Last Resort Techniques for Gaining Compliance

You’ve probably heard the saying that you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. But what if you don’t have any honey or the honey didn’t work? Vinegar may be what you have to turn to. With our techniques for gaining support, there are two last resort methods that you may have to use: using position power and applying pressure. The reason these are last resort tactics is that they don’t result in commitment from others, but simply compliance. The person goes along with us because he feels he doesn’t have another choice, and this is less than ideal for all parties.

Of the two options, using position power is the preferred method. As I discussed a couple of weeks ago, position power is your potential to influence based on the position you hold in the organization. It could be based on the formal job title you have and your place in the organizational structure or it could result from the role you’re playing at that time, such as heading up a project team. With position power, you make it clear that you have the authority to require the individual to comply, based on your title. The military is known for using this compliance technique, often because there isn’t time to use the other methods. In the heat of the battle, the commanding officer must take charge and act quickly. So you can see that this technique has its place. It can also be used in similar situations where compliance is needed and the relationship you have with the other person is not critical, such as when a store manager requires a problem customer to leave.

The other compliance gaining tactic is to apply pressure to the other party, using threats or persistent reminders. Power struggles at work can sometimes lead to this. I can recall a time when a manager who was my peer put off completing a performance appraisal on an employee that had transferred from her department to mine. When the employee’s evaluation came due, I had to finalize and deliver it, but it needed significant input from his former manager. After several reminders, I had to tell her that I would take the matter up with our boss if she did not comply by a specified date. I think she took me seriously, because she did complete the appraisal before my deadline. While I did not want to create animosity with my peer, my role and reputation as a leader were more important to me. I felt the support and respect of my staff were more important than my relationship with the other manager.

So keep these eight practices in mind when you need or want support from others: reasoning, connecting, and collaborating; acknowledging, trading, and coalition building; and using position power and applying pressure.