A quarterly self-audit that scores each of the six influence sources against honest behavioural signals, finds which are strong and which are starved, and produces one concrete action per weak source.
▸ Try the interactive toolThe PM Influence Self-Assessment is a quarterly self-audit that scores each of the six sources of influence against honest behavioural signals, identifies which are strong and which are starved, and produces one concrete development action for each weak source. It's the maintenance routine that keeps influence growing rather than stagnating.
Influence isn't static — it's built (or eroded) by behaviour over time, and most PMs over-invest in their already-strong sources while neglecting the weak ones. The self-assessment forces an honest look: for each of the six sources, what are the behavioural signals that you have it (people seek your expertise? you're in the rooms where decisions happen? stakeholders trust you?), and where are you thin? The discipline of pairing each weak source with one concrete action turns vague 'I should build influence' into a specific, trackable development plan.
Score each of the six sources against honest behavioural signals (not aspiration) → find the strong and the starved → set one concrete action per weak source. Quarterly, because influence is built by behaviour over time.
PMs over-invest in the influence sources they're already good at and neglect the ones they're weak at — so their influence stays lopsided, strong where it doesn't need to grow and thin where it matters.
| The shortcut | What it costs | What it gives you instead |
|---|---|---|
| Over-investing in strengths | Building the source you're already good at; neglecting the weak ones. | The audit redirects effort to the starved sources. |
| Vague intentions | 'I should build influence' with no specific action. | One concrete action per weak source makes it trackable. |
| Self-flattering assessment | Rating influence on aspiration, not behaviour. | Behavioural signals force an honest score. |
| No regular review | Influence drifts without periodic check. | A quarterly cadence keeps it deliberately growing. |
For all six sources, ask what the honest behavioural evidence is — do people actually seek your expertise, are you genuinely in the decision rooms, do stakeholders demonstrably trust you? Score on behaviour, not hope.
Map where your influence is genuinely strong and where it's thin. Most PMs find they've been leaning on two or three sources and neglecting the rest.
The temptation is to keep growing what's already strong because it's comfortable. The leverage is in the starved sources — redirect effort there.
For each weak source, define a single specific, doable action this quarter — not 'build relationships' but 'have a 1:1 with each of these three stakeholders.' Concreteness is what makes it happen.
Re-run the audit each quarter. Influence is built by sustained behaviour, so a regular cadence is what turns the assessment from a one-off into genuine growth.
A PM with strong expertise and a good track record assumed their influence was solid. The self-assessment, scored honestly against behavioural signals, revealed a starved source: relationships. They had credibility but thin trust with key stakeholders — they weren't in the informal conversations where things were really decided, and several stakeholders barely knew them.
The instinct had been to keep deepening expertise (the comfortable, already-strong source). The audit redirected them: the concrete action was specific 1:1s to build genuine relationships with the stakeholders they'd neglected. A quarter later, that starved source had grown, and their overall influence — previously lopsided — was far more rounded and effective.
The deliverable is a scored audit of all six sources against behavioural signals, with one concrete action per weak source, reviewed quarterly.
| Source | Behavioural signal | Action if weak |
|---|---|---|
| Expertise | People seek your input? | Deepen a specific domain |
| Information | In the decision rooms? | Get into key forums |
| Relationships | Stakeholders trust you? | Specific 1:1s |
| Track record | Known for delivering? | Ship something visible |
The self-assessment exists because influence, left unmanaged, grows lopsided — PMs deepen their strong sources and starve their weak ones. The audit forces the honest, behavioural look that redirects effort to where it actually matters.
The behavioural-signal discipline is what makes the audit honest. It's easy to rate yourself influential in the abstract; it's much harder when forced to point to evidence — do people actually seek your expertise, are you actually in the rooms where decisions happen, do stakeholders demonstrably trust you? Scoring against signals rather than aspiration surfaces the starved sources you'd otherwise rationalise away. And the one-concrete-action-per-weak-source rule is what turns insight into growth: 'build relationships' is a wish, but 'have a 1:1 with each of these three stakeholders this quarter' is a plan. Run quarterly, this converts influence from something that drifts into something deliberately and steadily built — the maintenance routine behind the whole influence toolkit.
Rate each source on behavioural evidence, not how influential you feel.
The leverage is in the starved ones. Redirect effort to your weak sources.
'Build influence' does nothing. Set one concrete, specific action per weak source.
Influence is built over time. Re-audit quarterly to keep it growing.
It's the maintenance routine for the six sources of influence (Tool 01).
The concrete actions become part of your growth plan (Tools 22–23).
The self-audit discipline scales down to weekly reflection (Tool 28).
Stronger, rounder influence improves every stakeholder interaction (Tools 04–13).
Rate each of the six influence sources 1–5 against an honest behavioural signal — not how you feel, but what the evidence shows. Find your lowest.
For that starved source, write one concrete action you could take this quarter — specific enough to actually do.
If your lowest-scoring source is one you've been neglecting in favour of a comfortable strength, you've found exactly what the audit is for — and the one action that would start to fix it.