The ability to influence when you don’t have the authority to compel will enhance your effectiveness as a manager and your personal brand in the organisation.
In this series of three posts we’ll look at the factors that influence people, and how your preparation can give you the confidence to have the difficult, courageous conversations.
We’ll cover:
- Factors that influence – What sways others to collaborate and follow?
- Conflict reactions – What might get in the way?
- Planning – How do you prepare?
Part 3: Planning
Here’s a simple tool called SPEC to help you plan a meeting.
- Specific Task
- People
- Expectations
- Communication
Specific Task
Identify the specific task, what needs to happen. You should be able to communicate this clearly and concisely. Remember the five why’s (Who, What, When, Where, Why). Know what the real benefit is for everyone.
People
Who needs to be involved? How will you persuade them towards your ideas? This could mean you have an order in which you approach people, get some easy wins before you address the more resistant. Being part of the group is a strong influencer. If four people have already signed up, it makes it harder to be the one who says no.
Expectations
What are your expectations of these people? What’s in it for them? How will you get commitment? This is “five why’s” territory again; people will always want to know what’s in it for them.
Communicate
How will you communicate? Face-to-face is always the most powerful, but not always practical. Once you have agreement, how often do you want to be in touch? This rapid learning module gives you strategies to use when influencing without authority.
Factors
- Consider which applies to your situation.
- Conflict reactions.
- Be prepared for resistance.
- Planning.
Use the above SPEC template to plan.
I hope this series of posts has been useful! Obviously there is a lot more to the subject, perhaps this will whet your appetite to work with Sun and Moon!
David Solomon
Managing Director, Sun and Moon Training
@SunMoonDavid
Photo copyright: nyul / 123RF Stock Photo