5.3 Spotlight on Human Resources Skills
Influence
As a Human Resources professional responsible for helping others solve problems and resolve conflict, it is helpful to understand your ability to influence others or influence outcomes. What does it mean to influence a person or a situation? Influence is the ability to share helpful suggestions that will assist the other person in resolving their conflict.
Power and Influence
For some, influence is seen as power over others. As Human Resources professionals, we are not looking to exert control over others. Instead, we are looking to make suggestions and recommendations to help others solve their problems or workplace conflicts. Let’s look at the dimensions of power and how individuals exert control over others.
Steven Lukes (2005) developed a framework that identified three dimensions of power:
- The first two dimensions consider power as it pertains to conflicting interests between parties.
- The third dimension explores how those with power can avoid clashes of interests by shaping others’ wants and desires.
Later, other scholars identified a fourth dimension that saw power as a web of relations that provides the scaffolding of societies.
The One-Dimensional View of Power
Under the first dimension, power is the ability to get someone to do what you want. Here, power is active in direct, observable conflicts. Our focus is on the behaviours people deploy in decision-making when different parties’ interests are in opposition.
The Two-Dimensional View of Power
Whereas power’s first dimension considers the ability of one party to secure the compliance of another when interests conflict, the second dimension considers how those with power suppress conflict.
That is, a group has power if it can limit the scope of what is debated, thereby confining decision-making to issues they deem safe. Parties may achieve this through various means.
- Coercion: You secure the compliance of others through threats of deprivation. For example, an employer may say, “Do this, or I will fire you.”
- Influence: You secure the compliance of others without resorting to threats. Instead, you convince others to comply through various means (e.g., making a persuasive argument).
- Authority: Others comply with you because they recognize your authority (e.g., an employee reorganizes the paint station at the direction of their Supervisor).
- Force: You secure the compliance of others by stripping them of the choice of non-compliance ((e.g., the day shift employees have to work every Saturday this month due to mandatory overtime announced by their Operations Manager).
- Manipulation: You secure others’ compliance without their awareness (e.g., an employer withholds their plans to downsize the business in 8 months in order to keep the business running as usual for the next 8 months).
With both the first and second dimensions of power, conflicts of interest exist between parties. The first dimension resolves those differences through open conflict, the second by suppressing one side’s ability or willingness to engage in a public battle. The third dimension considers the ability of those with power to avoid the need for conflict altogether.
The Three-Dimensional View of Power
The third dimension of power considers the ability to avoid conflict. Those with power can shape people’s perceptions of their situation and influence how they think and understand the world. Through such means, those with power can shape others’ preferences to the point they comply because they cannot imagine an alternative. They see compliance as natural.
For example, a business may promote the idea that a sign of good character is a willingness to work hard. Going above and beyond the call of duty is a virtue. The business rewards people who possess that virtue with promotions and career advancement.
Over time, a worker immersed in this environment may come to believe that hard work is a virtue. When the company asks that worker to work unpaid overtime on the weekend, the person may choose to do so willingly. They sacrifice their time for the company’s good not out of coercion but because they believe doing so is virtuous. The company has shaped the worker’s beliefs and preferences to the point the worker adopts the company’s interests.
As Human Resources professionals, we want to focus on genuine influence, including making a persuasive argument and offering helpful suggestions. Influence should not include threats, manipulation, dictating, or telling others what to do.
How to Positively Influence Others
As discussed, we want to ensure we are not “telling” other people what to do. The following steps will help you to influence others positively.
Take the time to listen to what the other person is saying. You should practice your active listening skills and repeat to the person your version of what you heard to ensure you received the entire message.
Once you have clarified the message, ask the other person for permission to make a suggestion. This might sound like, “Is it okay if I share an idea with you that I have found helpful in these situations?” The other person will undoubtedly say “yes,” as they are open to receiving help.
Now that you have attained permission share a suggestion to help the other person resolve their issue or address their conflict. It is helpful to start with a statement like “I have found in situations like these…” to show an understanding of the issue. It is beneficial to end with a question like “Do you think this might be helpful in your situation?”
An example. In situations like this, it is helpful to schedule regular meetings to ensure you stay connected with your team members. Is this something you might be able to do?
Allow the other person to ask questions to clarify your suggestion and to make it their own. For example, they might not be able to schedule regular meetings due to their travel schedule, but they could send a group email to their team every week and ask for individual updates from each team member.
Once the other person has modified the suggestion to suit their situation, encourage them by saying, “I think that sounds like a good plan. I will follow up with you in a week to see how things are going.”
Chapter 5 Exercise 2
Let’s take this opportunity to practice making suggestions using the “influencing steps” above. For this assignment, we assume each individual below has given you permission to share your suggestion. You are taking on the role of Human Resources Manager and coaching the other person.Text Description
- Current situation: The afternoon Shift Supervisor at your organization is involved in a verbal altercation with the day Shift Supervisor. They constantly argue over resources, believing the other has more staff than needed on their shift.
- Current situation: The Marketing Manager at your organization is experiencing a problem with their team members. It appears that every day, their team members show up late to work but do not stay late to make up for their missed work or time.
- Current situation: The weekend Shift Supervisor has an issue with one of the maintenance mechanics. The employee is often found sleeping instead of working as few managers are around on the weekend.
- Current situation: The Office Manager at your organization is struggling with one of their employees. Their administrative assistant spends the majority of their time talking rather than working. Their daily reports aren’t completed on time, and no office supplies have been ordered.
Power and influence section from “Dimensions of Power” from Developing Organizational and Managerial Wisdom – 2nd Edition by Brad C. Anderson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.
