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Exerting Influence Without

Authority Professor R. David Lebel

Katz EMBA Program

January 18, 2017



Today’s Presenter

R. David LebelAssistant Professor of Business

Administration

Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of

Business & College of Business

Administration

University of Pittsburgh

• Research interests include organizational behavior and

proactive behaviors at work, including employee voice,

innovation, and initiative

• Former management consultant with Deloitte and

analyst for privately held supply chain organization



My Background• Education

– Ph.D., Organizational Behavior, Wharton School of

Business, 2012

– B.S., Management, Wharton School of Business, 2002

• Research

– Employee voice / speaking up, organizational change,

emotions (such as fear of job loss)

• Work Experience

– Business Analyst for $15 billion supply chain company

– Consultant



Goals for Today

1. To provide insight into influencing influence others when you don’t have authority

2. To learn how using powerless speech can be more effective than powerful speech

3. To help you develop critical communication skills for dealing and negotiating with difficult co-workers and superiors

4. To provide guidance on how to seek advice and ask for help from other executives without reputation costs



The Power of Powerless Speech

• When collaborating in teams, those who used powerless

speech gained more trust, respect, and status than those who

used more assertive speech

• Aspects of powerless speech

– Hedges: kind of, sort of, maybe, probably, I think

– Disclaimers: this idea may be way out there, but…

– Tag questions: that’s interesting, isn’t it?

• Takeaway: Perhaps you might consider talking tentatively?

Source:(Fragale, 2006



The Power of Powerless Speech:

Asking Questions

• In some cases, merely asking questions can be a more

effective form of influence

– “Can you tell me a little more about …?”

• Can be particularly effective in sales

– “Do you plan to purchase a car in the next 6 months?”

• Why does this work?

– Lowers others’ defense / resistance

– Not seen as an overt influence attempt

– Letting others talk allows them to feel good about themselves:

“We all value the wisdom of people who come to us for advice.”



Two Communication Styles:

Advocacy vs. Inquiry

Advocacy Inquiry

Concept of

decision making

Contest Collaborative problem solving

Purpose of

discussion

Persuasion & lobbying

- Trying to get your way

Testing & evaluation

Participants' role Spokesperson Critical thinkers

Patterns of

behavior

Strive to persuade

Defend your position

Downplay contrary evidence

Balanced arguments

Open to alternatives

Accept / process contrary

evidence

Minority views Discouraged / dismissed Cultivated / valued

Outcome Winners / losers Collective ownership



The Downsides of Too Much

Advocacy

• Competition -> “Sides” emerge

• Leads to competition rather than critical thinking or true consideration of alternatives

• Decision biases – Want to win

– Anchored to my perspective

– Focus on confirming, discount disconfirming

– Framing

– Don’t bother to mention small negatives



Inquiry – Genuine Interest to

Learn

• Ask others to make their thinking visible – Help me understand your data / perspective

– What data/information are you basing your arguments on?

• Make your thinking visible– Here are my conclusions & assumptions

– Here’s my data

– Allows you to establish your expertise

• Based on what I’ve heard, I may have some data / experience that

may help us make a better decision…



Takeaway - Reflecting on Your

Own Thinking

What is your communication style?

• Diagramming conversations – First, choose a difficult situation / problem you’ve

been involved with at work in the last month or two(conflict, disagreement, etc.)

– Second, split piece of paper in two:• Left-hand side – what you said

• Right-hand side- what the co-worker said

– Observe which style you used in the left-hand side for each comment (advocacy vs. inquiry)



The Fundamental Attribution

Error• The tendency to place emphasis on internal

characteristics, rather than situational or external factors,

to understand other people’s behavior

• Implications

– Highlights errors in the assumptions we make

– If we can understand the implicit assumptions we make, the

more effective we will be to manage and motivate others



Effective Communication

• Is about understanding the assumptions

behind our thinking



Influence by Creating

Psychological Safety• Offer explicit invitations for others to

speak up

– Remember: people like to hear

themselves talk!

• Provide positive reinforcement for

bringing up difficult issues, problems,

or probing questions

• Diminish status differences in groups

• Establish multiple channels of

communication, especially for “bad

news”



Takeaways - Reflecting on Your

Own Thinking

Diagramming conversations

• The left-hand & right-hand column exercise

– Second, draw two columns to write and describe what

happened.



Reflecting on Your Own Thinking

Example:

What I was Thinking What was Said

The team isn’t hitting their

sales goals and I’m

concerned.

You: How is everything?

Hmm. Maybe the team is

confident they can pick up

the pace soon.

Co-worker: Good, the team

seems to be happy and

working hard.

I don’t want to put too much

pressure on them. But need

to mention they’re behind.

You: Great, looking forward

to see the numbers at the

end of the month.



Reflecting on Your Own Thinking

The left-hand & right-hand column exercise

• What did you observe in the two columns?

• Were the two columns different?

• How much inquiry did you use?

• Implications of this?



Sharing What We’ve Learned

Bringing it all together…

• Share in small groups 1-2

thoughts or takeaways on how

you plan to use the ideas we’ve

discussed regarding influence and

communication in teams

• Which of these concepts would be

easy to use at Ipiranga? Most

transferable? Most difficult?



Takeaways

• Team Effectiveness – think about the process,

not just the inputs

• Importance of sharing information in teams

• Balance of communication styles

• Using both advocacy and inquiry

• Thinking about your style of communication as

a leader



For Further Reading / Viewing

Adam Grant on power of powerless speech: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_ffqEA8X5g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_ffqEA8X5g



Burke & Stanley Revisited

• Find your partner from the role-play

• Have the feedback conversation

again, only this time, use the

principles that we covered

– Focus on specific behaviors

– Make your thinking visible

– Ask your partner to make their thinking visible



Thank You!



Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business

• Offers MBA programs in multiple formats:

– Full-time MBA

– Professional MBA

– Executive MBA

– Joint- and Dual-Degrees,

• Other program offerings: Specialized Master’s (MS), MS in Pharmacy Business Administration, and PhD degrees

• More than 23,000 alumni in nearly 90 countries

• Second-oldest executive education program in the world

• Five academic centers in specialty areas– David Berg Center for Ethics and Leadership, Healthcare Management,

International Business, Supply Chain Management, and Executive Education



EMBA Worldwide Overview

• 18 months in duration

• 48 academic credits; identical MBA degree across two locations

• Complete a total of four Global Executive Forums

• Classes in Pittsburgh are held on alternating weekends (Friday and Saturday every other weekend)

• Classes in São Paulo are held once per month (Wednesday through Sunday)

• Tuition includes:

• University fees, books and course materials, select meals, and hotel accommodations at the Global Executive Forum

• Next Katz EMBA Worldwide class begins in May 2017



Katz-UPMC EMBA Healthcare

Program Overview

• 19 months in duration

• 48 academic credits

• Curriculum infuses healthcare into every business course and there is a practicum experience

• Classes are held on Friday and Saturday, with a portion of classwork offered through guided study and distance learning

• Tuition includes:

• University fees, books and course materials, and select meals

• Inaugural Katz-UPMC EMBA Healthcare cohort launches in May 2017



Enhance Your Career• According to 2012 Executive MBA Council Student Benchmarking

Survey

– EMBA graduates received a 17.3% average salary increase

– 60% would recommend program to friend or colleague

– 54% would support the program as alumni

• High Return on Investment

– Managerial development, promotions and advancement, and

greater international mobility

• Career support from Executive in Residence Ned

Sherry

– Former President and VP of large manufacturing

corporations



Experience the Katz Difference

The Katz EMBA Worldwide program is a comprehensive

experience in business management, where you will gain:

• The confidence to embrace change and adapt to new challenges

• Fluency in the international language of business

• The functional skills to think and act more strategically in your organization

• The tools to effectively manage and lead others

• The ability to leverage your network into a more successful career

Are you ready? You can be.



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