The Top 50 Management Dilemmas

Managing up or across

Influencing without authority is one of the most subtle skills to master. However, because all of us at some point want or need to manage up or across our organisation, all of us need to understand how to influence without authority. Properly done, it helps you to get what you want while maintaining integrity.

First, think:

• What is your professional relationship with the person you need to influence? From your knowledge, how does this person like to be influenced? Do they respond well to facts and logic or do they prefer intuitive arguments and passion? Do they want a lot of detail or do they prefer being presented with the summary?
• What, exactly, do you want from the encounter? What attitude, decision or action do ...