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When the Direct Approach Backfires, Try Indirect Influence

by Martha Craumer

How do you get people who don’t work for you to work for you?

When direct management techniques don’t work— especially with those over whom you have no authority— you may have better luck with these, more subtle, approaches.

1. Talk less, listen more. When you try to persuade people, you can spend too much time explaining your position, and not enough time asking questions, listening, and understanding other points of view.

   Your colleagues are less likely to resist when they feel you’ve taken the time to acknowledge their concerns. In The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey says that the greatest need of human beings—after physical survival—is to be understood, ...