One Common Data Point
• Practical Tip #2: One Sentence (“BEST”)
• Practical Tip #3: One Way to More Deeply Engage
• Small talk, Big Results – But you have to do this first
• Where to go deeper on the research and see more examples

BIO AND LINKS:

Michael Wenderoth is an Executive Coach that helps executives re-examine their assumptions about power, politics, and authenticity to get promoted, become more effective at work, and break glass ceilings holding them back. Having served 20 years in senior roles with companies across the globe, and then 7 years as a professional coach, he has helped accelerated the careers of clients from diverse industries, backgrounds, and levels of seniority, helping them get ahead – without having to sell their souls in the process. Michael is the award-winning author of Get Promoted, host of the 97% Effective career acceleration podcast, and a frequent speaker and media contributor on career advancement, leadership and navigating power and politics. His work has been featured in Harvard Business Review, Forbes, Stanford Business School Executive Education and IE Business School, where he collaborates with renowned professors, coaches, executives and experts. Michael holds an MBA from Stanford and trained as an executive coach at Columbia University (3CP).

• Michael on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelchangwenderoth/
• Sasha Kelemen episode, on “Finding one common data point”: http://tinyurl.com/2n4dcjvn
• Alison Temperley episode on “Having the BEST conversation”: http://tinyurl.com/4ubrr4mw
• Research cited: See Chapter 5 (“What the Evidence Really Says” in Get Promoted: https://tinyurl.com/453txk74
• Michael’s Book, Get Promoted: https://changwenderoth.com/#tve-jump-180481ecea3

Most people think promotions are awarded. In reality, they are built months before the decision is ever announced. Drawing from my award-winning book Get Promoted, this 97% Effective Essentials episode breaks down the three forces that shape advancement inside organizations.

Learn more about Michael Wenderoth, Executive Coach: www.changwenderoth.com

SHOW NOTES:

• Step #1, The Rock: Better to build your strategies on truths and evidence, not comforting fantasies
• In organizations, the hard truth about who promotes us
• Can’t articulate how the promotion process works in your organization? Then you need to this.
• What is your organization promoting (vs saying it promotes)? Find out through this short exercise.
• What’s holding you back? Kara Williams, Partner at Credera, shares what held her back.
• All progress starts by doing this.
• Step #2, The Map: What good is knowing north if you don’t assess the landscape?
• Why you should first ask “Who?”
• Peter Belmi, Professor at Darden: Your job is to find the right people!
• How a frank talk with his boss got my client out of daydream mode and into the leadership program
• How are you spending your time?
• Step #3, The Snowball: Nothing happens unless something moves
• Are you waiting for the stars to totally align?
• Doing vs Thinking
• Gorick Ng, Harvard Career Advisor and Author “The Unspoken Rules”: The #1 career limiting move
• The value of being uncomfortable
• 3 Questions, 3 Actions

BIO AND LINKS:

Michael Wenderoth is an Executive Coach that helps executives re-examine their assumptions about power, politics, and authenticity to get promoted, become more effective at work, and break glass ceilings holding them back. Having served 20 years in senior roles with companies across the globe, and then 7 years as a professional coach, he has helped accelerated the careers of clients from diverse industries, backgrounds, and levels of seniority, helping them get ahead – without having to sell their souls in the process. Michael is the award-winning author of Get Promoted, host of the 97% Effective career acceleration podcast, and a frequent speaker and media contributor on career advancement, leadership and navigating power and politics. His work has been featured in Harvard Business Review, Forbes, Stanford Business School Executive Education and IE Business School, where he collaborates with renowned professors, coaches, executives and experts. Michael holds an MBA from Stanford and trained as an executive coach at Columbia University (3CP).

• Michael’s Book, Get Promoted: https://tinyurl.com/453txk74
• Michael on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelchangwenderoth/
• Kara Williams Episode “Advancing Your Career Through ‘Salt, Acid, Fat & Heat’”: https://tinyurl.com/59tmctku
• Article “Great Leader Embraces Office Politics” (Harvard Business Review): https://hbr.org/2016/04/great-leaders-embrace-office-politics
• Professor Peter Belmi Episode “Social Class & Our Beliefs – How They Affect Our Path to Power”: https://tinyurl.com/2ys2h8r8
• Michael’s Power Map Tool (FREE): https://changwenderoth.com/the-power-map/
• Gorick Ng Episode “What You’re Not Taught in School – Unspoken Rules That Accelerate Your Career”: https://tinyurl.com/bdze24px
• Article “How to Get Your First Promotion” (Harvard Business Review): https://hbr.org/2022/10/how-to-get-your-first-promotion
• Get Promoted named Winner (Business-Careers) and Finalist (Business-General), 2023 International Book Awards: https://www.internationalbookawards.com/2023pressrelease.html

Avoiding office politics doesn't keep you out of politics. It simply gives an advantage to people who understand how the game is played. This 97% Effective Essentials episode offers three practical ways to engage with organizational politics without feeling manipulative or fake.

Learn more about Michael Wenderoth, Executive Coach: www.changwenderoth.com

SHOW NOTES:

• The key to unlocking career success: reframing how you see and approach office politics
• Why are office politics unavoidable – and so important to navigate?
• A CEO’s insight: Tough lessons learned from ignoring office politics early in one’s career
• Office politics defined: “the mechanism by which conflicts get resolved”
• Reframe #1: “See office politics as an engineering problem”
• How to build abitrary social norms into your operating model
• Reframe #2: “Think like a game developer”
• What do you need to engage someone on your critical path?
• Managing office politics got this VP promoted, but more importantly it enabled his more important goal: elevate and better help his team flourish
• Reframe #3: Change the wording
• The two-column exercise that will make you playful, curious – and see office politics in a more positive light

BIO AND LINKS:

Michael Wenderoth is an Executive Coach that helps executives re-examine their assumptions about power, politics, and authenticity to get promoted, become more effective at work, and break glass ceilings holding them back. Having served 20 years in senior roles with companies across the globe, and then 7 years as a professional coach, he has helped accelerated the careers of clients from diverse industries, backgrounds, and levels of seniority, helping them get ahead – without having to sell their souls in the process. Michael is the award-winning author of Get Promoted, host of the 97% Effective career acceleration podcast, and a frequent speaker and media contributor on career advancement, leadership and navigating power and politics. His work has been featured in Harvard Business Review, Forbes, Stanford Business School Executive Education and IE Business School, where he collaborates with renowned professors, coaches, executives and experts. Michael holds an MBA from Stanford and trained as an executive coach at Columbia University (3CP).

• Learn more about Michael Wenderoth, Executive Coach: www.changwenderoth.com
• Michael on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelchangwenderoth/
• 97% Effective, now on Youtube: https://tinyurl.com/bdz53mc5
• Camiel Gielkens, CEO of Relevance, on 97% Effective: “How Power Amplifies Your Impact” https://tinyurl.com/27wfjs7z
• Research study: “How important are political skills for career success? A systematic review and meta-analysis” https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2021.1949626
• Raquel Gonzalez-Dalmau, Executive Educator and Coach, on 97% Effective: “Office Politics as an Engineering Problem” https://tinyurl.com/nhcyjzm9
• Keshav Pitani, VP of Light & Wonder, on 97% Effective: Overcoming Your Aversion to Office Politics” https://tinyurl.com/3mjxvbws
• Reframe #3: Exercise available on Michael’s website https://changwenderoth.com/audiobook-resources/
• Michael’s Book, Get Promoted: https://changwenderoth.com/#tve-jump-180481ecea3

Before chasing the next big skill, certification, or career move, revisit the moments when you've already succeeded—because the clues to your future may be hiding in your past. This 97% Effective Essentials episode challenges the conventional wisdom that career advancement always requires reinvention.

Learn more about Michael Wenderoth, Executive Coach: www.changwenderoth.com

SHOW NOTES:

• The Misconception of “What Got You Here, Won’t Get You There” and how it gets dangerously misapplied.
• Don’t suppress or disregard past strengths, habits, sources of success – but do the opposite.
• TAP YOUR PAST: the counterintuitive process that helps you creatively “mine gold” that will power you forward through new challenges.
• How we get “stuck” at work, when our roles or situations change.
• Whole person coaching recognizes that clients are naturally creative and resourceful.
• Client example #1: Accelerating his network in his new company -- how Dan, bank director, resurrected his bold and proactive approach.
• Don't immediately kill off what has served you.
• Client example #2: Overcoming her shyness to be seen and and heard on the leadership team -- How Jasmine, finance leader, applied strategies she used when moving to a new country.
• Find similar situations in your past life or work to identify what helped you through them.
• Client example #3: Being told “you’re too young – you need more years in your current role” -- How Rhonda, sales director at a tech giant, applied her sales skills to overcome her company’s culture to only promote those with seniority.
• Apply your work expertise to better manage your career.
• Client example #4: From avoiding to embracing office politics -- How Keshav, VP at Light & Wonder, re-examined and reframed the problem.
• Get a new perspective by looking how you or your team solves similar challenges on work problems.
• To advance, examine and draw creative insights from your past habits, past life situations, past expertise.
• The 3 steps and powerful questions to “Tap Your Past.”

BIO AND LINKS:

Michael Wenderoth is an Executive Coach that helps executives re-examine their assumptions about power, politics, and authenticity to get promoted, become more effective at work, and break glass ceilings holding them back. Having served 20 years in senior roles with companies across the globe, and then 7 years as a professional coach, he has helped accelerated the careers of clients from diverse industries, backgrounds, and levels of seniority, helping them get ahead – without having to sell their souls in the process. Michael is the award-winning author of Get Promoted, host of the 97% Effective career acceleration podcast, and a frequent speaker and media contributor on career advancement, leadership and navigating power and politics. His work has been featured in Harvard Business Review, Forbes, Stanford Business School Executive Education and IE Business School, where he collaborates with renowned professors, coaches, executives and experts. Michael holds an MBA from Stanford and trained as an executive coach at Columbia University (3CP).

• Learn more about Michael Wenderoth, Executive Coach: www.changwenderoth.com
• Michael on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelchangwenderoth/
• 97% Effective on Youtube! https://tinyurl.com/bdz53mc5
• “The client is naturally creative and resourceful” – The Columbia University 3CP Coaching model: https://www.tc.columbia.edu/coachingcertification/faq/
• Keshav Pitani, VP of Light & Wonder, on 97% Effective: Overcoming Your Aversion to Office Politics” https://tinyurl.com/3mjxvbws
• Michael’s Book, Get Promoted: https://changwenderoth.com/#tve-jump-180481ecea3

Most professionals focus almost exclusively on performance—and then wonder why someone else gets promoted. This 97% Effective Essentials episode introduces a simple framework that fundamentally changes how you see and approach career success.

Learn more about Michael Wenderoth, Executive Coach: www.changwenderoth.com

SHOW NOTES:

• Performance and PIE
• Think about yourself as a product
• Does this mean I should stop doing great work?
• Why organizations are different than school and many sports
• 3 “sad but true” research findings that reveal who gets credit, and who gets picked
• Insight on perception from photographer Richard Waine: “You’re professional headshot is not about you.”
• Flip the script: how do others see you?
• “I” = Image
• The definition of brand and a quick exercise to uncover your brand
• A warning from executive coach Anne Marie Segal about typecasting – and the leap you need to make
• How are you showing up?
• “E” = Exposure, which can come in many ways
• How award-winning speaker Alex Tremble did two things to catapult his early rise in the Federal Government
• Exposure in a remote world
• Do you need to make radical shifts?
• If you don’t manage your Image and Exposure, what’s likely to happen

BIO AND LINKS:

Michael Wenderoth is an Executive Coach that helps executives re-examine their assumptions about power, politics, and authenticity to get promoted, become more effective at work, and break glass ceilings holding them back. Having served 20 years in senior roles with companies across the globe, and then 7 years as a professional coach, he has helped accelerated the careers of clients from diverse industries, backgrounds, and levels of seniority, helping them get ahead – without having to sell their souls in the process. Michael is the award-winning author of Get Promoted, host of the 97% Effective career acceleration podcast, and a frequent speaker and media contributor on career advancement, leadership and navigating power and politics. His work has been featured in Harvard Business Review, Forbes, Stanford Business School Executive Education and IE Business School, where he collaborates with renowned professors, coaches, executives and experts. Michael holds an MBA from Stanford and trained as an executive coach at Columbia University (3CP).

• Michael’s Book, Get Promoted: https://tinyurl.com/453txk74
• Michael on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelchangwenderoth/
• Learn more about Michael Wenderoth, Executive Coach: www.changwenderoth.com
• Research cited: See Chapter Chapter 5 (“What the Evidence Really Says” in Get Promoted: https://tinyurl.com/453txk74
• Richard Waine on what professional headshot is really about: https://tinyurl.com/2wcmamkw
• Anne Marie Segal on how to avoid being “typecast”: https://tinyurl.com/39myjfzs
• Alex Tremble on visibility in the corridors of power: https://tinyurl.com/4paf4evj
• Get Promoted named Winner (Business-Careers) and Finalist (Business-General), 2023 International Book Awards: https://www.internationalbookawards.com/2023pressrelease.html

The world feels increasingly uncertain, yet much of the leadership advice we hear remains idealistic and incomplete. In this 97% Effective Essentials episode, I share three uncomfortable truths that separate effective leaders from well-intentioned ones.

Learn more about Michael Wenderoth, Executive Coach: www.changwenderoth.com

SHOW NOTES:

• Hard truth #1: It’s not all about collaboration (lessons from Tenille Cromwell, Chief Pilot & former Navy Mission Commander)
• Descending into Bozeman when you can’t see the runway: “It’s not all ‘kumbaya’: There’s a time and place for absolute decision making”
• The #1 mistake is not leaders abusing power, but their failure to use it.
• Ask yourself: How might I be avoiding making hard decisions?
• Hard truth #2: Think beyond hearts and minds (insight from Professor Don Moore, Haas School of Business School, and author of Decision Leadership)
• Thinking beyond inspirational speeches
• Leadership is about influencing the behavior of others toward a desired outcome
• Ask yourself: How might I build systems to make it easy for people to choose wisely?
• Hard truth #3: “Keep your damn job” (Professor Jeffrey Pfeffer at Stanford, and author of 7 Rules of Power, on a leader’s first responsibility)
• If you lose your position or job, your ability to get stuff done will go way down
• Ask yourself: Am I paying sufficient attention to who and what keeps in my role?
• Summary and final thoughts

BIO AND LINKS:

Michael Wenderoth is an Executive Coach that helps executives re-examine their assumptions about power, politics, and authenticity to get promoted, become more effective at work, and break glass ceilings holding them back. Having served 20 years in senior roles with companies across the globe, and then 7 years as a professional coach, he has helped accelerated the careers of clients from diverse industries, backgrounds, and levels of seniority, helping them get ahead – without having to sell their souls in the process. Michael is the award-winning author of Get Promoted, host of the 97% Effective career acceleration podcast, and a frequent speaker and media contributor on career advancement, leadership and navigating power and politics. His work has been featured in Harvard Business Review, Forbes, Stanford Business School Executive Education and IE Business School, where he collaborates with renowned professors, coaches, executives and experts. Michael holds an MBA from Stanford and trained as an executive coach at Columbia University (3CP).

• Learn more about Michael Wenderoth, Executive Coach: www.changwenderoth.com
• Michael on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelchangwenderoth/
• Episode #42 - Tenille Cromwell, Chief Pilot and Former US Navy Mission Commander: A Chief Pilot's Insight: 4 Leadership Lessons To Help Your Career Take Off https://redcircle.com/shows/86fcd90d-083e-4af2-9bc8-6d52fb981ae1/ep/9462d482-32c2-43ac-8409-1dceffd5e645
• Episode #56 - Don Moore, Professor at the Haas School of Business: Expand your influence through “Decision Leadership” https://redcircle.com/shows/97-effective/ep/44d05e21-c339-4007-b823-d2b2f11f2f42
• Episode #65 – Jeffrey Pfeffer, Professor at Stanford: What Leaders Should Care About Most https://redcircle.com/shows/86fcd90d-083e-4af2-9bc8-6d52fb981ae1/ep/42e4bfe8-9ef5-4d26-bb21-4011cdb02450
• Michael’s book, Get Promoted: What You’re Really Missing at Work That’s Holding You Back: https://a.co/d/8s0pFVj
• 97% Effective, on Youtube: https://tinyurl.com/bdz53mc5
• Get Promoted, on Audiobook: https://tinyurl.com/mwf2s28y

Over the summer, I'm revisiting nine of the most important ideas from the first 140 episodes of 97% Effective—from career strategy and leadership to power, promotion, and influence.

In this first 97% EFFECTIVE ESSENTIALS episode, I call out the immense power in getting others to share their insight with you. Discover the surprisingly simple habit that has helped my clients build influence, gain visibility, and accelerate their careers.

Learn more about Michael Wenderoth, Executive Coach: www.changwenderoth.com

SHOW NOTES:

• Two reasons why you need to open doors and build relationships with people at work
• Why seeking advice feels counterintuitive – but is powerful and highly beneficial
• Four situations where seeking advice pays huge dividends
• Situation #1: When Sam sought a mentor or sponsor
• What’s wrong with “Let’s catch up for coffee” and “Can I pick your brain”
• Situation #2: When Dave sought clarity on the path to promotion
• The important of getting your boss’s perspective
• Situation #3: When Jack sought support for his proposal
• The “meeting before the meeting” to build allies and avoid surprises
• Situation #4: When Alex turned an adversary into an ally
• Ways to seek advice from someone you probably detest
• Three mistakes to avoid when asking advice

BIO AND LINKS:

Michael Wenderoth is an Executive Coach that helps executives re-examine their assumptions about power, politics, and authenticity to get promoted, become more effective at work, and break glass ceilings holding them back. Having served 20 years in senior roles with companies across the globe, and then 7 years as a professional coach, he has helped accelerated the careers of clients from diverse industries, backgrounds, and levels of seniority, helping them get ahead – without having to sell their souls in the process. Michael is the award-winning author of Get Promoted, host of the 97% Effective career acceleration podcast, and a frequent speaker and media contributor on career advancement, leadership and navigating power and politics. His work has been featured in Harvard Business Review, Forbes, Stanford Business School Executive Education and IE Business School, where he collaborates with renowned professors, coaches, executives and experts. Michael holds an MBA from Stanford and trained as an executive coach at Columbia University (3CP).

• Learn more about Michael Wenderoth, Executive Coach: www.changwenderoth.com
• Michael on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelchangwenderoth/
• Harvard Business Review: How to get your first promotion: https://hbr.org/2022/10/how-to-get-your-first-promotion
• Research: Why Seeking Advice Boosts Perceptions of Confidence https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=47824
• Research: Why Seeking Advice Rather Than Feedback Yields More Developmental, Critical and Actionable Input https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=56638
• Michael’s Award-Winning Book, Get Promoted: https://changwenderoth.com/#tve-jump-180481ecea3
• 97% Effective, now on Youtube! https://tinyurl.com/bdz53mc5
• Get Promoted, also available on Audiobook: https://tinyurl.com/mwf2s28y