Key Points

• Six influence tactics are good bets if you want to foster the cooperation necessary to enable organizational change: rational persuasion, inspirational appeal, apprising, collaboration, ingratiation, and consultation.

• Pressure is one tactic to avoid because it has been found to be counterproductive to both timely task completion as well as fostering strong work relationships.

• Four tactics might not make much of a difference in influencing people at work —  personal appeals, legitimating, coalition, and exchange.

• Context is key – adjust tactics used to your situation and always use them ethically and respectfully.

Influence is a powerful tool, especially when it comes to organizational change. Whether you are trying to get your team to adopt a new process, persuade your boss to fund a transformational project, or convince your colleagues to adopt a new mindset, understanding the most effective influence tactics can help you achieve your goals while maintaining positive work relationships.

Researchers have studied the influence tactics used in organizations for decades. They often focus on identifying those tactics that are most effective in persuading people to undertake requested actions efficiently and effectively (task-orientation) as well as those that foster positive relationships and work culture (people-orientation). In a 2016 study that reviewed 49 previous studies, six influence tactics were identified as the most effective from both a task and people perspective.

Before diving into the tactics themselves, it's important to note that context is key when it comes to influence. When choosing tactics, it’s important to understand the nuances of your situation and adjusting accordingly. Finally, and importantly, influence tactics should be used ethically and respectfully — the aim is not manipulation or forcing people to act. Rather, influence is about effective persuasion.

Best Bet Strategies

Similar to findings in previous reviews, Soojin Lee and colleagues found six tactics, out of 11 reviewed, that seemed to work best to persuade people both to take efficient action to support change, while also fostering a positive change environment. They are:

•  Rational Persuasion: Using logical arguments and explanations to convince someone that a request or proposal will help achieve important goals for the organization, team or individual. To be effective it’s important that the person using the tactic is seen as trustworthy and credible. This tactic has been found to be effective when used by both managers seeking to influence employees and vice versa.

• Inspirational Appeal: Inspiring someone's enthusiasm for a request or proposal by appealing to their values and ideals, or by boosting their confidence, is a great way to build positive relationships and motivate people. Of course, to use this, you must have insight into the values that motivate the people you are trying to persuade.

•  Apprising: Explaining how fulfilling a request or supporting a proposal will personally create personal benefits or career advancement is a powerful motivator. This is like rational persuasion in that you often use facts, data and logic; however, it is specifically focused on illustrating the tangible benefits that the person will realize as a result of their cooperation with the organizational change.

• Collaboration: Gaining someone's cooperation in an organizational change by offering to provide resources and help is what collaboration tactics are all about.  For example, offering to demonstrate how to undertake a task (e.g., training)  or to assist in troubleshooting or solving problems that arise when people begin to undertake desired behaviors or actions aligned with the change.  Unlike the exchange tactic (see below), collaboration involves providing resources or help directly related to requests being made as part of the organizational change.

• Ingratiation: Making someone feel good by complimenting or praising them can also encourage them to cooperate with you. This tends to be more of a long-term strategy for building positive relationships which can influence future cooperate, rather than immediate action. Ingratiation has been shown to be effective for influencing both up and down the organizational hierarchy — so don’t shy away from offering honest flattery!

• Consultation: Seeking someone's input and ideas about a proposed organizational change may encourage them view it more favorably. This tactic can provide people with a greater sense of control and autonomy during times of change, which are positively associated with support for change. In addition, decision-making research indicates that gathering diverse perspectives leads to better outcomes.

Pressure is the tactic to avoid

While six influence tactics were found to be effective in supporting the achievement of goals of a workplace change and fostering positive work relationships, the study also identified one tactic that should be avoided: pressure. Using demands, threats, constant checking, and reminders to get someone to comply with your request, even if they don't want to, was found to be detrimental to both task completion and work relationships.

Four strategies that might not hurt, but might not help much either

In addition, the study also identified four influence tactics that were found to be neutral – they didn't hurt, but they didn't help either. These could be useful in some situations, but you may wish to consider the top six prior to using these:

• Personal appeals involve promoting a sense of friendship with another person or inspiring a sense of loyalty to gain their support.

• Legitimating involves showing that you have the authority or legitimacy to make the request or proposal, such as by noting official policies or your position in the hierarchy.

• Coalition as a tactic involves seeking help from others in the organization to persuade someone to do something. While some research indicates the effectiveness of using peer influencers, and coalitions of people to garner support for change, others suggest you use this tactic with caution to avoid appearing to “gang up” on those from whom you are seeking collaboration.

• Exchange involves offering rewards or benefits to someone in exchange for support the organizational change you are proposing. These findings align with broader research on motivation, which indicates that rewards or material incentives may not be the most powerful incentives; rather we should seek to tap into people’s internal drivers.

Ultimately, the goal of using influence tactics in organizational change should be to create a positive work culture where employees feel motivated to contribute to the organization's success. By understanding the most effective influence tactics and using them ethically you can increase your chances of doing just that.

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Sources

Lam, S. S. K., & Schaubroeck, J. (2000). A field experiment testing frontline opinion leaders as change agents. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85(6), 987–995

Lee, S., Han, S., Cheong, M., Kim, S. L., & Yun, S. (2017). How do I get my way? A meta-analytic review of research on influence tactics. The Leadership Quarterly, 28(1), 210-228.

Slemp, G. R., Lee, M. A., & Mossman, L. H. (2021). Interventions to support autonomy, competence, and relatedness needs in organizations: A systematic review with recommendations for research and practice. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 94(2), 427-457.