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Influence, Persuasion and the Project Manager

Posted by Ruth Elswick

Are project managers "powerless"? Never, with these tools at hand.

Teaching a Leadership class in a major organization, I began by discussing the power that is available to project managers.  The class literally burst out laughing and continued laughing for a long time.  Because I am aware that I am not a great comedienne, I had to ask what was so funny.  One of the participants said “Power? Us?  You've got to be kidding!  Project managers here have zero power.  We just take the blame for everything that goes wrong!”

That organization, unfortunately, is more the norm than the exception.  I hear over and over that a major challenge facing project managers is the perception that they have all the responsibility and accountability without any authority. Yeteven if the project manager has authority it doesn't guarantee that he or she will get support and commitment from their stakeholders. This is why it's so useful to develop two power-boosting skills: networking and influencing. 

Networking is basically getting things done through the power of others and influencing is the ability to get things done using whatever sources of power are at one's disposal ... with a dollop of finesse.

A network is an informal system that enhances theability to use power and influence more effectively.  Networking is accomplished by making an effort to develop cooperative relationships with people who can, or might someday be able to, help in some way with a project (or a career). These people can include senior managers, functional managers, team members, and customers ... in other words, any and all stakeholders.  A network should evolve into a group of people who have expertise in certain areas; some may have lots of power, both because of who they know or what position they hold, or have access to corporate decision makers.  The result of this networking effort is an informal, unstructured system that enhances project managers' ability to use power and influence more effectively. Organizations that support the networking efforts of project managers, via communities of practice, support for cross-functional work, or professional enrichment, will get more bang per project management buck.

The Six Principles of Influence (also known as the Six Weapons of Influence) were created by Robert Cialdini, Regents' Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Marketing at Arizona State University. He published them in his respected 1984 book "Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion."

  • Commitment and consistency
  • Reciprocity
  • Social Proof
  • Authority
  • Liking
  • Scarcity

Project managers are called on to use some of theses principles of influence with stakeholders. Be aware, that if the other party feels taken advantage of later, these may backfire! Proper stakeholder management means caring for the needs of stakeholders so there is reciprocity in what you receive and what you deliver. The goal of influencing is to deepen relationships and/or commitment to achieve the end result.

In fact, according to John Maxwell, author of Developing the Leader within You, the definition of leadership is influence.  His description of the five levels of leadership shows the connection of power to influence: 

  • Position: People follow (reluctantly) solely because of your title.
  • Permission: People follow you beyond your stated authority. It's built on relationships.
  • Production: People follow you because of a positive relationship and also because goals are being realized. People are coming together to accomplish a purpose.
  • People Development: People follow you because they are growing under your leadership.
  • Personhood: People follow you because of who you are and what you represent. This is a lifetime achievement.

Interpersonal influence is based on trust, support, and collaboration. It results in commitment to the task or purpose: people decide that they want to work with you to get the job done. When you have no direct authority over others, you must use your relationship building skills to gain their confidence and assistance.

A caveat: Persuasion and influencing have a bad reputation as “confidence tricks.” But a project manager is wise enough to realize that a commitment kept is a relationship strengthened. And that bodes well for the next project down the line.

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