influencing with integrity - morneau shepell

Influencing with integrity

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Presentation | October 12, 2018

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Influencing others successfully – and with integrity – has three key elements.

The first is having a clear understanding of those you wish to influence

How

knowledgeable

are they about

the subject?

Persuade Tell

Engage Explain/inform

Audience

Receptiveness

Kn

ow

led

ge

Will they be receptive or

resistant to our message?

The audience impact matrix

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Exercise 1 – Applying the audience impact matrix to the stakeholders

you wish to influence

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The second key element requires an openness, an ability to listen

and empathize, and an understanding of our own frame of

reference…

Various influences form

our frame of reference

SOURCE: Influencing Up and Down, Stuart Ludwig, PhD, September 2006; McKinsey analysis

Cultural

influences

Personal

experiences

Personal

preferences

Social

upbringing/

family

backgrounds

Perception

Basic beliefs

Values

Needs

Goals

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…and those of others

What are they thinking?

What are they feeling?

What are their values?

Listen actively …

…that will

provide the

foundation

for

collaborative

working

relationships

Perception

Basic beliefs

Values

Needs

Goals

What are their needs?

What are their goals?


…so you can develop a

shared frame of reference…

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Achieving this requires four steps


Building trust and

confirming latitude

Close

the gap Explore

their goals,

values,

perception,

latitude, and

trust

Express your

goals, values,

and perception

Identify

the gap

Getting

buy-in

1

2

3

4

▪ Demonstrate the right

attitude

▪ State your position

▪ Introduce content that

is being ignored or

minimized

▪ Reflect on their goals,

value, perception, attitude,

and trust

▪ Compare their style with

yours

▪ Identify contradictions

▪ Confront/clarify

misperceptions

▪ Identity areas of content

and emotion

▪ Identify and adapt your

influencing techniques to

their preference

▪ Address their perceptions,

values, goals, and needs

▪ Respond to their way of

taking in information and

making decisions

▪ Match your speech to theirs

▪ Explore roadblocks,

solutions, and will for

action together

▪ Demonstrate the right

attitude

▪ Pay focused attention

▪ Ask clarifying questions

Aligning goals, values, and perception

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Manipulating or

influencing?

Influencing with integrity

is interacting with and

influencing others in a

way that supports trust-

based relationships

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Winning trust has four interrelated elements

Elements Examples

Credibility Words “I can trust what he

says about…”

Reliability Actions “I can trust her to…”

Intimacy Emotions “I feel comfortable

discussing this…”

Self-

orientation

Motives “I can trust that he

cares about…”

The Trust Equation

T = C + R + I

S

SOURCE: The Trusted Advisor by David H. Maister, Charles H. Green, and Robert M. Galford, 2000

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The third is to understand and use the influencing technique(s) that

will be most effective in gaining others’ consent or support or to

change their thoughts or actions

Some techniques influence with integrity…

Stating

Legitimizing

Persuading

logically

Appealing to

friendship

Socializing

Exchanging

Consulting

Appealing

to values

Modeling

Building

alliances

…while others are unethical1

1 Although these techniques can be effective, they damage relationships and doom future influencing attempts

SOURCE: Interpersonal and Interactive Skills, Lore International Institute, Inc.; Influencing Up and Down, Stuart Ludwig, PhD, September 2006; McKinsey analysis

Avoiding

Intimidating

Threatening

Manipulating

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1. Stating

How to use Examples

▪ “Jeff called in sick. Please

cover his shift”

▪ Be polite but direct

▪ “I know you worked late

last night, but we need at

least two people on call

this evening”

▪ Anticipate and address

potential arguments

▪ Avoid phrases or

questions like, I was

hoping you would, if you

don’t mind, would you be

willing to?

▪ Leave no room for

negotiation or refusal

Gaining cooperation by making a concise, direct statement

▪ When overused,

especially with

strong non-

verbals, can be

seen as

overbearing

Pitfalls


2. Legitimizing

▪ “According to policy,

we have to …”

▪ Refer to policies or

procedures

▪ “The board has

decided to…”

▪ Cite wishes of

higher authorities

▪ Allude to higher

authorities

How to use Examples

▪ “As you know, we’ve

been asked to

prioritize …”

▪ Can appear heavy-

handed

▪ Challenging with

people who resist

authority

▪ Overusing may cause

resentment or

resistance

Using authority outside yourself to explain and influence

Pitfalls


3. Persuading logically

▪ Explain the reasons for your

request or decision

(“the results prove that …”)

▪ Prepare thoroughly and

think through the problem

carefully. Always explain

“why”

▪ Use data, charts, graphs,

statistics, etc.

▪ Provide supporting

evidence

▪ Give examples of how

previous problems were

resolved using this

approach

How to use Examples

▪ Can be time-

consuming

▪ Ineffective when

emotions or biases

prevail

▪ “Last time this worked really

well…”

Using logic or evidence to explain or justify a position

Pitfalls


4. Appealing to friendship

How to use Examples

▪ State how important

his/her cooperation is

▪ “I’m counting on you

…”

▪ Be willing to

reciprocate

▪ “I owe you one”

▪ Be direct in

asking for help

▪ “Richard, I need help

with this. Would you

do me a favour and

…”

▪ Acknowledge the

inconvenience of your

request

▪ “I realize that this is an

imposition, but …”

▪ Can appear

manipulative

▪ Overusing can

damage

relationships

Asking based on friendship or a prior relationship

Pitfalls


5. Socializing

How to use

▪ Identify mutual topics of

interest, build knowledge of

topics of interest

▪ Build rapport, use names, show

an interest, remember details

▪ Show genuine caring,

empathize

▪ Be open-minded, ask

questions, listen well

▪ Socializing sets the stage long

term

▪ Socializing can easily

backfire if you aren't

sincere

Developing connections to establish a basis for asking

Pitfalls


6. Exchanging

How to use Examples

▪ Think win-win;

consider how you

can help the other

person, not just how

they can help you

▪ “If you support

me, I’ll help you

with …”

▪ Make your offer explicit

and the benefits clear

(resources, support,

information, etc.),

particularly if you don’t

know the other person

well

▪ “In return for the

information I

need, I’ll send

you …”

▪ Without

reciprocation, you

can lose credibility

Pitfalls

Offering something of value in exchange for something you want


7. Consulting

How to use Examples

▪ Be genuine

▪ Clearly explain what

you need from the

other person

▪ Listen carefully to the

answer

▪ Integrate the person’s

ideas – and

acknowledge them

▪ Encourage the other

person to implement

own solution

▪ “My suggestion is that

we do … What do you

think?”

▪ “What other factors

do we need to think

about?”

▪ “Which option would

you try first?”

▪ “What resources

would we need?”

▪ Can undermine your

own power if

overused

▪ Be honestly open to

input from others –

otherwise you lose

trust

Seeking others’ point of view to help you arrive at an acceptable solution

Pitfalls


8. Appealing to values

How to use Examples

▪ Build trust and

common ground

▪ Identify and share

other person’s values

▪ Appeal to values as

well as to feelings

and emotions

▪ Walk the talk – be

consistent with your

vision

Higher values include

▪ Loyalty to the

organization

▪ Making a contribution

▪ Making a difference

▪ Fighting for a cause

▪ Serving a larger

purpose

▪ Excelling

▪ Being part of a winning

team

▪ Appeal needs to be

consistent with

counterparts values

▪ Sincerity is

essential

Inspiring cooperation by appealing to the other person’s values

Pitfalls


9. Modeling

How to use

▪ Behave as you want others to behave –

e.g., committed, supportive, enthusiastic,

professional

▪ Share your knowledge and experience

willingly, and always be accessible

▪ Give constructive feedback and encourage

▪ Not “walking your talk”

could lower your

credibility

Inspiring by setting an example

Pitfalls


10. Building alliances

How to use

▪ Create alliance groups;

give them publicity and

prestige

▪ Ensure that potential

allies agree with you or

can benefit from helping

you

▪ Mix the power base

▪ Get one or more powerful

or visible people on board

first, to kick off alliance

▪ Examples of alliance

groups: advisory

groups, task forces,

technical panels, etc.

▪ A good mix will have

senior management

from other areas,

recognized experts,

etc.

Examples

▪ Requires time and

energy to maintain

▪ Don't assume that

once on board,

always on board

▪ Could be seen by

others as ganging

up or mutiny

Building networks to help you influence others or accomplish

something you can’t do on your own

Pitfalls


Answering questions like these can be helpful in thinking through how

to influence with integrity


Helpful questions

What is your influence goal/objective?

Why this objective?

Who do you need to influence?

What are the preferences of this person?

What is the state of the person you want to influence (e.g., stressed, relaxed, friendly)?

What is your state at the moment?

What is the ideal state to influence this person?

How can you create the ideal state?

What influence techniques will be most effective?


Exercise 2 – Exploring the various influencing techniques and how

they would work with various stakeholders

Break into the same groups as before and

▪ Determine and discuss your favourite tactic(s)

for influencing others

▪ Ask yourselves

– What will be the challenge in getting the

individuals/groups you identified in the

previous exercise to act in the way you

want?

– Which technique(s) would be most effective

with them


Exercise 3 – Experimenting with various techniques by role playing 3

different scenarios

In groups of 3, you will each have a chance to play the role

of

▪ The influencer – experimenting with various techniques to make

change happen

▪ The influencee – responding as realistically as possible

▪ The observer – using the observation sheet to provide feedback

to the influencer, keeping in mind these questions

– What techniques did the influencer try?

– When and why did the influencer change tactics?

– What did the influencer do well?

– What would have made the influencer even more effective?

For each role play, you will have 3 minutes to prepare, 7

minutes to role play, and 5 minutes to debrief one another

influencing with integrity - morneau shepell

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