Handbook of Principles of Organizational Behavior - Soltanieh ...

USE POWER EFFECTIVELY TO INFLUENCE PEOPLE
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Proactive influence tactics include attempts to gain compliance or commitment to a
request or proposal, and specific types of proactive tactics will be described in the next
section of this chapter. Most proactive tactics are also useful to resist or modify infl uence
attempts by others. Impression management tactics involve attempts to infl uence
how the agent is perceived by the target, and the objective may be to increase the target
person’s respect and appreciation of the agent. Examples include showing respect and
deference, providing praise, agreeing with the target person, describing your talents and achievements,
and acting in highly visible ways that indicate competence and dedication
(e.g. working late, doing extra work). Finally, political tactics include attempts to infl uence
strategic decisions about objectives, the distribution of scarce resources, and the selection
of people to positions of high power and authority.
Proactive influence tactics
Research by Yukl and his colleagues ( Yukl, 2006 ; Yukl, Seifert, and Chavez, 2008) identified
11 proactive influence tactics that are relevant for understanding effective infl uence
in organizations. Each tactic will be explained briefly, and the conditions favoring its use
will be described.
Rational persuasion. Rational persuasion involves the use of logical arguments and factual
evidence that a proposal or request is important and feasible. In the most common
form of rational persuasion, the agent emphasizes the potential benefits for the organization,
team, or mission. This form of rational persuasion is appropriate when the target
person shares the same task objectives as the agent but does not recognize that the agent ’s
proposal is the best way to attain the objectives. On the other hand, if the agent and target
person have incompatible objectives, this type of rational persuasion is unlikely to be
successful for obtaining commitment or even compliance. Thus, it is useful to ensure that
there are shared objectives before using this infl uence tactic.
An agent ’s technical knowledge is the source of facts and arguments used to build a
persuasive case. However, in addition to facts and evidence, a persuasive case usually
includes some opinions or inferences that the agent asks others to accept at face value
because there is insuffi cient evidence to verify them. Thus, infl uence derived from rational
persuasion is greater when the agent is perceived to be credible and trustworthy. Expert
power, information power, and referent power can all enhance the effectiveness of rational
persuasion. Finally, an agent needs considerable skill in persuasive speaking to present a
case in a way that will have the maximum possible infl uence.
Apprising. Apprising is the use of information and logic to emphasize the benefits of a
request or proposal for the target person as an individual. The agent may explain how
a request will further the target person’s career, improve the person’s skills, or make the person’s
job easier. Unlike rational persuasion, there is not necessarily a shared objective to use
as the basis for an appeal. Unlike exchange, the agent is not offering to give the target something,
but is only pointing out that a proposed course of action will help get the target person
something he or she wants. For apprising to be effective, the agent must be a credible
source of information about potential benefits not already known to the target person.