 | Increase Your Influence at Work (Worksmart Series) |
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Product Description
People who know how to influence others in the office enjoy a greater measure of control over their work lives and advance their careers more rapidly than others. But what many don't know is that the mysterious quality known as influence can be learned and developed by anyone. Readers will discover how to develop the most important attributes necessary for influence trustworthiness, reliability, and assertiveness and find out how to move beyond being passive participants in their work lives, and gain the cooperation and attention of those who matter most.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #625013 in Books
- Published on: 2010-07-01
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: .40" h x 5.90" w x 8.90" l, .40 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 112 pages
Features
- ISBN13: 9780814416013
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
Editorial Reviews
From the Back Cover
People who know how to influence others in the office enjoy a greater measure of control over their work lives and advance their careers more rapidly than others. But what many don't know is that the "mysterious" quality known as influence can actually be learned and developed by anyone. This practical book, filled with easy-to-apply tips for influencing managers, peers, and subordinates, will show you how to: · Win support for your ideas and projects · Contribute more fully to important decisions · Resolve conflicts more easily · Frame important issues for maximum benefit · Lead and manage more effectively · And much more. You'll discover how to develop the most important attributes necessary for influence—trustworthiness, reliability, and assertiveness—and find out how to move beyond being merely a passive participant in your work life and gain the cooperation and attention of those who matter most. Perry McIntosh has over 15 years of management experience at mid- and senior levels. Richard A. Luecke is a business writer and the co-writer of the second edition of How to Become a Better Negotiator and many other books. Together, they are the writers of The Busy Manager's Guide to Delegation.
About the Author
RICHARD A. LUECKE (Salem, MA) is a business writer and entrepreneur. He is the author of The Manager's Toolkit and the second edition of How to Become a Better Negotiator (978-0-8144-0047-0).
PERRY MCINTOSH (Salem, MA) has over 15 years of management experience at mid- and senior levels. Together, they are the authors of The Busy Manager's Guide to Delegation (978-0-8144-1474-3).
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
CHAPTER 1
INFLUENCE, POWER, AND PERSUASION
''Our new general manager has had a positive influence on our business culture.''
''It's clear that Helen was much influenced by her mentor.''
''Our state senator was nabbed for influence peddling in an FBI sting operation.''
''Although Steve is the leader of a cross-functional team, he seems to have very little influence over his team members.''
The term influence is used often, and in all facets of life. But what does it really mean, especially in a workplace context? And how does it differ from related concepts, such as power and persuasion? This chapter answers these questions and sets the stage for a greater understanding of influence and how you can develop and apply it at work. Power, influence, and persuasion have one thing in common: Each is something we use to get what we want from others—a tangible item, a particular behavior (or change in behavior), or acceptance of our ideas or modes of thinking. Let's consider each of these concepts in turn.
POWER
Power is the ability to get what we want by virtue of command or compulsion. In the workplace, people who occupy certain positions— as executives, managers, and supervisors—are invested with some level of power. They are authorized by the organization within certain limits to give orders, allocate or withhold resources, and make decisions. Thus, your boss has the power (again, within certain limits) to make decisions on who will be hired and promoted and how work will be done. For example, it's likely that your boss has the power to determine when you and other subordinates will take vacation days. When the CEO tells the head of manufacturing, ''I want costs reduced by 10 percent over the next six months—show me how you are going to do it,'' she's not asking the department head to do something. She's not trying to influence or persuade him. Instead, she's using her power of position to command or compel a particular behavior.
Most people in Western societies have a visceral distrust of power and power differences between people; they favor equality between people. They are uncomfortable with the idea that some individuals can command or compel others. To them, power harkens to historical conditions in which one party arbitrarily exercised his or her will over others. This discomfort with power spills over into the modern workplace, where people can be less responsive to direct orders than to a manager's appeals for their cooperation. Thus, new managers quickly discover that their positional power doesn't get them very far; bossing people around is very unproductive. These managers may have the power to command certain actions, and their subordinates may be obliged to obey, but compulsion seldom enlists a person's best efforts. If anything, it may produce resistance. If the work must be done quickly and well, managers find that appeals for collaboration are generally more productive than compulsion.
This is not so say that power has no place in organizations. Power is, in fact, essential in organizational life. Let's look at some situations when the use of positional power is necessary to get things done:
* When a Crisis Occurs. Crises almost always demand a rapid and unequivocal response. People look to a leader who commands them to get out when the building is on fire. There is no time for discussion, convincing, and consensus building. What is needed to handle a crisis is a command response, not participative management or employee empowerment. Employees recognize this and generally accept the commands of leaders during periods of crisis.
* When Consensus Cannot Be Reached. Key decisions can sometimes be made by consensus, but when people fail to reach consensus a manager must use positional power to break the deadlock and make a decision that allows the group to move forward.
* When Subordinates Lack Essential Skills or Experience. Exercising power may make sense in some situations, but not in others. For example, a manager who tries to boss around technical professionals or other highly skilled employees does so at his peril. Skillful people who are dedicated to their work expect to work with their bosses in getting things done; they do not respond well to commands or compulsion. Successful managers of these employees can command the ''what'' but not the ''how''—they can insist on certain results but leave it to skilled employees to determine how the results are accomplished. However, the opposite may be true of employees who are new to their jobs or who lack important skills. In these cases, close direction and command may be appropriate.
* When Employees Lack Key Information. Whether for reasons of legality, confidentiality, or organizational complexity, sometimes only the manager can have access to the ''big picture.''
* When the Buck Stops Here. Although it is wise to get input from others on many difficult decisions, managers must take ultimate responsibility for some decisions, such as the decision to hire or terminate an employee.
INFLUENCE
Influence is a means of getting what we want without command or compulsion. Unlike power, which can be exercised only by certain people such as managers and executives by virtue of their positions, influence can be exercised by anyone at any level of the organization. For example, a savvy manager who enjoys the power of position sees the wisdom of not exercising it. To return to the example of the vacation schedule, a ''decree from on high'' that no staff may take a vacation during July would likely engender resentment; the department might experience a rash of unfortunate ''illnesses'' that month. The savvy manager recognizes that she'll get more of what she wants by applying influence. Explaining her concerns and asking for cooperation to meet department needs will probably be more effective. For her, influence is a ''soft'' form of power.
In contrast to his manager, an engineer working in a research and development lab may have no formal power; nevertheless, he may have substantial influence over both his boss and his peers if he possesses uncanny creativity and problem-solving abilities that they recognize and appreciate. When he speaks, other people listen— and they often willingly adopt his point of view. For him, too.
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful.Brief, smart how-to on building workplace influence
By Rolf Dobelli
In simple, straightforward prose, business authors Perry McIntosh and Richard A. Luecke define a clear, easily implemented program for gaining and keeping influence at work. This book, part of the Work Smart series, reads quickly. Its tactics and techniques are memorable and not difficult to put into practice. To maintain their rapid pace, the authors keep examples to a minimum, and those they include do a good job of illuminating their strategies. McIntosh and Luecke propose methods anyone can understand and retain, and even provide a moral primer to guide readers who might go astray in an overenthusiastic pursuit of influence. That the authors take great care to refer to readers and examples alike by both "he" and "she" proves how attuned they are to their own advice and to the exigencies of the modern workplace. Even though some introductory ideas reappear in similar form in the later chapters, getAbstract recommends this book to those who crave more power, influence and advancement at their jobs. And who doesn't?
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