Problem
This section describes essentially ethical and honest tactics and strategies for influencing others, as outlined in list below. Used with tact, diplomacy, and good intent, these strategies can help you get others to join you in accomplishing a worthwhile objective. Because these influence tactics vary in complexity, they also vary with respect to how much time is required to develop them.
1) Leading by example and respect
2) Using rational persuasion
3) Telling true stories
4) Explaining the benefits to the target
5) Making a personal appeal
6) Developing a reputation as a subject matter expert
7) Exchanging favors and bargaining
8) Legitimating a request
9) Making an inspirational appeal, being charming, and emotional display
10) Consultation with others
11) Forming coalitions
12) Being a team player
Practicing hands-on leadershipA simple but effective way of influencing group members is by leading by example or acting as a positive role model. The ideal approach is to be a "do as I say and do" manager-that is, one whose actions and words are consistent. Actions and words confirm, support, and often clarify each other. Being respected facilitates leading by example because group members are more likely to follow the example of leaders they respect. A major way in which a leader obtains respect is by being trusted. Part of the respect Tim Cook has received is that she can be trusted to follow through on his plans such as acquiring companies to help Apple grow and paying dividends to investors to provide an additional reward for investing in the company.
Leading by example is often interpreted to mean that the leader works long and hard, and expects others to do the same, with this type of behavior being prevalent among entrepreneurs who hire a staff. During the startup phase of a company, the entrepreneur will often work over sixty hours per week and expect the new hires to follow a similar work schedule.
Research conducted with 683 workers and managers in a large communication organization indicated that a leader who demonstrates organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) is likely to influence subordinates to behave in a similar manner. Leader OCB was measured by area managers rating their subordinate managers. One dimension of citizenship behavior measured was performance above and beyond the call of duty and high attention to quality. Group managers rated the OCB of their groups as a whole. The result showed that managers who received high ratings on OCB tended to have subordinate groups that exhibited strong OCB. Leading by example may therefore promote group-level behaviors that enhance organization effectiveness.
Rational persuasion is an important tactic for influencing people. It involves using logical arguments and factual evidence to convince another person that a proposal or request is workable and likely to achieve the goal. Assertiveness combined with careful research is necessary to make rational persuasion an effective tactic. It is likely to be most effective with people who are intelligent and rational. CEOs typically use rational persuasion to convince their boards that an undertaking, such as product diversification, is mandatory. A major moderating variable in rational persuasion is the credibility of the influence agent. Credibility helps an individual be more persuasive in two ways. First, it makes a person more convincing. Second, it contributes to a person's perceived power, and the more power one is perceived to have, the more targets will be influenced.
The following two statements are samples of how rational persuasion is measured as perceived by subordinates in research about influence processes.
Explains clearly why a request or proposed change is necessary to attain a task objective
Provides information or evidence to show that a proposed activity or change is likely to be successful
Leaders who emphasize the rational decision-making model favor rational persuasion. For example, a leader favoring this model might say, "Don't tell me what you feel, give me the facts," in response to a subordinate who said, "I have the feeling that morale is down." Leaders at Google heavily emphasize such data-based decision making. A Google professional in a meeting would be rejected if he or she said, "I think there are too many random photos appearing in Google Images." In contrast, he or she would be accepted if the statement were, "I sampled one hundred Google Images, and found that eight of them had random images."
Telling True Stories
Storytelling was mentioned as part of the communication style of charismatic leaders. Storytelling has become accepted also an effective method for most leaders when attempting to influence workers. Leadership at Amazon.com attempts to influence warehouse workers not to steal by telling stories about Amazon workers who were fired for theft. In the warehouses, the company puts on flat-screen TVs that display examples of alleged on-the-job theft, and the fact that the employees were terminated. The images are accompanied by details such as when and what the workers stole, the value of the stolen merchandise. Also depicted is the method of stealing such as changing an address label or stuffing merchandise in their socks, and the fact that many of these workers are arrested. The stories influence many employees by reminding them there is a high probability of thieves will be caught. (It is possible that many readers would classify this use of storytelling as less than an ethical influence tactic.)
A major concern about the widespread use of PowerPoint in organizations is that many presenters rely so heavily on facts, figures, fancy graphics, and clipart that they neglect the art of storytelling. A way for the leader to use PowerPoint slides and still capitalize on the influential of storytelling is to supplement the slides with appropriate anecdotes. For example, a marketing manager of a hotel chain might be making a PowerPoint presentation of how the company was gaining market share in a particular region of the country. The manager might pause to share an anecdote of how a family sent the company and e-mail expressing gratitude that their favorite hotel was coming to town.
A. Considering the influence tactics discussed, which works best for the personally?
B. Considering these same influence tactics, which tactic should be best for a new leader in a new position? Provide reasoning.
C. Which would be best for a seasoned leader or a leader with more experience? Provide reasoning.