ALL STYLES PLUS DISENGAGING
3-6 people – Facilitator input needed
60-120 minutes
Instructions
Objective
- This exercise is an opportunity for participants to practice influence behaviours in the context of different relationships – Manager to Direct Report, Peer to Peer, Direct Report to Manager.
- As the session develops there are opportunities to develop influence flexibility – moving between the Styles and Disengaging.
Exercise (up to 2 hours)
1. Select a participant to go first and use the card picker to select an Influence Style.
- Spades= Persuading.
- Clubs = Asserting.
- Hearts = Bridging.
- Diamonds = Attracting.
If the card is a picture card, the player must first use the indicated Influence Style, and then try to Disengage from the situation, using any Style.
2. The player should decide what kind of relationship they want to work on – Manager to Direct Report, Peer to Peer, Direct Report to Manager.
3. Use the audio controls below. Play the pre-recorded situation from one of the options below (Manager to Direct Report, Peer to Peer or Direct Report to Manager).
4. Prepare your response – take 30 seconds to:
- Set an Influence Objective: what you want the other person to do.
- Think through a Core Style Statement in the Influence Style selected – use all of the Behaviours.
5. Engage the influence target
The person sitting on the player’s left adopts the role of the person on the recording (the influence target). The player engages the target in a dialogue that continues until the player has used each one of the behaviours in the Influence Style, or until about two minutes have passed.
Option: If there is time for more than one round, the facilitator may use the card picker to randomly select influence Styles throughout the player’s turn. The player should try and shift between Styles as directed.
6. Review and Feedback
Other group members observe. At the end of the conversation they say which Style they think the player was using and then give feedback. They might suggest or demonstrate how the Behaviours could be sharpened or developed.
7. Replay the Exercise
Building on the feedback and coaching, the player should replay the scenario. Observers may provide coaching as appropriate.
8. Play passes clockwise to the next player
9. Take time to record useful feedback and learning in your Journal (5 minutes)