The Power to Influence Without Authority

Andy Kaufman, PMP, PMI-ACP

https://www.LinkedIn.com/in/buildleaders

Slide 2

Influence Situations

What are examples

of situations where

you need to use

influence?

What Is Influence?

“Influence means change…

creating change in some way. Change can be in an attitude; it can be in a perception; or a behavior. But in all instances, we can't lay claim to influence until we can demonstrate that we've changed someone.”

Slide 4

Source: Interview with Guy Kawasaki,

http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2006/04/book_review_inf.html#axzz1TWs1j7Hw

Influence or Manipulation?

How would you

differentiate

influence from

manipulation?

Slide 5

“Influence is what people do to help. If you're not

helping others, then you're not doing it right.”

Tim David

Author of TRUE InfluencePeopleAndProjectsPodcast.com/194

Project Managers and Power

• Leadership & management

are about getting things

done, which can involve

organizational politics

9Influence

9Negotiation

9Autonomy

9Power

“Top project managers are proactive and intentional when

it comes to power. These project managers will work to

acquire the power and authority they need within the boundaries of organizational

policies, protocols, and procedures rather than wait for

it to be granted.”

A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, (PMBOK® Guide) – Sixth Edition

“Like dancing a beautiful ballet in a minefield, if you ignore the landmines, or do nothing but complain about

them, you're likely lose a few toes.”

Dan Rust

Author of Workplace PokerPeopleAndProjectsPodcast.com/154

Who Do You Have to Influence?• Who (by name or

department) do you

need to “change”

(influence)?

• What are some desired

results for each?

• What makes it difficult to

influence them?

Slide 10

NeuroLeadership Institute

www.NeuroLeadership.com

SCARF Model

SCARF Model•Status

•Certainty

•Autonomy

•Relatedness

•Fairness

Forms of Power from PMBOK Guide

• Reward

• Coercive

• Positional

• Referent

• Expert

• Informational

• Relational

• Ingratiating

“UC Berkeley professor Jennifer Chatman, in an

unpublished study, sought to see if there was some point

beyond which flattery became ineffective.”

Jeffrey Pfeffer

Power: Why Some People Have ItPeopleAndProjectsPodcast.com/200

“As she told me, there might be a point at which flattery became ineffective, but she couldn’t find it in her data.”

Jeffrey Pfeffer

Power: Why Some People Have ItPeopleAndProjectsPodcast.com/200

Forms of Power from PMBOK Guide

• Reward

• Coercive

• Positional

• Referent

• Expert

• Informational

• Relational

• Ingratiating

“Hi! I’m Dr. Robert Cialdini,

persuasion & influence expert!”

Through extensive

research, identified

six weapons of

influence

• Reciprocation

• Commitment &

Consistency

• Social Proof

• Liking

• Authority

• Scarcity

“Hi! I’m Dr. Allan Cohen, author of

Influence

without

Authority!”

Cohen-Bradford Influence Model

How You Say It Matters• Words matter. People respond

to “free”, “now”, “I need your

help.” Use their name.

• Respectful transfer of emotion.

• Get them talking.

• Use pictures.

“The Cardinal Law of Persuasion is to never make

the other person feel stupid.”

Tim David

Author of TRUE InfluencePeopleAndProjectsPodcast.com/194

“There's no question about it, there is one critical emotion

you need to express in almost any human interaction:

Tim David

Author of TRUE InfluencePeopleAndProjectsPodcast.com/194

confidence.”

“People stop wanting to help when they feel any

hint of ingratitude.”

Tim David

Author of TRUE InfluencePeopleAndProjectsPodcast.com/194

Influence Scenario

Identify an influence

situation and explore how

you can apply one or more

of the techniques.

• Cialdini’s Weapons of Influence

9 Reciprocation

9 Commitment & Consistency

9 Social Proof

9 Liking

9 Authority

9 Scarcity

• PMBOK Guide9 Reward & Coercive

9 Referent & Positional

9 Expert & Informational

9 Relational & Ingratiating

• SCARF9 Status

9 Certainty

9 Autonomy

9 Relatedness

9 Fairness

• Tim David9 Words matter

9 Use pictures

9 Respectful transfer of

emotion

9 Get them talking

9 Don’t insult

9 Confidence

9 Gratitude

9 Give people a reputation to live up to

Influence Techniques

Taking Action• Watch for these techniques being

used

• Try a couple of them

• Let me know how it goes!

The Power to Influence Without Authority

Andy Kaufman, PMP, PMI-ACP

https://www.LinkedIn.com/in/buildleaders