Consultancy Skills Toolkit

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        OverviewWorking with ClientsDelivering ProjectsDealing with People

Dealing with People
bullet Listening
bullet How well do you listen?
bullet Levels of Communication
bullet Questioning
bullet Group Communications
bullet Critical Examination
bullet Influencing Styles
bullet Influencing Power
bullet Negotiating - Overview
bullet Negotiating - Planning
bullet Negotiating - Behaviours
bullet Effective Presentations
bullet Chairing Meetings

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Lindsay Sherwin

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Styles of Influencing

Here we introduce two models on influencing style:

  1. Tough Battler, Friendly Helper, Logical Thinker
  2. Push-Pull Influencing with self assessment questionnaire.

1. Tough Battler, Friendly Helper, Logical Thinker

This model is based on work by R W Wallen in which he identified three types of executive personality. Charles Handy summarised it in his book "Understanding Organisations" 1986.

The model describes three types of executive personality, each of which employs quite different styles of influencing others, and each of which needs to be influenced in particular ways. They are:

tough battler triangle

Tough Battler
  • has drive, energy, commitment,
  • self-assertion using power, leverage points,
  • concerned with winning/doing it my way.
  • Has a "Distributive" world view - a world of conflict, fight, power and assertiveness
 Influences through
  • Giving orders
  • Offering challenge
  • Threatening,
  • Asserting,
  • "Broken record"
Friendly Helper
  • friendliness, openness,
  • co-operation, include others,
  • appeal to emotions, trusting,
  • concerned with "positive" relationships
  • Has an "Integrative" world view - a world of helpfulness, cooperation, love and sympathy.
 Influences through
  • Appeasing,
  • Appealing to pity
  • Trading favours
  • Making friends
  • Lateral appeal
Logical Thinker
  • Calm, logical, thoughtful, organised,
  • use logical argument/debate,
  • appeal to commonsense, precedence.
  • Concerned with facts and information
  • Has a "Rationality" world view - a world of understanding, logic, systems and knowledge
 Influences through
  • Appealing to logic,
  • Presenting ‘facts’
  • Swamping with detail
  • Quoting rules and regulations
  • Using the hierarchy

This is a nice simple little model with the advantage that in many cases one can "spot" quite quickly the preferred style of someone else, and then adjust ones own influencing style to suit.

2 Push-Pull Influencing Styles

Research over several years into the behaviour of effective influencers has revealed two basic types of influencing called PUSH and PULL.

Push Style

The Push style is characterised by extensive use of three types of behaviour. The influencer spends 70% or more of their time in these activities:

  • Proposing
  • Giving Information
  • Blocking/Shutting Out

The rationale of the Push Style is that people are influenced by convincing proposals which are well supported. The keys to successful use of the push style are: the quality of the proposals; the information given; the ability to get those proposals heard by shutting others out.

The Push style tends to be most effective under one or more of these conditions:

  • The recipient has little experience or understanding of the issue and recognises the need for help or guidance.
  • There is no vested interest in the status quo and the recipient does not feel threatened by accepting the proposal.
  • The recipient recognises the legitimacy of the influencer's power base (e.g. expert, position, physical).
  • The recipient trusts the influencer's motives.

Pull Style

The Pull style is characterised by concentration upon three different behaviours. The influencer spends 35% or more of their time in these activities:

  • Testing Understanding
  • Seeking Information
  • Building

The rationale of the Pull Style is that people are influenced more readily by uncovering their needs, motives, aspirations and concerns. The keys to effective use of the Pull Style are: the quality of questions used to test understanding and to seek information, and the ability to build upon ideas and proposals.

The Pull style tends to be effective in most situations, but is particularly useful under these conditions:

  • The recipient of the influence attempt has strong opinions and views.
  • The recipient has a vested interest in the status quo and could have difficulty in accepting the influencer's proposals.
  • It is unknown what the recipient will find acceptable.
  • The influencer has no recognised power base, or wishes not to use an established power base.
  • It is important that the influence attempt has a long-lasting effect i.e. the influencer wishes to obtain more than compliance from the recipient.
  • The relationship between the two parties is new or there is a history of mistrust.
  • Previous attempts using a Push Style have failed.

Research evidence suggests that when Push and Pull styles are mixed during an influence attempt the result is a decrease in effectiveness. The two styles appear to cancel each other out. It is therefore important to consciously choose a particular style before attempting to influence another and to stick to that style throughout the meeting.

It is, of course, possible for an influencer to use a different style with the same recipient on another occasion or after an adjournment. Sometimes the two styles can be used together if a pair of influencers, acting as a team, each employ one of the styles.

Self Assessment Questionnaire

Please read each of the following statements carefully and decide the extent to which they describe your behaviour in situations where you need to influence others. Base your answers on typical day-to-day activities which occur in your job.

Please be as frank as possible. The questionnaire will be of little value unless you provide an accurate and objective description of your behaviour.

Against each statement, enter in the appropriate box the score which corresponds to your choice from the five possible responses below.

Enter the score:

  • 4 if you definite agree, that is, if the statement accurately describes your actions
  • 3 if you are inclined to agree, that is, if the statement describes your actions with reasonable accuracy
  • 2 if you are undecided, that is, you are genuinely unsure whether or not the statement describes your actions accurately
  • 1 if you are inclined to disagree, that is, if you think the statement probably does not describe your actions accurately
  • 0 if you definitely disagree, that is, if the statement definitely does not describe your actions

Please answer the questionnaire as quickly as possible and don' t hesitate to use the extreme score where appropriate.

Influencing Style Questionnaire

 A B

1

 I often delegate important tasks to others even when there is a risk that I will be personally criticised if they are not done well     

2

 I put forward lots of ideas and plans 

3

 I am willing to be persuaded by others   

4

 I usually put together good logical arguments

5

 I encourage people to come up with their own solutions to problems

6

 When opposed, I am usually quick to come forward with a counter argument

7

 I am usually receptive to the ideas and suggestions of others

8

 I often provide detailed plans to show how a task should be done

9

 I am quick to admit my own mistakes

10

 I often suggest alternatives to the proposals which others have made

11

 I show sympathy towards others when they have difficulties  

12

 I push my ideas vigorously

13

 I listen carefully to the ideas of others and try to put them to use

14

 It is not unusual for me to stick my neck out with ideas and suggestions

15

 If others become angry or upset, I try to listen with understanding

16

 I express my own ideas very clearly   

17

 I readily admit my lack of knowledge or expertise in some situations

18

 I defend my own ideas energetically    

19

 I often put as much effort into developing the ideas of others as I do my own

20

 I often anticipate objections to my point of view so as to be ready with an answer  

21

 I often help others to get a hearing

22

 I frequently disregard the ideas of others in favour of my own proposals

23

 I often listen sympathetically to people who do not share my own views

24

 When other people disagree with my ideas I do not give up: instead I try to find another argument to persuade them

25

 I am quite open about my hopes, fears and aspirations and my personal difficulties in achieving them

26

 I am imaginative in producing evidence to support my own proposals

27

 I usually show tolerance and acceptance of other people's feelings   

28

 I usually talk about my own ideas more than I listen to those of others

29

 I usually accept criticism without becoming defensive

30

 I present my ideas in a very organised way    

31

 I often help others to express their views

32

 I frequently draw attention to inconsistencies in the ideas of others  

33

 I go out of my way to show understanding of the needs and wants of others

34

 It is not unusual for me to interrupt others while they are talking

35

 I don' t pretend to be confident when in fact I feel uncertain  

36

 I often put a lot of energy into arguing about what I do
Now calculate your overall scores in boxes A and B and see below for how to interpret your scores.

TOTAL ALL PAGES

Interpretation of Scores

The questionnaire gives an indication of the extent to which you use two different styles of influence in your job.

  • Box A gives your overall score for the PULL influence style.
  • Box B gives your overall score for the PUSH influence style.

Your overall score for each style can be interpreted as follows:

  • 54-72 Definite use of the style
  • 42-53 Tendency to use the style
  • 30-41 Neither use nor avoidance of the style
  • 18-29 Tendency to avoid use of the style
  • 0-17 Definite avoidance of the style