How to Influence Like Peter Drucker
Extend your influence by following the example of Peter Drucker.
Drucker’s 9 channels of influence:
- “Define the landscape.”
- “Expose ‘white space’ – define opportunities – what is needed now.”
- “Clarify strengths and capacities.”
- “Identify incorrect assumptions.”
- “Encourage to ‘go for it.’”
- “Help sort out the right strategies.”
- “Affirm results.”
- “Point out wasted effort.”
- “Gentle accountability.”
Point out wasted effort (#8):
People grow frustrated when they use broken strategies to solve recurring problems.
The first thing many leaders do, when things don’t go as planned, is try harder. Rather than buckle down, they need someone to help them acknowledge their own frustrations.
It’s easy for me to see wasted effort, because I’ve often been the victim of my own stubborn persistence. Typically, I use a series of questions to point out and begin resolving wasted effort.
- What’s frustrating you?
- What’s frustrating about that?
- What are you doing to solve your frustration?
- How’s your strategy working?
- What do you really want, with this situation in mind?
- Who do you want to be, with this situation in mind?
- How can you step toward your desired outcome, today? The answer must be an observable behavior.
- Who has faced a situation similar to yours?
- What are you willing to change?
Note:
People aren’t always willing to deal with wasted effort. They want to dig in and try harder. If you’ve explored the issue and they persist, don’t worry about it. You can’t change people.
Easy and meaningful:
Meaningful behaviors don’t have to be hard. But, you still have to do them.
Don’t wait for an invitation to make a difference.
Email and asks, “Are you getting where you want to go?
Call and say, “I see a strength in you that you might not see.”
Which of the nine channels of influence are easy for you?
How can you help us see how to flesh-out one of the nine channels of influence?
Excellent article. Brief and to the point.
Thanks Dr. Tahir.
Yeah like using the same old same old when 80% of employees feel disengaged at work?
I say time for NEW books, thoughts, and ideas talking about how to go about turning that number around.
Doesn’t everybody really get, “doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result is insanity”? Does not feel too good when someone is asking you to think about this as it relates to YOU, does it?
That is ONE thing Leadership is really all about. Facing the Truth head on even if it does not feel so good. Just remember, Take the thorn out NOW, better for later.
Leaders have GUTS. Like ME!
Ok who is FOR 80% disengagement? Of course NONE OF US ARE! Then lets DO DIFFERENT.
There is a company out there called Mind Valley.
If you have not heard about them, check them out.
Great FREE video about their Company Story called
The Theory of Awesomeness. Free on Youtube.
Just a suggestion.
At some point one HAS to take an honest look at how things are and decided if continuing with the same ideas and strategies are worth using any more. Don’t they?
The CONTENT is not the issue. Drucker says GREAT things. Can I SAY THAT LOUD ENOUGH? It is NOT Druckers CONTENT or anyone else who wrote cool stuff about Leadership previously. It is HOW WE ARE IMPLEMENTING IT?
And DENAIL, don’t work. Some people here think they folks working for them think they are cool and all and then when they can speak freely, anonymously, STORY CHANGES.
No other way that could happen with an 80% number. Some Supposed Leaders are off in LALA Land thinking things are not the way they really are. 80% folks…..80%.
It is the implementation by those reading needs some serious work.
Yes obviously, that means YOU, IF you consider yourself a Leader.
And you know what? I ask you to LOOK and you do not like what you SEE, that is your issue not mine.
Do not like that? Take it up with the Pollsters. It is there FACTS, I am just reporting the FACTS.
Do not like the FACTS, do something about them then.
SP
EA
Dan, through Drucker, you have beautifully illustrated the power of the question. It goes well with my coffee and contemplation. Thank you.
Thanks Jim. Thinking about these ideas went well with my coffee too.
Defining the landscape and identifying the white space are probably the most difficult of the nine, largely because they are foundational to the rest. Where are we now (really) and what are the opportunities. I struggle myself with not adapting and re-adapting often enough. I catch myself believing that the landscape is changing slowly.
Thanks Steven. I wonder what defining the landscape includes?
What’s working
What’s not working
Who are the satisfied customers
What brings the greatest satisfaction
What patterns are emerging
Where are we putting more energy in and getting less out
What trends should we jump on
?????
does that include advocating for what you truly believe in? even with no compensation?
Thanks belyew. It might. What do you think?
I used to drive around all different counties with stuff written on my vehicle, threats and murder attempts cops tried on me, and what I witnessed was people driving by happy, waving, video taping it and taking pictures of it. They would stop me and tell me their families had gone through the same thing yet they are too scared to pursue because they too were threatened by law-enforcement. so…. I think what i do is a great thing. Compensation is the fact that I know I am not alone.
The angst of frustration is a horrible feeling. Critique (versus criticism) is beautiful, and the solution. When I think of Dr. Drucker and management, I can’t help but think the real voyage of leadership discovery is not seeing “new” landscapes–but seeing with new eyes.
And insofar as white space–Dr. Drucker has always said if leaders don’t see opportunity, they create it. Dr. Drucker’s age old refrains are as true today as they were years ago: “Show me a manager who uses his senses, focuses on the people of the organization, and who fulfills the goal of the organization–and I’ll show you a manager without limits to success.”
Kapow!
Help people see themselves, their environment, and their role in new ways.
This is awesome. Thank you for sharing!
another make work project….
‘People aren’t always willing to deal with wasted effort. They want to dig in and try harder.’
Gee that resembles someone I know…. ME. (grins)
To this day I can still get hung up on this one. If I don’t want to give up on something or someone, I’ve been known to keep trying until it is obviously dead in the water.
I’ve asked myself ‘why’ and my answers revolve around one or more of the following:
~Don’t want to give up on a project/business I worked hard on and believe in and still believe ‘could’ work. (faced this at my last job)
~Don’t want to give up on people. <> Go the extra mile. Don’t quit! Never give up! etc etc
~Ultimately, various versions of fear of loss and avoiding ‘grief’ or ‘endings’. : )
The problem with these things is all the hidden additional and at times unconscious beliefs attached to them! Like..’what if’ I give up but it COULD have worked. What if I just haven’t found the right ‘formula’. What if I COULD have succeeded but it won’t if I quit.
Unfortunately, when this is going on, I’m generally blind to my own ‘stuckness’. I might KNOW that I’m stuck but caught up in my own ‘rationalizations’ that actually push me into almost like a stalemate position of feeling like I”m damned if I do, damned if I don’t…hence the valley of indecision at times.
However, the biggest one has always been not wanting to give up on people.
Another good post Dan. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Dan
Isn’t it funny that even after dramatic changes to systems and protocal, we find that many just can not leave behind unnesasry wasted effort that no longer accomplishes mission and vision. Change is an unwelcome part of todays business climate. It’s not enough to accept change, learn new methods to accomplish task’s. We also need to remain vigilant to the time consuming, unesasary task of the past. Why waste time doing anything that does not contribute to mission. We are creatures of habit. To remain effect and relevant today we all need to get in the habit of letting go of unnesasry habits. Makes sence, but not always easy.
Cheers Dan
Steve