Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 14 views

    Management Insights: Learning Tree

    Uploaded by

    polly123
    The document discusses how to use positive persuasion and influence to bring together different factions within an organization to achieve common goals. It describes a scenario where 6 managers from different departments had to work as a team to improve a manufacturing firm's productivity and profitability. Initially, the managers engaged in "turf wars" because they lacked understanding of each other's roles and priorities. However, after a coaching intervention, the managers were able to come together as a team by applying 5 critical influence factors: considering each person's values, capabilities, and realization of value, as well as the costs and risks associated with any plan of action. Applying this framework allowed each manager to understand other perspectives and influence others in a way that satisfied individual needs while

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Management Insights: Learning Tree

    Uploaded by

    polly123
    14 views2 pages
    The document discusses how to use positive persuasion and influence to bring together different factions within an organization to achieve common goals. It describes a scenario where 6 managers from different departments had to work as a team to improve a manufacturing firm's productivity and profitability. Initially, the managers engaged in "turf wars" because they lacked understanding of each other's roles and priorities. However, after a coaching intervention, the managers were able to come together as a team by applying 5 critical influence factors: considering each person's values, capabilities, and realization of value, as well as the costs and risks associated with any plan of action. Applying this framework allowed each manager to understand other perspectives and influence others in a way that satisfied individual needs while

    Original Description:

    Positive Persuasion

    Original Title

    Positive Persuasion

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    The document discusses how to use positive persuasion and influence to bring together different factions within an organization to achieve common goals. It describes a scenario where 6 managers from different departments had to work as a team to improve a manufacturing firm's productivity and profitability. Initially, the managers engaged in "turf wars" because they lacked understanding of each other's roles and priorities. However, after a coaching intervention, the managers were able to come together as a team by applying 5 critical influence factors: considering each person's values, capabilities, and realization of value, as well as the costs and risks associated with any plan of action. Applying this framework allowed each manager to understand other perspectives and influence others in a way that satisfied individual needs while

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    14 views2 pages

    Management Insights: Learning Tree

    Uploaded by

    polly123
    The document discusses how to use positive persuasion and influence to bring together different factions within an organization to achieve common goals. It describes a scenario where 6 managers from different departments had to work as a team to improve a manufacturing firm's productivity and profitability. Initially, the managers engaged in "turf wars" because they lacked understanding of each other's roles and priorities. However, after a coaching intervention, the managers were able to come together as a team by applying 5 critical influence factors: considering each person's values, capabilities, and realization of value, as well as the costs and risks associated with any plan of action. Applying this framework allowed each manager to understand other perspectives and influence others in a way that satisfied individual needs while

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 2

    JULY 2009

    Learning Tree

    Management Insights
    Expert Advice from Todays Top Professionals
    Positive Persuasion: Influence
    Factors That Create a
    Win-Win Scenario
    Because so many of todays organizational initiatives
    involve melding the agendas of several individuals within a
    company into one solid plan for success, the art of building
    consensus has become increasingly critical. To achieve this
    end, persuasion and influenceoften seen as tools used
    to create divisivenesscan be applied positively to bring
    individuals together for a common purpose that transcends
    their own immediate needs and/or goals. This approach
    also encourages information-sharing between different
    operational areas, thus providing a better understanding
    of how interdependent everyone is and promoting more
    effective and efficient communication and collaboration.
    Heres a scenario where persuasion and the right influence
    factors could be applied to bring diverse factions together
    to achieve an organizational goal: Due to a downturn in
    business, a manufacturing firm tasked six of its managers
    with creating a plan to help the company restore its
    productivity and, more importantly, its profitability.
    Respectively, the managers were in charge of materials, QC,
    scheduling, product development, shipping and inventory
    control. Unfortunately, within the existing organizational
    structure, the managers had no idea what happened in
    other departments, so they had no deep sense of their
    colleagues responsibilities or day-to-day concerns.

    Furthermore, in this environment, getting things done


    simply meant directing each other to do something
    and complying with each others requests in order to
    accomplish the task. Commitment towards anything larger
    than meeting those individual needs simply didnt enter
    into the process. In this scenario, the directives they
    received from one another fell outside the standard
    request/comply process they were used to. As a result,
    they began engaging in turf wars, pulling in six different
    directions with each member trying to win out over the
    othersa strategy that was ultimately going to result in a
    loss for their company.
    Recognizing the dilemma, senior management staged a
    coaching intervention that resulted in the group coalescing
    as a team. Together, they learnedand applieda formula
    for success that identified Five Critical Influence Factors
    which would enable them to move beyond settling for
    compliance and on to something better: commitment.

    Jean V. Corson

    For this installment of Management Insights, Jean V. Corson provides


    managers with actionable advice on how to overcome internal conflict
    between team members using persuasion techniques that bring everyone together, thus benefiting the whole enterprise while satisfying
    individual needs.

    0800 282 353


    OR VISIT www.learningtree.co.uk
    CALL

    Productivity through Education

    July 2009

    Learning Tree

    Management Insights

    Expert Advice from Todays Top Professionals


    Positive Persuasion: Influence Factors That Create Win-Win Scenarios
    The Five Critical Influence Factors used by the management
    team can be explained using the following formula: To gain
    commitment for any endeavor, individuals need to see that
    the Value + Capability + Realization of Value is greater than
    the Cost + Risk. Or, in short, (V + Ca + RoV) > (Co + Ri).
    The three factors represented on the left hand side of
    the equation that must add up in order to influence an
    individual towards commitment are:

    Value
    Our actions are motivated by what is important to us. Furthermore, the list of motivators that are based on personal
    values alone can be quite extensive and include such drivers as recognition, power, professional challenges, career
    advancement and more. The assumption that others value
    the same things you do is the most common mistake. To
    influence and gain commitment from another individual,
    you must meet their values, not yours. When the other
    person can see Whats In It For Them (WIIFT) in terms
    that take into account their own needs, they take ownership. You can often tell whats important to an individual by
    simply observing them in action and then communicating
    with them openly to build a stronger working relationship.
    However, you should always monitor whether youre substituting your values for theirs in the formula.

    Capability
    If you find that someone isnt doing what needs to be done,
    it could be because they dont feel capable of doing it.
    Although you may not agree, you must take their perception into account. Address the issue by asking them whether
    they feel they have the training, experience and confidence
    to do the job. Also, ask yourself if you have clearly communicated your expectations and are certain the individual
    understands them. Most importantly, respect their concerns
    and dont dismiss them.

    Realization of Value
    Once you determine the core values that motivate another
    person, you then need to create an environment that will
    enable that individual to achieve them. By making sure
    they realize the values that are important to them, you also
    ensure their commitment.
    Again, the preceding three factors must be greater than
    the sum of the two factors on the right hand side of the
    equation which represent obstacles in the way of gaining
    commitment. These factors are:

    Cost
    For any employee, commitment has a perceived cost in
    terms of time, effort and/or resources. These costs can also
    change over time. For example, someone might hesitate to
    accept a task because of their workload at that moment,
    not because they dont want to do the work. In another
    example, a team member may want to commit to you but
    their team leader may not be able to afford giving them up.
    By taking the time early on to understand the factors an
    individual will need to weigh when making their decision to
    commit, you will be in a stronger position to influence them
    when negotiating work distribution, prioritizing tasks and
    accessing resources.

    Risk
    Individuals have different tolerances for what they believe
    is risky. As before, its the other persons perception of risk
    that matters, not yours. For some, making a minor mistake
    or working on a project that uses a technology out of their
    comfort zone may hold a level of risk.
    Consider what you can do to reduce the perceived risk. Perhaps you can break a complex project into phases to increase
    the other persons feeling of safety by limiting the scope of
    the activity. Other strategies include sharing the risk or formulating an exit option for them.
    The most important thing to remember is that these factors are based on the other persons perspective. One of the
    greatest challenges is learning how to suspend your judgment
    and opinions in order to see another point of view. Making the
    effort is well worth the time because it is the key to successful
    persuasion.
    Ultimately, by using the formula outlined, each manager was
    given the blueprint to develop a successful win-win influence
    strategy that considered the values and perceptions of their
    team members. In short, by figuring out others WIIFT, each
    manager was able to influence the others to want to do what
    they needed to do to turn the company around while at the
    same time creating an opportunity for buy-in, collaboration
    and commitment.

    About the Author


    Jean V. Corson is a workplace behavior consultant focusing on leadership
    development, executive coaching and improving team performance. Her
    specialty is helping technical and nontechnical people work together. She is
    also an instructor for several Learning Tree management courses, including
    Course 294, Influence Skills, Course 292, Communication Skills,
    Course 904, Responding to Conflict, Course 244, Assertiveness Skills,
    and Course 224, Coaching Employees to their Potential.
    www.corsonwolff.com; [email protected]

    0800 282 353


    OR VISIT www.learningtree.co.uk
    CALL

    Productivity through Education

    0907UK Mgmt Insights July

    You might also like