Persuasion. Persuasion process

Transcription

1 Persuasion Class #8 Persuasion process Can you win? Do you want to win Who do you need to persuade? When to persuade them? Where can you find them? What are you fighting against? How are you going to win? Rhetorics Relationships

2 III: What can an organization structure tell us? III: Diagnosing power grids 1. Start wit the formal structure 2. Define diplomatic roles 3. Score attitudes towards change 4. Score attitudes towards you 5. Assess the strength of your tie 6. Map power boundaries

3 III: Diagnosing power grids 1. Start with the formal structure The formal structure gives you a starting point But be suspicious of it all time It does provide two pieces of information: The people formally responsible for making a decision Their formal roles in decision making It s a first set of clues that helps you decide where to start sniffing for information III: Diagnosing power grids 2. Define diplomatic roles G E S D I A Gate Keeper Evaluator Source of information Decision Maker Influencer Approver Channels and levers Targets

4 III: Diagnosing power grids 3. Score attitudes towards change % of typical population Ref: CALT study of change recipients in 25 organizations Innovation leaders Early Adopters Early Followers Late Followers Obstinate Resistors 0 IL EA EF LF OR III: Diagnosing power grids 4. Score attitudes towards you :-< :-( :- :-) :-> Champion Favorable Neutral Saboteur Unfavorable

5 III: Diagnosing power grids 5. Assess the strength of your tie No tie Weak tie Strong tie Multiple ties III: Diagnosing power grids The political information cell D EA John Doe VP Info Systems :-)

6 III: Diagnosing power grids 6. Map power boundaries: Ask the right questions RESULTS Who defines which results matter? Who delivers results? SOLUTIONS What are the dominat solutions? Who is aligned with each solution? The Power Pyramid CONNECTIONS Who gets asked for advice? Who joins high profile teams? III: Diagnosing power grids 6. Map power boundaries: Classify players Politically-excluded Political network Political strucure Political core Wonder Aware Active Agile Don t know what hit them Dodge the ball Nudge the ball Throw the ball

7 Example of a political map Process of change Strategic alignment: Align the hard factors Culture: Get the norms and values right Power and politics: Get the help of those really in charge

8 Strategic alignment Successful planned changes align: Structure Roles, reporting structure Systems Pay, promotion, procedures Strategy Goals of the change effort Culture (I) Behaviors and artifacts Values and beliefs Deeply-held assumptions

9 Culture (II) Culture as an input to change: Will the change work on this culture? What are the beliefs and values that help and stand on the way? Changing through culture How to best communicate the change program Rituals and myths (or behaviors) to change beliefs and values Power & Politics Focus on who is really in charge: Centrality Who has the power? Type of network What power do they have Isolates Who is beyond reach?

10 Politics Occur Naturally in Organizations Competition for scarce resources Salary Staff Dept. budget Office Position Space Recognition Benefits Adapted from a presentation prepared by the career center of the Monterey Institute What is Office Politics? Communicating indirectly Using covert tactics to advance Controlling other people through psychological manipulation Being cautions about telling the truth Hiding vulnerability Currying favor

11 Organizational Politics Involves intentional acts of influence to enhance or protect the self-interest of individuals or groups. Organizational Politics Political Tactics: Attacking or blaming others. Using information as a political tool Creating a favorable image. Developing a base of support. Praising others (ingratiation). Forming power coalitions with strong allies. Associating with influential people. Creating obligations (reciprocity).

12 There are office politics in every organization! Politics Reflect the Competing Interests of Stakeholders Stakeholders: Groups with an interest in the organization, its inputs and outputs Managers Staff Shareholders Customers Suppliers

13 Examples of Office Politics Example: Looking Good Pete is a supervisor who is ambitious to a fault. Everything he does is for effect. One of his ground rules is that only positive information makes its way from him to his boss. Negative news is totally ignored. He makes it clear that anyone in his group who says bad things about him or the organization risks getting fired. If an employee openly disagrees, he or she is labeled a non-supporter. Everyone who reports to Pete agrees the best practice is to fall into line and be a yes person.

14 Example: Power by Association Mike is a young marketing manager. He sees work as a game and compulsively seeks to be a winner. He gets turned on by challenging, competitive activities where he can prove himself. He hates being pushed around. His goal is to become more powerful because power means freedom. To expand his influence and to increase his chances of advancement, he is developing very strong relationships with major customers who can make demands on his company. Example: Favoritism Larry was hired as the heir-apparent to the CFO. Cora, a financial analyst who had been with the company for two years, made herself indispensable to him. When Larry was placed in charge of the annual budget review, he made Cora his assistant. At a point where his views clashed with those of a Senior Auditor, Larry fired the auditor and promoted Cora to that position even though she wasn t the most qualified person for the job.

15 Example: The Copywriters Clique When Kate became a copywriter for a newspaper in a large city, she was invited to join her group for lunch her first day on the job. She discovered the group met informally once a week to gossip, to exchange inside tips, and to get to know one another better. Kate quickly learned the value of trading information at these events. The message was clear: lunch was political. A final note: It s important to remember that to be human is to be political. Whenever people s priorities, values, and interests diverge, some type of politicking usually takes place. Office Politics Problem: A non-management employee runs the department grapevine for gossip and her information is usually correct, including the news that you are about to take over as manager. Solution: It might be tempting to sit her down immediately and explain that the grapevine is dead and that any information will come from you in the future. An effective manager must have access to the grapevine to learn employee concerns. Even when the message is untrue, gossip usually reflects employee concerns and fears.

16 Office Politics Tips for dealing with the office grapevine: Listen to whatever is being said without getting too emotional or losing your temper. You don t know what message will get sent back through the grapevine. If the information is accurate, don t go on a witch hunt to find the leak. You can t close the grapevine down, but you can put a crimp in access to it. Office Politics If the information is totally false, don t make a public denouncement. Nothing cuts a grapevine deeper than a completely false story. Pump as much accurate information into the system as you possibly can. Prevent rumors by consistently leveling with employees. Correct false rumors immediately. Communicate in person whenever you can. Memos, e- mail messages, and comments that get passed through numerous people are usually wide open to interpretation.

17 Office Politics Don t try to kill the grapevine. It s human nature for people to want to exchange inside information about what s happening in the office. Too many attempts to manage the flow of information will make employees suspect you re covering something up. Managing Office Politics Reduce System Uncertainty Reduce Competition Break Existing Political Fiefdoms or clichés Create interdependent reward structure

18 Positive Political Strategies Know your own interests and goals Focus on common interests rather than differences Build relationships Social groups Inside the organization Outside the organization Vertically as well as horizontally Politics is a necessary evil and often it s just plain evil. Unfortunately, it s also how things get done. Blaine Pardoe, Director, Technology-Education Services Ernst & Young LLP

19 Office politics fills a leadership vacuum If you build a unified companywide team, politics won t have a place. Lawrence B. Seruen Author The End of Office Politics Five principles to deal with office politics Adapted from Cubicle Warfare (B. Pardoe)

20 1. You can t win unless someone else loses. "The root of all politics is competition. Performance reviews usually judge people against their colleagues. All salespeople compete against each other. There are winners and losers in all companies. Playing politics is the way to stand out. So you must play to win." 2. Just because you don t get what you want doesn t mean you re getting the shaft. "Not every defeat is the result of politics. I got a call on a radio show in which a guy said, 'My wife was a victim of office politics. She was not promoted, even though she was the most qualified.' I said, 'What makes you think she should have gotten the job? Maybe she had the wrong personality. Maybe the timing wasn't right. Not everybody is going to make vice president.' Office politics can be a convenient villain. It prevents you from understanding more substantive issues."

21 3. Politics is about power and power is measured in many ways. "The other day, I was at a company where a woman was counting the ceiling tiles to see if she had more office space than someone else. There's no connection between the size of the stakes and the desperation of your competitors. To get an office with a window, some people are willing to get other people fired or to risk ruining their own reputation. Never underestimate what people will do." 4. The past is the prologue to the present Always learn the unofficial history of your company: who got into power, how they did it, where the bodies are buried. The unofficial history isn t always accurate; history gets distorted by the victors. But it will teach you how politics gets played at your company how far people will go, what happens when you lose. You ll never see that stuff in the annual report.

22 5. Don t believe everything you hear Information is power, and lots of information comes in the form of rumors. But too many people believe too much of what they hear and make bad decisions as a result. Whenever I hear a rumor, I think about it for a day. Does it make any sense? Who stands to gain from spreading it? Is there an acid test that I can use to evaluate whether it s true? Nine times out of ten, I conclude that it just doesn t hold water.