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.

More Techniques for Gaining Commitment from Others

We’ve been looking at specific techniques for gaining commitment from other people for the initiatives we’re trying to accomplish. Last time, we addressed reasoning, connecting and collaborating. Today we consider a different set of techniques that work well when we need other approaches. They are acknowledging, trading, and coalition building.

When we acknowledge someone we recognize his contributions, efforts, or accomplishments; give credit for her contribution to an effort; or express understanding and concern for any inconvenience involved with carrying out our request. People love to be appreciated for what they do and who they are. This simple gesture is so easy to make and too frequently overlooked. It’s so much easier to criticize, it seems, than to praise. The key to this skill is to make the recognition sincere. Acknowledging is a simple, yet powerful way to build support at work, at home, and in the community.

The next strategy in this tier is trading: offering something in return for a person’s support and help. You’ve most likely heard the question, “What’s in it for me?” This method taps into that common thought and directly answers the question by your offering something in exchange for the individual’s support. Lawmakers have used this process for years! The way to make this work is to find out what you can trade that would be valued by the other person. Does she need your support for one of her ideas? Does she need you to cover a shift, train a new person, or oversee a committee? Strive to make the trade a win-win situation, and you’ll have a greater chance of successfully gaining commitment.

Finally in this set of techniques is coalition building which is using the support of other parties to gain commitment from someone. This involves mentioning credible people who support our plan or proposal, bringing someone with relevant expertise along to support us, or asking others to provide evidence in support of our proposal. This approach is sixth on our list because it can appear to be manipulative or seem as if we are using other people. Coalition building can be helpful if we need the support of someone who does not know us well, but who does know the party that is part of our coalition.

We have one final set of strategies that can be used as a last resort when seeking the commitment of others, so be sure to stay tuned.

Strategies for Achieving the Highest Level of Support - Commitment

Life at work is so much more enjoyable when we work with people who are committed to the same goals. We’re also more effective as leaders and our direct reports enjoy working there because they are contributing their best. How do we influence people to support our initiatives and increase commitment to the organization overall? We’ve looked at three kinds of power and saw the value of combining interpersonal power with expert power. In addition, there are three sets of behaviors we can employ.

The first tier contains the most desirable actions to take, because they build people up and enhance our interpersonal power. They are to reason, to connect, and to collaborate. When we use reason to influence others, it compliments them. Why is that? When we reason with people, we explain the rationale and logic to what we are suggesting. We’re assuming they are intelligent people, able to apply logic and common sense. It’s straightforward and non-manipulative, avoiding any attempt to “sell them” on something they may not like. This approach is particularly effective with analytical people or with proposals that are data-oriented.

The next behavior in this tier is to connect with those we wish to influence, tapping into their values and ideals and relating those to the work. This is a more natural process with people we know well and in work environments where employees are selected based in part on the values they demonstrate. It’s also easier when others hold the same values we do; it can be more challenging with someone in a generational group different than our own. For instance, Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) tend to be optimistic, ambitious, and loyal while Generation X (born between 1965 and 1979) are seen as resourceful, individualistic, self reliant and skeptical of authority. Values are very powerful motivators, though, so it’s worth the effort to identify others’ values and use those to connect them with the goal.

The final action in this powerful set is to collaborate with others by asking for their ideas on plans that will affect them in some way. This is another opportunity to honor people, showing respect for their input and recognizing their experience. It not only builds their self confidence, it also increases the likelihood of your success in two ways: it promotes commitment since they were part of the decision-making process and it may enable you to avoid problems you may not have foreseen without their input.

Over the years, I’ve learned the benefits of this set of influencing behaviors. I’ll share some powerful lessons in the future, so stay with me.

Develop the Best Kind of Power

As we said last time, in sports power is what moves the ball down the field or the player around the bases. In the workplace, power is what gets teams engaged and working to accomplish their goals. To be most effective in a leadership role, it’s important to recognize that there are different kinds of power. Each has its place and usually one is more applicable to a situation than another.

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. Critical elements of this type of power include your authority based on your position, your control over resources and information, and your ability to remove obstacles that appear. Relying on this power alone is rarely an ideal approach in today’s workplace. It tends to result in compliance, rather than commitment, with people doing something because you told them to. It may be an ego rush for some leaders, but it does not last. Outside of the role, the leader has no influence over others. It’s the position, not the person, which has the power. There are occasions where there isn’t time to develop or demonstrate the other two kinds of power; in these situations, relying on your position power may be your best choice.

Expert power is your reliability as a source of guidance and instruction, based on your knowledge and experience. Experts grow their power by repeatedly demonstrating their expertise in a particular area. Degrees, licenses, and certification are an excellent foundation, but it’s the practice experience that really translates into power. You are more likely to be seen as an expert if you are confident and have a solid track record of demonstrated knowledge and skill. This is a valuable type of power to develop. It often has value across organizations and it resides with you, not your job.

The final type of power, interpersonal power, is your ability to influence based on how you interact with others. This kind of power is built through effectively communicating with others; showing understanding and trust; and displaying optimism, enthusiasm, determination, and self-confidence. People often admire and identify with people who possess high interpersonal power. Given the nature of this power type, it takes time to develop. Interpersonal power is increased when you are considerate and show concern for others’ needs and feelings and defend their interests; it is diminished by hostility, distrust, rejection, or indifference. Interpersonal power is well worth the effort to develop, as it is much more likely to foster commitment than position power is.

Combining interpersonal power with expert power is an extremely effective way to enhance your influence and effectiveness as a leader. Consider the most respected and beloved mentors, coaches, teachers and managers you have encountered, and you’ll most likely conclude that they had highly developed expert and interpersonal power.

Power vs. Force

Last time we looked at the three degrees or levels of support we can give others and they can give us: resistance, compliance, and commitment. Before we explore different specific techniques for gaining support, it’s important to distinguish power from force.

According to the dictionary, “power” has multiple meanings which include: the capacity to do something, such as ability or skill; strength; control, persuasiveness, and influence; and the authority to act. “Force,” when used as a noun, has similar meanings such as natural strength, physical or nonphysical power, and effectiveness. However, it can also refer to a group organized to fight, people working together, or an influence that moves something. The definitions of the verb, “force,” make it even easier to distinguish between power and force: to compel someone, to move something with strength, to create passage by strength, to obtain something by pressure, to break something open, and to strain to do something (Encarta Dictionary).

David R. Hawkins in his book Power vs. Force makes several enlightening distinctions between power and force. Power appeals to what uplifts and dignifies and needs no justification. It is still, whole and complete and requires nothing from the outside. Gravity is an example of power. Force, on the other hand, must always be justified and succumbs to power. Force always moves against something and therefore must be fed energy all the time. While power gives life and energy, force takes these away (Hawkins, 2002, pp. 132-3).

Hawkins’ differentiations make sense to me. As leaders and effective team members, it’s our development of power that is critical. Force moves against people, so it is counterproductive in a team environment. Even in the sports arena, I think of force being used when there’s a flag on the play or a foul is called. Power is what moves the ball down the field or the player around the bases. It’s also true in the workplace, as we’ll explore.

Three Levels of Support and How to Recognize Them

In the workplace, as leaders or individual contributors, we often have the need to influence others to gain their commitment and cooperation. (This skill is also quite useful at home!) There are three levels of buy-in we can get from others: commitment, compliance, or opposition. Although you may have to settle for compliance from time to time, your effectiveness may depend on your ability to get commitment from the key people you work with, both within your area and in other functions and departments across the organization. It’s important to examine your approach and its effect on others, to avoid being blindsided by another’s lack of commitment. Let’s look at the three levels in a bit more detail.

Commitment is your goal. You are most successful if the other person agrees with the action or decision you are asking her to carry out. A person with commitment is dedicated, puts forth her greatest effort, and shows initiative in finding the best way to do the work. Commitment brings with it self-discipline that does not need monitoring. People who are fully committed are willing to go above and beyond what is required without any outside pressure to do so.

Compliance occurs when the other person carries out the requested action, but is apathetic and makes only a minimal effort. Here you have limited success: you did get the desired action, but not necessarily the optimal outcome. Compliance is unlikely to result in innovative, collaborative solutions to a problem and will probably need more monitoring and oversight on your part. There are some rare cases, however, where compliance is all that is required, such as punching in at the end of a shift. Typically, though, even the simplest tasks can be done to varying degrees, for instance completing an expense report or leaving a room better than you found it (not just as you found it).

Resistance is the final possibility and applies to the person is opposed to your request or plan and tries to avoid carrying it out. It shows up in various ways and may be obvious or subtle. The person may actively work against you by going to upper management or soliciting others to oppose you. Alternatively, he may simply delay acting in the hope that you are not committed to the effort. Some of the most destructive workplace behaviors is when someone in resistance pretends to comply but tries to sabotage the effort.

There are a number of strategies for exerting influence on others. Before we get to those, consider these three levels of support, both that you get from others and that you recognize in yourself. Where are you getting full commitment from your co-workers? Did you do anything in particular to receive their cooperation? Are there situations where your efforts are opposed? How about your own show of support for others? Are you doing all you can to foster a supportive working environment? Supporting the efforts of others is a great way to strengthen relationships, build your own support, and nurture the workplace. Take some time to answer these questions and follow along as we explore ways to be more effective at influencing others.

The High Cost of Values

Much is written today about the need for values in the workplace. It sounds so fine and noble to call ourselves people of high values, but are we always aware of the high cost of such a commitment? I remember a situation years ago where my commitment came under fire.

I was a recruiter for a non-profit organization. We, like so many employers, had a new hire drug screening policy. I had an applicant for a finance department opening who had previous experience working for a major competitor. The head of finance really wanted to hire this person, even after he failed the drug test. Our organization had never hired anyone who failed, so I felt confident my decision not to hire would be supported by our CEO. It wasn’t. The CEO felt the financial information the new employee had from his past employer was too valuable to pass by, and legal counsel suggested that it was unlikely that our decision would be discovered and successfully challenged. It was never considered that the information this person had was confidential and sharing it with us would not only have been unethical, but would most likely have violated a confidentiality agreement he would have signed upon taking his job.

Not only did I lose that argument, I paid a greater price. Shortly after this incident, a position opened up at a sister facility in a location to which I wanted to relocate. A member of management at my facility said I would not receive a favorable recommendation for the position because I was seen as “inflexible” in my stance that we abide by our drug-free policy regardless of the candidate.

While that was demoralizing at the time, thankfully the story did not end there. The employee was hired, but soon developed an attendance problem and was ultimately fired. (There is a reason employers screen out drug users!) The financial situation of our facility did not improve dramatically as a result of this person being hired, and eventually the head of finance was also let go. The sister facility in my desired location closed within a year or two and I did relocate there on my own, having accepted a lateral position with a competitor.

It took a while for all of this to occur. It was a very difficult period in my professional life, yet I wouldn’t do it any differently. If you’ve been working a while, you’ve probably experienced similar things, and you may not have had the vindication I had. Still, without our values, what do we have that is lasting?

Gather the Facts First

Employees face a number of issues at work and often come to their supervisors for assistance or even a solution. Years ago I had a staff member who loved to drop the “hot potato” in my lap and then expect me to deal with it. Eventually I learned to turn it back on her, requiring her to present a solution whenever she had a problem to discuss with me.

One time, during a discussion about her productivity, she told me that she could not get any work done because she was constantly being interrupted by visitors asking her where various departments were located. We worked in a hospital and were situated near a side door, nowhere near the information desk located up front. She suggested I propose to management that a receptionist be hired and stationed at the side entrance. Knowing that any notion that additional staff be hired would need substantial support, I had her track her interruptions for one week. This would give us an idea of how busy this new person would be. How enlightening it was for her to discover that her “constant” interruptions occurred at the rate of just one per hour! This simple strategy resulted in her realizing that interruptions were not the cause of her inefficiency.

Those familiar with CQI – Continuous Quality Improvement – will recognize the need to gather and analyze the data. Assumptions, impressions, and generalizations are not sound bases for making organizational changes or for disciplining employees. One of my greatest mentors taught me to conduct my fact-finding first, and then work out possible solutions. This disciplined approach never let me down over the years.