Need it done right

can see how she can make an impact, and knows that she will likely be rewarded for that impact. She may be further motivated to stay if she sees the company investing in the talent around her and believes in the leadership.

Providing all of this requires a com- prehensive approach to managing per- formance and aligning rewards to the strategy. One organization that excels at this is the Brazilian financial services firm Unibanco. To kick off the new strategy, Unibanco’s core strategy team enlisted the help of the Schurmann family, renowned in Brazil for sailing around the world twice. The family gave lectures to Unibanco executives on the virtues of teamwork and coop- eration, specifically on the role of the individual in meeting a common goal. Executives then adopted the Balanced Scorecard management model and used it to communicate the importance of individual alignment and teamwork to employees. They also used internal publications to provide updates on the strategy, execution of the strategy, and individual achievements related to the strategy. Through TV Unibanco, a com- pany news show delivered every two months, the team highlights initiatives for each strategic theme. The corporate portal, a widely used knowledgeshar- ing forum, also disseminates strategy and BSC information to engage people.

You can achieve impressive results by changing your performance and compensation practices to align with your strategy. Find innovative ways to reward employees for achieving both financial and nonfinancial results. And your performance management efforts can help to ensure that successors are in place when a valued employee moves on to a more demanding role.

5. Enable HR processes with technol- ogy. Leaders must decide whether a technology solution is needed for man- aging HR processes such as talent man- agement, performance evaluation, and compensation planning. However, they should not count on leading with tech- nology when it comes to these processes. It’s more effective to design these HR interventions, then determine if tech- nology can make them more effective.

This sequence of interventions is de- signed to enhance employee engagement. However, since each organization has a unique history and set of capabilities, leaders should customize an approach to leverage enterprise strengths. LE

Cassandra Frangos, Ed.D., is Director at the CiscoCenter for Collaborative Leadership, Cisco Systems. Visit www.cisco.com.

ACTION: Enhance employee engagement.

by Edward T. Reilly

how your request, recommendation, or proposal has unique strengths and advan- tages, and how it can benefit them. Use positive, rather than negative, associa- tions and comparisons and weave in facts, statistics, evidence, and illustra- tions to prove your point. Appeal to people’s sense of reason and goodwill, or to their emotions or curiosity.

4. After making your presentation, get commitment for what you want. Remain firm and assertive, but avoid power plays as you explain what you want other people to accept, believe, do, or feel. Ask them directly for approval, acceptance, belief, or action. Link the value and positive outcomes of their decision to the costs.

5. Use stories, examples, and com- parisons to help other people visualize the success associated with your ideas or request. The more you do this the more they will get excited about your proposal. For example, the head of a European subsidiary of an American toy company had a big problem. The company had been losing money for years. The company sold games and puzzles, but lacked a new product that could create buzz. Someone sent the

CEO a funny-looking plas- tic extrusion with a happy face and multicolored stub- bly hair. The CEO instinc- tively loved it. The sales director and other senior directors nearly laughed him out of the room when he advocated producing it. The CEO decided to launch the product, despite their comments. Then the CEO

devised a storytelling strategy, which helped him launch the product and get the company excited about the project. He engaged a creative team in devel- oping a backstory for the ugly dolls. They lived in a forest, where they sang songs and danced all day. Each doll had a playful name, loved life, and wanted nothing more than to be in the company of a happy little girl.

Many happy little girls went wild over the prototypes. They cuddled the oddly shaped and colored monsters. The senior staff now had proof that the CEO was right, and when they needed to energize their skeptical employees about the new toy, all they had to do was tell the story of how much the chil- dren loved the dolls. Sales quickly ran in the multimillions. LE

Edward T. Reilly is President/CEO of American Management Association Intl. and editor of AMA Business Boot Camp (AMACOM ). Visit www.amacombooks.org.

ACTION: Follow these steps to boost influence.

INFLUENCE AND POWERare energizing forces that get things going

and get things done. They are the indis- pensable tools of leaders. Leaders must use their power to energize people into action. Different people need different amounts of energizing to get going and get things done. Some folks need just a few words. Others need more than that. A leader’s use of power must fit the situation. However, a leader must use influence when the direct use of power is impossible or inappropriate. This is especially important when deal- ing with peers and partners.

When you want other people to do something for you but those people do not report to you directly, you need to exercise influence, not power. To do that, follow these five steps:

1. Set your goals, curren- cies, and strategy before try- ing to present your ideas. Determine your goals— exactly what you want to achieve. Establish what you want the other person to know, accept, feel, and do. In addition, identify your currencies—what you can give in exchange that others might want. You might be able to offer resources such as people, money, sup- plies, equipment, or facilities, as well as information or simple intangible rewards like goodwill, respect, sup- portiveness, and understanding. Also, know your going-in strategy. Are you prepared to take a hard or soft stance, an open or closed approach?

2. When you speak with the people you want to influence, probe first for information. Avoid launching right into a discussion of what you want. Take it slow and easy; use probing questions to determine what they need, want, or expect. As they respond, listen careful- ly to assess their readiness, willingness, and ability to understand or accept your request, recommendation, or pro- posal. And do something that is essen- tial to building rapport: Find common ground. Discuss shared experiences.

3. Present your request persuasively, but only after you let others speak. Show

Influential Leaders They follow five proven steps.

LEADERSHIP INFLUENCE

1 0 J a n u a r y 2 0 1 3 w w w . L e a d e r E x c e l . c o m

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