Articles

Articles Related to Influence Without Authority

The Influence Model: Using Reciprocity and Exchange To Get What You Need
Allan R. Cohen and David L. Bradford
Journal of Organizational Excellence, Winter 2005


In organizational life, you can’t always get what you want, especially from people over whom you have no authority. The Cohen-Bradford Influence model offers a practical process of reciprocity and exchange—trading what you have that the other person desires in exchange for what you need to accomplish workplace and personal goals. The authors also discuss some common currencies of exchange in organizational life and how to use them effectively.

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Building a Company of Leaders
Allan Cohen
Leader to Leader, Fall 2004

Employees at every level of the organization need to take initiative—to conceive, to inspire, and to initiate change. In short, to lead. What is needed today, more than ever before, is entrepreneurial leadership. Entrepreneurial leaders think and act in a way that is opportunity obsessed—constantly looking for unfulfilled needs, gaps in service or product, and broken processes; holistic in nature—seeking integrated solutions that do not ignore consequences for other parts of the organization; and leadership balanced for the purpose of value creation—not just change for change’s sake, but to create measurable value for the enterprise.

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Complexities in the Feedback Process 
David L. Bradford, Ph.D.
Stanford - Graduate School of Business

This paper builds off of the article,Power Talk,which describes the basic feedback model [from Power Up, Appendix A]. In many cases, sticking with one’s own reality and using the four variations for giving feedback can lead to the other considering the feedback with some form of successful resolution. Giving and receiving feedback does not have to be an agonizing process that requires careful planning. It should be part of day-to-day interaction at work, with friends and acquaintances.

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Power and Influence in the 21st Century 
Allan R. Cohen and David L. Bradford

Introduction Little could be more fitting in a volume honoring legendary consultant Dick Beckhard [i] than an attempt to come to grips with power and influence in organizational life. He was a master on this subject, though one had to watch closely to see just how clever he was. He could smell who possessed power in situations, instinctively knew how to figure out what it would take to gain their trust or, if necessary, nudge them aside. He could sense where the levers of power were and how to gain control of them, and was totally unambivalent about exercising power in the service of desirable ends.

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[i] Dick Beckhard was a pioneer of organizational development. He taught at MIT and consulted to many organizations on structure, power and leadership issues. The book for which this paper was written is dedicated to him.



Articles from Babson Insight (Babson Executive Education) can be found at http://www.babson.edu/enterprise-education-programs/education-educators/babson-insight/Articles/Pages/home.aspx 


Handling Conflict in the Workplace: Using Supportive Confrontation to Resolve Tensions - Part 2
Supportive Confrontation is a powerful way of reducing or eliminating interpersonal tensions that can bog down a workplace or any setting in which people come together to solve problems or achieve goals. In this part 2 of our summary from the bookPower Up, Professors Cohen and Bradford identify the four basic Influence Approaches to Supportive Confrontation and provide guidelines for choosing the right approach for your situation.November 2006
by Prof. Allan Cohen and David Bradford;

The Iconoclast's Approach to Innovation: An Interview with Dean Kamen 
If product and technology innovation starts with someone that disagrees with the acceptability of current solutions, then we can’t be surprised that Dean Kamen thrives on it. He and his team at DEKA Research have used a contentious, non-corporate approach to innovation that has produced a stellar record of results, including creation of the first wearable medical infusion pump, the portable dialysis machine and the Segway Human Transport. Read on and learn more about this inventive rebel and the way he leads innovation.August 2006
Prof. Allan Cohen, Prof. Jay Rao and BI Staff;

Handling Conflict in the Workplace: Using Supportive Confrontation to Resolve Tensions - Part 1
Wherever people work together there will be conflict and sometimes these result in difficult confrontations that do significant harm to the people involved and their organizations. What if there was a way to constructively use confrontations that would help to overcome the immediate problem, while building stronger future relationships? Professors Cohen and Bradford call this the art of “Supportive Confrontation” and present methods to use it for resolving interpersonal tensions in the workplace and enhancing joint problem-solving.July 2006
by Prof. Allan Cohen and David Bradford;

Leadership and Human Resources in the 21st Century 
Leadership is getting tougher, and will continue to do so. Human Resources managers must form a new partnership with leaders. This month prof. Cohen reviews some of the forces at work creating this change and the steps HR must take to adapt for success.
Prof. Allan R. Cohen & David R. Bradford;

Herb Kelleher Talks about How Southwest Airlines Grew from Entrepreneurial Startup to Industry Leadership 
In the last of his recent interview series Southwest Airlines Executive Chairman Herb Kelleher speaks with theInsightabout the challenges faced by the airline in its early entrepreneurial years as they worked to create a new market segment in air travel, how they managed the strategy, people and growth as the company transitioned to become a large organization, and his thoughts about the future of his famous company. In closing, we present our own view of Southwest Airlines people, culture and strategy drawn from a field visit with one of their airport operations.July 2005
By Professor Allan Cohen, James Watkinson and Jenny Boone;

Influencing Your Boss 
How can you gain more responsibility, get coaching, gain acceptance for your ideas and make disagreements more manageable? The starting point is to create a partnering relationship with your boss. Many business professionals are surprised to learn that they are responsible for making their boss a better manager. In a very real sense you and your boss are partners in success. This month we’ve excerpted a chapter on influencing your boss from the new edition ofInfluence Without Authority. Here you’ll find highlights that show how you can overcome a variety of common problems and build a mutually beneficial relationship with the boss. Concrete examples drawn from real-world situations and case studies are used to illustrate principles and concepts providing a blueprint for building your influence skills by becoming a partner with your boss. April 2005.
Chapter highlights from a book by Allan Cohen and David Bradford;

A Leadership Challenge: Spreading Access To Ideas 
Regardless of the jobs you’ve held, its almost certain that you’ve struggled in pursuing a solution that someone, somewhere in your organization almost certainly had the knowledge to quickly resolve, or the ideas that could open up an opportunity. Despite all of our technology companies still face this knowledge logjam. What stops knowledge from spreading? This month Prof. Cohen reviews his personal experience in helping those needing knowledge to find those who have it and getting those in-the-know interacting with those who need ideas and solutions?
Prof. Allan Cohen;

Creating a Great Spirit of Service at Southwest Airlines; An Interview with Colleen Barrett, President.
What does it take to build great customer service and experiences? According to Colleen Barrett at Southwest Airlines the answer is not in creating pages of rules, but rather in the way you treat your people. How do they make this work and how do they keep the spirit alive throughout the more than 30 cities served and across more than 30,000 employees? Well, she says you have to work at it every single day, but we’ll let Colleen tell you in her own unique way.April 2006
Prof. Allan Cohen, Prof. Jay Rao and Insight staff;

Herb Kelleher, Executive Chairman of Southwest Airlines Talks about Building Leaders and how their Innovative People-culture has Lifted the Airline to Success 
Over the last 30+ years there has been only one airline that has showed strong growth and been consistently profitable: Southwest Airlines. In a business where execution is everything, whether its customer service, operations, or marketing, success depends on committed people who make it all work every day. How do Southwest’s people do it? We spoke to Herb Kelleher recently about his people-focused company and he talked candidly about how the company builds its people into leaders, the important elements of Southwest’s people-culture, what makes it work and how is it sustained. March 2005.
By Professor Allan Cohen, James Watkinson and Jenny Boone;

Leading From The Middle: Issues and Answers On Leadership For Middle Managers.
We've all been there...you see a great opportunity, but you're a middle manager, not the division or corporate President, so you lack the direct authority and resources to implement your ideas and affect change. How do you lead the top people and your peers to successful change? Listen to Prof. Cohen describe the keys to getting your ideas heard, gaining support and building your leadership role.
Prof. Allan Cohen;