Getting Your Way: A Training Activity in Understanding Power and Influence

In: Group & organization studies, Volume 6, Issue 3, p. 283-290

Abstract

Managers, in particular, need to understand the dynamics of power and influence in their organizations, yet very few training designs or strategies are available that facilitate the process. The few approaches that are available tend to be abstract and conceptual rather than specific and behavioral. This article discusses an activity in which participants are asked to identify organizational situations in which they have tried to "get their way" with superiors, peers, or subordinates. Participants are then asked to write brief essays on (1) what they wanted, (2) what they did, (3) whether they experienced resistance from the other person, and (4) what further influence strategies they used. Participants, working in pairs, score each other's essays by using a form that includes an analysis of the tactics. Each dyad then discusses the relationship between the status of the person being in fluenced, the nature of the demand, and the tactics involved. Suggestions for using this design are provided.