Everyday influence tactics not found in leadership books
February 18, 2010
While setting forth inspiring visions, making bold decisions in support of change, and modeling desired behavior with integrity is the stuff of leadership legend, change ultimately happens in small steps taken daily to nudge people in the right direction. Consider the following influence tactics that people use every day at work that, when used with caution and in small doses, can help get people to do things they might not otherwise do. You won’t find these in leadership books!
Nagging. When someone is dragging their feet or in need of small behavior correction, a few repetitive requests or reminders might do the trick. The risk is that you might become an annoyance and he might dig in his heels further. Before the nagging gets to that level, ask what might be holding him back, and offer to help.
Begging. Although getting on your knees and crying will most likely not win you favor, going the route of “Please… Pretty please… Pretty please with sugar on top…” used occasionally with someone you know will work. It is important for your dignity that you escalate your request with increasing urgency without sounding desperate.
Cajoling. You should only taunt someone you know well and in good humor. The last thing you want to do is hurt someone’s feelings or offend him by striking a nerve, so cajole coworkers with caution. But, insinuating that your colleague doesn’t want to try something because he is a sissy, or is not smart enough, or whatever he would want to prove wrong might spring him into action.
Bribery. While it sounds illicit, bribery is simply offering something in exchange for what you would like the other person to do. Mutual back-scratching or trading favors are common ways to influence someone who doesn’t believe the value of performing an activity is worth the effort to do it. Note: Do not offer or request anything illegal or unethical!
Flattery. The saying goes, “Flattery will get you nowhere,” but anyone who has been given a well-placed acknowledgment or compliment knows it can go a long way. Of course, someone will see through a compliment given just before a request is made. She will know you are buttering her up. But if you can brighten someone’s day with a genuine acknowledgment, she is bound to repay it.
Threats. As a last resort, it might help to inform someone that if she doesn’t play along, something bad is going to happen. The manner in which you send this message makes all the difference. It’s most effective if it sounds like a kind warning instead of intimidation. If your next course of action is to get her boss involved, it might be a good idea to bring this up, so she has the opportunity to act before that happens.
When have these worked for you?
How have they backfired?
What would you add to the list?
Use logic modeling to check your assumptions
February 13, 2010
Yesterday I attended a meeting of the Association for Strategic Planning Atlanta chapter. The presenter was Tom Chapel, Chief Evaluation Officer for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. His job is to make sure all the programs designed and implemented by the CDC actually cause the results they are intended to cause.
The example he used during the presentation was a program to reduce lead poisoning in children. In his core diagram were the activities done by the CDC and others in the community, such as Conducting Screenings, Identifying Children with Elevated Lead Levels, and Training Parents. These were all the things under the control of the CDC and its partners.
On the right side of the diagram were all the intended outcomes the activities were expected to influence, such as Changes to Cleaning Habits, and Reduced Lead Levels. One of the shorter-term results was a change in at-home behaviors of parents, and the longer-term effects were the health benefits. Each of the activities and outcomes were connected by arrows in cause-and-effect linkages. He called the diagram a logic model, since it showed the assumptions, or logic, behind how the program was expected to work.
The generic logic model looks like this:
The same type of diagram can be used to model the expected outcomes of organizational change activities (in fact the speaker mentioned that the CDC has done logic models for internal initiatives like diversity and leadership development). The Control side would contain all the activities you are implementing, such as various communication vehicles, incentives, and training programs. On the Influence side would be all the behaviors, attitudes and culture changes your activities are expected to elicit.
Once you create the logic model, you can test your assumptions. Will Activity A really cause Behavior B? What reinforcements might be required? What other factors might stand in the way? In his presentation, Mr. Chapel said to look for where the miracles are supposed to happen and unravel them.
The purpose of the logic model is to gain clarity about the relationship between activities and their intended effects. Over time, by measuring the activities and outcomes, you can test the logic model to see if it’s true.
What are your assumptions about how your change initiative will create its intended outcomes?
Overcome resistance with fancy purple shoes
January 28, 2010
My almost-2-year-old daughter is obsessed with shoes. She will just sit in our shoe corner and try on everyone’s shoes and walk around in them for fun. Her favorite ones, though, are her own pink shiny ones.
The trouble started when inevitably, her favorite pink shoes became too small – or rather her feet grew too large. I took her to the store to pick out some new ones. She chose the purple ones with flowers on them.
Given her love of shoes, I was surprised when she refused to wear them. Even though she had picked them out, she would run away whenever we even picked them up. If we were able to put them on, she would immediately pull them off her feet and toss them as far as she could. She would then scurry around to find her shiny pink shoes that by now were scrunching her toes.
This morning we hid the pink shoes. I fully expected the morning to end with tears and a barefoot daughter on the way to school.
Then her Daddy had a stroke of genius. “Let’s put on your FANCY shoes!” he said.
Every night at bedtime my daughter insists that we read Fancy Nancy, a story about a girl who enhances everything she wears and owns with accessories. It’s a fairly long book for someone who’s not quite two, but she follows along with the story intently.
Catching on to his idea, I pointed out how the flowers made her new shoes fancy, like Nancy’s.
With a little bit of a struggle (but not the usual all-out wrestling match), she let him put them on. And then they stayed on her feet.
Tonight, before leaving for dinner, she fussed a bit when he tried to put her shoes on again. This time, it was because she wanted to put them on by herself.
When faced with resistance, how might you make the change “fancy?”
Three Myths About Organizational Change
January 5, 2010
Our beliefs about what change is and how it works can influence our willingness to take on the challenge appropriately. Change agents who believe these three myths might find their initiatives stuck in a rut.
Myth #1: The goal is change.
Perhaps we are victims of language. Organizational change practitioners commonly talk as though the end goal is change itself. It is common to say “implement change” as if the change itself is the goal. It’s not! Change is the process of bringing about the desired future state. Read more
Introducing the INflux Change Agent Network!
November 30, 2009
Introducing a new program for 2010 to help you influence change without authority:
Implementing organizational change is an uphill battle.
Studies show that only 30% of change initiatives meet expectations. When a change agent is involved, the success rate actually drops. The reason? Change agents have the difficult task of implementing change without actually having direct authority over the people going through the change.
Whether you are executing strategy, implementing technology, designing process improvements, or transforming culture, your role as change agent is fraught with challenges: Convincing people to try new things. Keeping change a priority. Getting leaders to take ownership. Aligning actions towards desired outcomes. Overcoming resistance at all levels. And yet, despite (perhaps even because of) the daunting task ahead, you want to help the organization move forward.
As a member of the Influx Change Agent Network, you will expand your arsenal of influence methods and gain a community of peers to help you push the boulder uphill. Step fully into the role of change agent so you can pull all the pieces together and effectively implement change in your organization.
Program Details
Members
Members of the Influx community are mid- to senior-level managers or individual contributors who are responsible for implementing one or more change initiatives within their organizations. Examples of change initiatives include but are not limited to:
- Strategy execution (e.g. Balanced Scorecard)
- Quality or process improvement (e.g. Lean / Six Sigma)
- Corporate Social Responsibility
- Technology implementation
- Mergers or restructuring
- Culture change
Working Group Format
As a working group, the Influx community is much more than a training program. Members bring their own situations to the table and work on them over time with a community of practitioners facing similar challenges.
The Network provides a unique combination of training, community, and individual support to help you implement change:
- In-Depth Training. Monthly webinars examine methods of influence to help you be an effective change agent for your organization.
- Personalized Support. Your program host provides individual coaching to work through your immediate challenges.
- Community. In group calls and online discussion boards, participants have many opportunities to learn from each others’ experiences.
Because interaction and trust are key components of the program, the group is limited to 15 individual members.
Learning Topics
The working group focuses on three core areas to help members influence change: clarity and focus, personal influence and structural influence. Each topic includes training, group discussion and exercises. Occasional guest speakers round out the experience.
| Program Topics | |
|---|---|
| Clarity and Focus |
Gain clarity around your initiative and understand how change works. |
| Personal Influence |
Build up and utilize your ability to influence others on a one-to-one basis. |
| Structural Influence |
Introduce large-scale influence strategies to move the organization forward. |
Resources
Upon registration, you will gain immediate access to our online community. Member profiles, session recordings and other valuable resources will be available throughout the program to members only.
The online tools also help you to learn and connect with a community of organization change practitioners through discussion boards and live chat.
Annual membership includes:
- 10 webinar training sessions
- 12 monthly group support calls.
- 3 hours of individual coaching (3-6 sessions).
- Year-round access to online resources.
Program Fee
Annual membership is $2495. Save $350 when you register by December 15, 2009.
Interested but not sure yet that this program is right for you? Please contact me and I will answer any questions you might have.
The Change Agent Challenge!
October 19, 2009
Sometimes I think organizational change agents are so focused on figuring out how to facilitate change in others that we forget that our best opportunity to understand how others change is to learn from our own experiences.
With that in mind, I invite you to participate in a challenge that I expect will both increase your learning about change and also result in change itself.
The challenge is this:
- Implement a change in yourself.
- Take notes.
The change you take on might be an attitude, a habit, lifestyle, or anything else. Perhaps you have a New Year’s resolution that you’ve long since broken, or something else you know you need to do but haven’t done.
For me, it’s flossing.
The impetus for this idea was a not-so-perfect dentist appointment two weeks ago. I decided I needed to start flossing and found myself journaling about it as I started thinking about how to best influence my own behavior. It turns out there is a lot to consider about change even when trying to implement a seemingly small change in what might seem like the easiest subject: myself.
For the rest of the week I’ll post what I’ve learned in the last couple of weeks as I try to make a regular habit of flossing.
I hope you’ll take me up on The Change Agent Challenge and share what you learn. Please start by sharing your challenge in the comments below.
If you’re a blogger and will be sharing your own results on your blog, please link back to this post and I’ll be happy to add a link to yours.
Are you up to the Challenge?
My Change Agent Challenge:
Influencer: Required reading for change agents
October 15, 2009
I just finished reading a book that all change agents should have on their shelves: Influencer: The Power to Change Anything
The book further subdivides Motivation (Will it be worth it) and Ability (Can I do it) into three categories – Personal, Social and Structural – that form a framework for how to influence change:
- Personal Motivation: Make the behavior desirable.
- Personal Ability: Provide training to show how to perform the behavior properly.
- Social Motivation: Use peer pressure and existing power structures.
- Social Ability: Enlist the help of others.
- Structural Motivation: Extrinsic rewards and punishment.
- Structural Ability: Alter the physical world to make the behavior easier or inevitable to perform.
The authors feature several stories that run throughout the book and demonstrate how these six sources of influence work individually and in combination to change deep-rooted behaviors. It’s a definite must-read for change agents!
The Change Agent’s Dilemma: Podcast now available on iTunes
August 18, 2009
I’m pleased to announce that The Change Agent’s Dilemma radio show on BlogTalkRadio is now also available as a podcast on iTunes. The subscription, like the radio show, is free.
View The Change Agent’s Dilemma in the iTunes store.
The show is dedicated to answering the question: How do you influence change without authority? Every two weeks my guests and I explore the topic for 30 minutes.
The next show is scheduled for Tuesday, September 1, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. ET. Set reminders, review past shows and listen live at www.blogtalkradio.com/influencechange.
Thanks for listening!
Does your change initiative need a reboot?
August 6, 2009
Perhaps it needs a Flash Point!
I’m excited to introduce the Flash Point Program, an in-depth exploration and evaluation of your change initiative in which you and I will co-design your next steps toward successful implementation.
What do you mean, “co-design?”
Fact: you know your organization better than I ever will. Chances are, you know what stands in the way of successful implementation, but perhaps you haven’t set aside the time to focus on discovering it, or no one has asked the right questions. It’s my job to ask the questions and keep you focused. If you don’t have the answers, we’ll figure out how to get them. And then together we’ll design what to do next.
It’s also a co-design because this is your job. You are not delegating your responsibilities to me. I’m not going to swoop in and do it for you. The equation looks something like this:
Your organizational knowledge & Enthusiasm +
My change know-how & Coaching techniques =
Your change know-how & Your Flash Point
How does it work?
The Flash Point Program includes six (6) 1-hour intensive conversations between you (the change agent) and me (the coach), roughly scheduled as follows:
- 1 online change readiness assessment and debrief;
- 3 hours of in depth exploration of the requirements to achieve your change initiative, and your organization’s capacity to perform them; and
- 2 personal coaching sessions for you, to discover your unique strengths and challenges as a change agent.
The sessions occur in 1-hour phone calls, once a week, for 6 weeks. This is flexible depending on how quickly you want your Flash Point to occur!
What do I get?
First of all, here’s an idea of what you will discover and learn:
- Clarity about what you are trying to accomplish;
- Greater understanding of how change works and how best to fulfill the role of change agent;
- An assessment of the factors present in your organization that will help or hinder your change initiative; and
- What to do about it.
What you physically (or digitally, really) get to take with you are:
- The results from the change readiness assessment
- Recordings of our phone conversations (for reference)
- A report of the next steps we co-design.
Prerequisites:
There are a couple of things I need you to do before you sign up:
- Review the Is This You page and make sure it sounds like you.
- Download and complete the Change Starts Here workbook. It’s free when you subscribe to my newsletter, or if you really don’t want to subscribe, you can purchase the workbook here.
Program Fee:
The total investment for The Flash Point Program is $1,540.
The deposit for the first session is $295. If for any reason, after completing the change readiness assessment and attending the first session, you do not want to continue The Flash Point Program, you can end the process there with just your change readiness assessment results. To continue the program, the remainder of the fee will be due prior to the second session.
Ready get started?
Next Steps:
- Complete the prerequisites (Is This You and Change Starts Here).
- Click the button at the bottom to pay the $295 deposit so we can get started on the change readiness assessment.
- I’ll send you an e-mail with links to the change readiness assessment and Flash Point registration form to tell me a little bit about yourself, your organization, and your change initiative.
- We’ll set up a quick call to schedule our sessions, and answer any questions you may have.
- We’ll start The Flash Point Program!
By clicking the button below, you affirm that you have completed the prerequisites. You agree to begin the Flash Point Program by completing the change readiness assessment and the registration form. Your credit card will be charged a $295 deposit.
Have additional questions? Please contact me. I’ll be happy answer them.
How to get Beyond Leadership Buy-in
August 4, 2009
It almost goes without saying that an organizational change initiative without proper levels of leadership support is doomed to fail. Perhaps the project will be paid lip service, but it will ultimately either be ignored into oblivion or cut short of its potential with one drop of the axe.
Not only do organizational leaders have the power to make or break your project on their own, but it is impossible to bypass them to change the organization below. Individuals experiencing change will look to those in power for confirmation that they are committed to the new way of doing things. It is under intense scrutiny that leaders are watched to see if their actions match their intentions. If not, the change initiative will be dismissed as “flavor of the month” and not taken seriously.
Amid all this doom and gloom, there is a bright side. You don’t have to settle for the level of leadership support you currently have. As fellow human beings, leaders are capable of being informed and influenced.
Take the following steps to determine how to best garner the support of the most influential people in your organization. Read more
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