AbstractThis article reports on a study of the influence practices and effectiveness of 207 middle‐level staff and program management personnel in nonmanagerial positions in a high‐tech government agency in the United States. Multiple regression results were used to identify specific influence behaviors practiced in lateral relations with peers that directly affected supervisors' perceptions of effectiveness. As hypothesized, managerial self‐awareness (operationalized as congruence in self‐peer ratings) was found to contribute significantly to relationship management aspects of individual effectiveness. Implications of these results for team‐based work in organizations as well as OD and HRD initiatives are