How Strong Are Your Influencing Skills?

Are you a confident influencer in your workplace, or do you feel limited by your role or by your personality?

Imagine that you’re in charge of a marketing team that specializes in creating high-quality print materials. Now, there are compelling business reasons for introducing social media to the mix. All the research data available to you suggests that this will lead to more exposure and create business opportunities in previously untapped markets.

However, you’re unable to persuade your people that the change is a positive one. Some are resistant, while others only accept begrudgingly. Their motivation appears to be at an all-time low, so you know that just asserting your authority isn’t the answer. You’re in damage-control mode.

This is your opportunity to learn some new influencing styles and to keep your team onside. Take this quiz to help you identify your strengths. Then, use our feedback to develop a range of approaches to use in different situations with different people.

How Good an Influencer Are You?

Instructions

For each statement, click the button in the column that best describes you. Please answer questions as you see them (rather than how you think you should see them), and don't worry if some questions seem to score in the "wrong direction." When you are finished, please click the "Calculate My Total" button at the bottom of the test.

This assessment has not been validated and is intended for illustrative purposes only. It is based on Dr Tim Baker's Four Strategies of Influence. He outlines two basic styles of influencing: a "push" style, which is a direct, assertive, convincing way to get your point across, and a "pull" style, which is a more subtle, indirect method. Both styles can be implemented using either logic or emotion.

Different strategies work with different people in different situations, so there's no one perfect way to influence everybody all of the time. This quiz will help you to find out which strategies you are already competent in, and which you may need to work on so that you can become a more rounded influencer.

The four strategies are summed up in the personas of the Investigator, the Calculator, the Motivator, and the Collaborator. Let's look at them in more detail.

Investigator
(Questions 2, 3, 6, 10, 11, 15)

"Investigators" draw on facts and figures to support a logical and methodical approach. To become adept at this style of influencing, it's important to feel comfortable handling data, finding information that supports your strategy, and then using it to form a convincing argument.

Information Gathering is the first step. Effective influencers collect two main types of information: background data, which informs their view of the world, and task-related data, which is gathered for a specific purpose. One type alone won't work!

Once you have the information that you need, the Ladder of Abstraction is a handy tool to help you to weave it all into an appealing argument. This model explains how using tangible facts and hard data alongside more abstract, visionary ideas allows you to communicate more effectively.

Be sure not to deluge people with every possible piece of evidence when you're trying to be persuasive, or they'll stop listening. Chunking is an effective technique for grouping and delivering information in a way that ensures people can remember it.

Similarly, you might become overwhelmed by trying to gather enough data to argue your case with. Learn to avoid information overload, and you'll be both more efficient and more influential.

Calculator
(Questions 7, 13, 14)

"Calculators" tend to use logic to influence and will likely be good debaters. Fortunately, this doesn't mean that you have to demolish your opponent to win!

This style depends on giving time and effort to in-depth analysis and the creation of a well-structured argument. Skills associated with this approach include: the ability to weigh options, the capacity to provide feedback, and an understanding of when to offer concessions.

So take a look at our article on Cost-Benefit Analysis to help you measure the pros and cons of your case. Then employ the ancient art of rhetoric to present your argument convincingly.

Stick to the facts so that you keep your credibility, but remember to contrast your proposal's benefits with the risks of inaction in a way that your listeners can relate to. Listen to our Expert Interview with Annette Simmons, Whoever Tells the Best Story Wins, to discover more about how you can do this.

Motivator
(Questions 5, 12, 16)

In contrast, "Motivators" use emotion and the "big picture" to communicate compelling visions of the future. While some people seem to be natural motivators, there are some simple lessons that can teach any of us to influence through motivation.

You can add structure to your enthusiasm, and maximize the impact of any presentation you have to give, by using Monroe's Motivated Sequence. This five-step plan will help you to gain your audience's attention, and leave members with specific actions that they can take afterward. This allows your influence to continue beyond the presentation itself.

We might feel that we lack the natural charisma to be a Motivator but it's a trait that can be developed, so that you're more engaging, likeable and inspiring. Concentrate on your body language, help others to feel good, and show empathy, assertiveness and confidence.

Collaborator
(Questions 1, 4, 8, 9)

"Collaborators" use motivation, too, but they persuade people by involving them in the decision.

According to Baker's model, influence by collaboration is about building bonds and developing trust between team members. This helps people to own the process of change for themselves. In these circumstances, your role is to be a facilitator rather than trying to convince team members logically.

To be a collaborator, you'll likely need: the ability to share power, the capacity to listen actively, and a willingness to communicate openly. See our article on The Johari Window for some ideas about this.

Explore some more ways to gain the trust of your team then look at our group decision making tools, such as The Modified Borda Count ,for fair and objective ways of reaching a consensus.