Organizational Politics and How to Influence Monday, June 8, 2015-1:00pm-2:15pm, Madison Ballroom Presented by: Dan Chase, Partner/Consultant, Actualized Government Solutions (AGS) For many in organizational settings politics is a dirty word. In this session participants will learn that not only is politics not a dirty word, understanding the politics of their organizations is critical for leadership success and career advancement. More specifically, participants will learn about their own proclivities towards political behavior, how to assess the culture they work in, how to best approach specific stake holders, and useful communications techniques to use when attempting to influence their organizations towards positive change. As participants develop these skills they will learn to become benevolent politicians; leaders who understand how to use politics to achieve organizationally desirable ends. ABOUT THE SPEAKER DAN CHASE is originally from Laie, Hawaii and has been involved with leadership development in the public, private, and education sectors and currently serves as the Leadership Development Consultant for the State of Utah s Department of Human Resource Management. He has presented as a keynote speaker for various public agencies and non-profit organizations across the country and has consulted with dozens of public and private organizations, including direct management and executive coaching. He has been, or is currently, an adjunct faculty member for the Organizational and Leadership Strategy Department at BYU and the Communications Department and Woodbury School of Business at UVU and at the University of Phoenix. Dan earned an M.P.A. from BYU emphasizing in organizational behavior and HR and is currently a doctoral candidate (abd) at the University of Utah with a research emphasis on organizational and public leadership. He and his wife, Annie, reside in Riverton, Utah and have two sons, Dallas and Eric.
Organizational Politics Why Politics is NOT a Dirty Word
Persuasion and Politics Persuasion is more up front than playing games. Manipulation is often is based on deception, whereas coercion relies on force. Persuasion involves strategies of influence, but people have the choice to reject them; you re simply positioning ideas in ways that encourage other people to adopt them. -Kathleen Kelley Reardon, 2005 The question is not whether organizations will have politics, but what kind of politics they will have. Politics can be and often is sordid and destructive. But politics can also be the vehicle for achieving noble purposes, and managers can be benevolent politicians. Organizational change and effectiveness depend on such managers. -Bolman and Deal, 1991 The magic in being politically savvy lies in advance work, not in fancy strategies. -It s All Politics
Persuasion and Politics Legitimate versus Illegitimate Political Behavior Your Own Tendencies Towards Persuasion and Politics Assessing Your Organization and its Key Stakeholders Preparing for Influence/Communication Opportunities
Legitimate vs. Illegitimate Politics Illegitimate Politics: Violates the rules of the game. Dishonesty Gossip Sabotage Stealing Legitimate Politics: Openly or tacitly accepted behavior within most American organizations. Exerting influence to accomplish valuable ends, even if self-serving Applying various power techniques Impression management
9 Power Tactics Legitimacy. Relying on your authority position or saying a request accords with organizational policies or rules. Rational persuasion. Presenting logical arguments and factual evidence to demonstrate a request is reasonable. Inspirational appeals. Developing emotional commitment by appealing to a target s values, needs, hopes, and aspirations. Consultation. Increasing the target s support by involving him or her in deciding how you will accomplish your plan. Exchange. Rewarding the target with benefits or favors in exchange for following a request. Personal appeals. Asking for compliance based on friendship or loyalty. Ingratiation. Using flattery, praise, or friendly behavior prior to making a request. Pressure. Using warnings, repeated demands, and threats. Coalitions. Enlisting the aid or support of others to persuade the target to agree.
Why People Resist Change and Influence Lack of Trust Belief That Change is not Necessary Belief That Change is not Feasible Economic Threats Change of Habits and Routines Fear of Personal Failure Loss of Status and Power Threats to Values and Ideals Resentment of Interference
Agency Culture Control Collaborative Competence Cultivation It s All Politics, 2005
Agency Culture Control Collaboration Competence Focus is on standards to reach. Work is rigorous with a sense of urgency Cultivation It s All Politics, 2005
Agency Culture Control Focus is on rational decision making. Impersonal. Cost-benefit analysis. Collaboration Competence Cultivation It s All Politics, 2005
Agency Culture Collaboration Control Focus in on people. Decisions are made for their impact on individuals Competence Cultivation It s All Politics, 2005
Agency Culture Control Collaboration Cultivation Competence Culture is focused on succession planning and fulfilling success It s All Politics, 2005
Agency Culture Control Collaborative Competence Cultivation It s All Politics, 2005
Agency Culture Control Focus is on rational decision making. Impersonal. Cost-benefit analysis. Collaboration Focus in on people. Decisions are made for their impact on individuals Competence Focus is on standards to reach. Work is rigorous with a sense of urgency Cultivation Culture is focused on succession planning and fulfilling success It s All Politics, 2005
Agency Culture Organizational culture refers to a system of shared meaning held by members that distinguishes the organization from other organizations. Seven primary characteristics seem to capture the essence of an organization s culture: 1. Innovation and risk taking. The degree to which employees are encouraged to be innovative and take risks. 2. Attention to detail. The degree to which employees are expected to exhibit precision, analysis, and attention to detail. 3. Outcome orientation. The degree to which management focuses on results or outcomes rather than on the techniques and processes used to achieve them. 4. People orientation. The degree to which management decisions take into consideration the effect of outcomes on people within the organization. 5. Team orientation. The degree to which work activities are organized around teams rather than individuals. 6. Aggressiveness. The degree to which people are aggressive and competitive rather than easygoing. 7. Stability. The degree to which organizational activities emphasize maintaining the status quo in contrast to growth.
Stakeholder Analysis Personality and Response Forceful Speak with conviction Brusque Keep comments brief to hold their attention One needs to know not only the game, but also the players. - Jeffrey Pfeffer Managing With Power Down-to-earth Make sure your examples and data are practical Antsy They re nervous about details, so provide reassurance, not problems Perfectionist Assure them that all loose ends have been considered and dealt with Temperamental Choose your timing and location very carefully Charming Be able to enjoy the banter and repartee Sensitive Avoid any appearance that this is a response to their shortcomings Adapted from It s All Politics Kathleen Kelley Reardon, 2005.
Stakeholder Analysis High P O W E R KEEP SATISFIED MONITOR (Minimal Effort) MANAGE CLOSELY KEEP INFORMED Low Low INTEREST High Source: MindTools, retrieved from: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newppm_07.htm
Stakeholder Analysis High power, interested people: These are the people you must fully engage and make the greatest efforts to satisfy. High power, less interested people: Put enough work in with these people to keep them satisfied, but not so much that they become bored with your message. B.L.U.F.
Stakeholder Analysis Low power, interested people: Keep these people adequately informed, and talk to them to ensure that no major issues are arising. These people can often be very helpful with the detail of your project. Low power, less interested people: Again, monitor these people, but do not bore them with excessive communication.
Influential Communication Delivery Framing Inoculation Rational Appeals Emotional Appeals To Power is gained and lost because of communication the means by which power is developed, exercised, maintained, diminished, and destroyed. Kathleen Kelly Reardon, It s All Politics Co-Opting Detractors/Navigate Resistance Attention Phrases Stories, Symbols, and Metaphors
Influential Communication Delivery To Framing involves presenting key issues in ways that will elicit the responses you desire from other people. Framing -Kathleen Kelley Reardon Problem and Solution Frame or be Framed What are the Frames that Matter to Your Agency? The implication of this is that affecting how decisions are viewed, very early in the process, is absolutely critical in affecting the outcome. -Jeff Pfeffer Managing With Power
Reason and Emotion Appeal to Reason Share new and relevant information about a problem or opportunity. Some people need to be drowned in data. Give them as much as they need. Assign those closest to the problem to explain the need for change Explain the long-term consequences of not pursuing change B.L.U.F. Appeal to Emotion Use a compelling story or anecdote Use a vision of what the future state will look like Have a customer visit so it is personal Get a customer to report on what is working and what isn t working and what the change will mean Make personal emotional connections with people Get face-to-face
Influential Communication Delivery Inoculation Resistance is Natural Make the argument for them To Informing people ahead of time that they might hear negative things about an idea, project, or persons and giving them good reasons to ignore or reject such attacks. It s All Politics It Demonstrates You ve Thought Diligently and Thoroughly Adapted from Kathleen Kelly Reardon, It s All Politics, 2005
Influential Communication Delivery Co-Opting Detractors To I m glad you brought that up. What Marcus said earlier is perfect. Don t Treat Detractors as Enemies Treat Resistance as if it s Part of the Plan If we put these ideas together we could really have something amazing. This Keeps Ideas Alive and People on Your Side
Influential Communication Delivery Attention Phrases Public Speaking Devices Useful Even With an Engaged Audience Voice Modulation Also Works To Here is the key issue. I really want you to pay attention to this. Let me say this one more time.
Influential Communication Delivery Stories, Symbols, and Metaphors Stories are Compelling and Memorable To Why tell stories? For one simple reason: they are powerful tools for teaching people about what s important and what s not, what works and what doesn t, what is and what could be. - The Leadership Challenge Metaphors and Symbols can Make the Complex Accessible
Tips for Managing Organizational Politics Reduce System Uncertainty Have a clear and transparent reward system Distributive, Process, and Interactional Justice Reduce Competition Try to minimize resource competition among managers Reward ethical behavior and big picture thinking Break Existing Political Fiefdoms If you are in a position to, restructure highly political groups Expose patronage politicians by bringing behavior to light Prevent Future Fiefdoms Promotions based on apolitical behaviors Be savvy and aware enough to see political behavior
Organizational Politics Why Politics is NOT a Dirty Word
Building Influence and Facilitating Change HR Field Directors January 2015
Positive Politics/Self-Monitoring Building Influence and Facilitating Change (Self-Evaluation) 1. Do you know how to make your views interesting to other people? 2. Do you effectively adapt your manner of speaking to the task and type of person with whom you are dealing? 3. Can you sense the best time to attempt to change someone s mind? 4. When you are being persuaded do you know the strategies that are being used? 5. When a conversation gets derailed do you know how to get it back on track? 6. Do you know who to attempt to influence so as to best help your cause? 7. Are you conscious of your word choices when trying to persuade someone? 8. When conflict occurs can you handle it in ways that advance your cause? 9. Can you support your ideas with reasons others find compelling? 10. Do you know who the real power brokers are in any given persuasive situation? Influence Effort Reflection Think about a time you attempted to influence something or someone at your customer agency. What was the context? What and whom were you trying to influence? What was successful? What could you have done to make the effort more effective?
Organizational Culture Please circle which general culture your customer agency is most like. Then please rank your customer agency on the following cultural elements with 1 being not at all like and 5 being very much like. Control Collaborative Cultivation Competence 1. Innovation and risk taking: 1 2 3 4 5 2. Attention to detail: 1 2 3 4 5 3. Outcome orientation: 1 2 3 4 5 4. People orientation: 1 2 3 4 5 5. Team orientation: 1 2 3 4 5 6. Aggressiveness: 1 2 3 4 5 7. Stability: 1 2 3 4 5 *How else would you describe the culture or climate in your customer agency? What are your agency s core values? Please give examples.
Comprehensive Stakeholder Analysis Stakeholder Personality Power/ Interest History Approach