Influence Without Authority. Cohen Allan R.
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Название: Influence Without Authority
Автор: Cohen Allan R.
Издательство: John Wiley & Sons Limited
Жанр: Зарубежная образовательная литература
isbn: 9781119347514
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With so much interdependence required, wielding influence becomes a test of skill. Going hat in hand to throw yourself at a colleague's mercy may work once or twice, but is seldom a powerful or effective option. At the other extreme, trying to bull your way through by sheer nerve and aggressiveness can be costly as well. Antagonizing crucial peers or superiors is a dangerous strategy that can easily come back to haunt you. So, what is the alternative?
When you want to influence those you don't control, you will have to get to know them, figure out what they want, build reasonable trust so they will consider making exchanges, satisfy them, and slowly build cooperation. If you already have close relationships, mutual influence is a free-flowing byproduct that seems to happen naturally.
Why an Influence Model?
Aren't these points self-evident? And don't you use them already? “Yes” to both of those; when you already know how to influence individuals or groups to get needed cooperation, just do it. But if you are stuck or frustrated, can't figure out what is really wanted or don't care to give it, are having trouble connecting, don't seem to have anything to offer, or want to be certain how best to approach someone, then a systematic model can be incredibly helpful in making sure you have covered all the steps or make things worse before you get going.1
The model we developed is based on a universal principle of interaction social scientists call the Law of Reciprocity. It states that people expect to get “paid back for what they do for others.” When someone helps you, you are expected sooner or later to somehow reciprocate, in some reasonably equivalent way. This give and take – formally called exchange – is a core part of all human interaction and the lubricant that makes organizations functional.
Although the concept of give and take is in many ways simple and straightforward, the process of exchange is more complicated. We have found that there are six essential components (Figure 1.1).
Figure 1.1 Summary of the Cohen-Bradford Model of Influence without Authority
Assume everyone is a potential ally. With this mindset, no matter how difficult the interaction might be, it is possible that the other may eventually help. With enough exploration, it is likely that almost everyone cares about something that you could offer in return for what you seek.
Clarify your goals and priorities. Be sure you know what you want, what is most important, and what you would settle for. Be specific; “good working relationship” is too general to be useful.
Diagnose the world of the other person. In organizational life, people care about many things including how they are measured and rewarded, what their boss expects, their unit's culture, the actual tasks they are assigned, and so on. Knowing what they care about helps in (tentatively) figuring out what you might offer.
Identify relevant currencies, theirs, yours. Since exchange is involved, currencies provide a useful metaphor for what someone values. Most people value many different currencies, and fortunately, most people wanting influence often have more currencies than they might think.
Dealing with relationships. This has two aspects: (a) how good (or strained) is the present relationship and (b) how does the other person want to be related to?
Influence through give and take. In this process you give something the other party values (a currency) in exchange for what you want. This can be done implicitly or explicitly, casually or formally, depending on the relationship, the organization's culture, and both parties' personal preferences.
Chapter 2 (and the rest of the book) explores all these steps in more detail. But much of the time influence happens when people use elements of this model instinctively and automatically. When you already have a good relationship and have been mutually influencing one another for some time, you don't need conscious diagnosis, reflection on your key goals, or an assessment of the relationship. It comes naturally. Like the person in Moliere's play who discovered that after all these years he was unknowingly speaking “prose,” you probably already are doing much of what we describe here without thinking about it, especially when things are going well.
But other conditions make influence more difficult. These are listed in Table 1.2.
Table 1.2 Conditions Requiring Conscious Use of an Influence Model
Conscious attention to this model isn't necessary at all times, but when useful, consider the model analogous to a pilot's checklist, which is followed routinely before a flight. Pilots know what to do, but the checklist ensures they cover all the bases. Such an influence checklist is especially helpful when you face an anxiety-provoking situation that may narrow your focus and constrain the alternatives considered.
Under those conditions where one meets resistance and little cooperation, the reverse of this model can play out. Rather than seeing the others as potential allies, it is hard not to slip into seeing them as recalcitrant fools – or worse. Rather than fully understanding their world, the common tendency is to simplify and stereotype it. The stress of the situation can lead you to forget your primary goals and just want to do the other in. Most people don't intend to do that, but that is why a model helps. It allows you to step back and make sure that conditions let you achieve influential win-win outcomes. But what are the barriers to doing that?
Barriers to Influence
We need to start by acknowledging that in some conditions influence is not possible (Table 1.3). There truly are impossible people (though far fewer than most people think). And some external conditions may block a working relationship. However, we have found that in most cases influence fails because of internal barriers within the influencer. Those are ones you have the most control over.
Table 1.3 Barriers to Influence
Too great a power differential between you and the person or group you want to influence. There may be such a hierarchical distance that it is impossible to make contact or the difference is so great that you have little to offer. But we often overestimate the inaccessibility of those even a couple of levels above us.
The people you want to influence have such different personal and organizational goals and objectives that you can't find common ground. This can be true or it can just reflect not searching deep enough.
The people you want to influence have incompatible performance measures. These may not let them respond to what you want. The measurement system may give them little latitude.
The people you want to influence are rivals, or feel competitive and don't want you to succeed. Or there might be too great a negative history between you (or your units) that cooperation is impossible. But organizations that fiercely compete with each other (like СКАЧАТЬ
By their very nature, models are simplified abstractions from reality, highlighting what is important and needs attention. Reality is usually messier, especially people with their differing perceptions, feelings, and assumptions. In any given instance, you may have to make adjustments and inferences, but a good model helps sort things out. Our influence model takes what social scientists had previously treated as descriptive – the presence of reciprocity among people – and makes it prescriptive and proactive. Combined with our research in organizations, the model breaks into steps what often is just taken for granted or feels overwhelming.