Profiles of Organizational Influence Strategies (POIS)™

Name: Sample Person

Date: January 22, 2008

Your First Attempt to Influence

The graphic below describes how you typically attempt to influence your manager when you
first try. The interpretation compares your responses to other managers and professionals
who have completed the POIS "Influencing Your Manager" inventory.
If you have a high score, shown by a blue bar, it means that you use the strategy more
frequently than 70 percent of those who were surveyed previously. A low score, in brown,
shows you use the strategy less frequently than 70 percent of those who were surveyed
(that is, the bottom 30 percent). An average score shown by a green bar is the frequency of
the middle 40 percent of those who were surveyed.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1 2 2 1 1 1 1

High

Average

Low

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R F C B A H A

A rank ordering of the frequency that you use each strategy in your first influence attempt
compared to others who completed the POIS "Influencing Your Manager" inventory is the
following:
Friendliness
Assertiveness
Higher Authority
Coalition
Reason
Bargaining

Copyright 1999 by Kipnis and Schmidt. All rights reserved. POIS is a trademark of Stuart M. Schmidt. Published by Mind Garden,
Inc. www.mindgarden.com. Mind Garden is a registered trademark of Mind Garden, Inc.

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 Sample Person

Interpretation of Influence Strategy Scores

Reason
Reason is the strategy of attempting to influence your manager by relying on data and information to
support your requests. It involves planning, preparation, and expertise on your part. It does not
involve "shooting from the hip." Facts and logical arguments are used to convince your manager.
Reason is the most popular strategy used in organizations to convince managers. The base of power
here is your own knowledge and your ability to communicate this information to your manager.

A high score indicates that you try to persuade your manager on the basis of the objective merits of
what you want. Additionally, a high score indicates that you avoid emotion and rely on reason.

A low score indicates that you rely less on logical arguments to convince your manager to do what
you want. You tend not to use facts and figures or to explain to your manager the reasoning behind
your requests.

Uses: Reason is used most frequently when you are selling ideas. If your job requires
expertise, you most likely will find this strategy to be advantageous and effective. Its use is
associated with acceptance of your objectives. One possible problem in using this strategy
could be a failure to develop your ideas adequately and to organize your information logically.
Using Reason requires preparation time, thought, and communication skills.

Friendliness
Friendliness is the strategy of attempting to influence your manager by causing him or her to think
well of you. There are a number of tactics that you use to accomplish this; such as "acting friendly"
and "sensing your manager's moods before making a request." This strategy is designed to create a
favorable impression of you so that your manager will be more inclined to do what you want. Your use
of this influence strategy is based on your own personality, your interpersonal skills, and your
sensitivity to the moods and attitudes of your manager.

A high score indicates that you create favorable impressions as a means to obtain what you want.

A low score indicates that you place little emphasis on trying to make your manager like you in order
to influence him or her.

Uses: Friendliness is used most frequently as a strategy when you want personal favors from
your manager, you want assistance from your manager with your work, or your power base is
weak but you must convince your manager. However, overusing this strategy could lead your
manager to suspect your motives and your work competence.

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 Sample Person

Coalition
Coalition is the strategy of mobilizing other people in the organization to assist you in influencing your
manager. You operate on the basis that there is "power in numbers." If many people make the same
request that you make, or argue for you, your manager is more likely to accede to your request. Your
power in using this strategy is based on your alliances with your co-workers and others in the
organization. This is a complex strategy that requires substantial skill and effort building alliances to
be effective.

A high score indicates that you use social pressure to gain compliance from your manager, i.e., you
enlist the aid of others to help persuade your manager.
A low score indicates that you do not often attempt to form coalitions or alliances with others in order
to back up your requests.

Uses: Coalitions frequently are used for both personal and organizational reasons. Coalitions
can be used to obtain personal benefits and assistance with your job from your manager. The
strategy also is useful in selling ideas to your manager. This can be a powerful strategy but it
is not without danger. Overuse of Coalition could create the impression that you are
conspiring against your manager.

Bargaining
Bargaining is the strategy of attempting to influence your manager by means of negotiation and the
exchange of benefits or favors. The tactics are based on the social norms of obligation and
reciprocity. You remind your manager of past favors that you have done and/or you offer to make
additional concessions in order to obtain what you want. In short, you rely on a trade. What you have
to trade with your manager comes from two sources: your own time, effort, and skills and the
organizational resources that you control.

A high score indicates that you attempt to get your way by offering to do something in exchange if
your manager will do what you want. You remind your manager of past obligations and offer an
exchange.
A low score indicates that you do not attempt to influence your manager by reminding him or her of
past favors that you have done or by offering an exchange.

Uses: Bargaining involves trading to get what you want. This strategy is used most frequently
when you seek personal benefits from your manager. A draw back of this strategy is that you
create obligations that you must fulfill in the future. Additionally, what you trade might not be
worth what you receive in exchange.

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 Sample Person

Assertiveness
Assertiveness is the strategy of attempting to influence your manager by means of your forceful
manner and persistence. It involves demands, the setting of deadlines, and the expression of strong
emotion. Assertiveness gives the impression that you are "in charge" and that you expect compliance
with your wishes. At times, emotional displays of temper may accompany this strategy.

A high score indicates that you are persistent and use demands and direct requests. These may be
accompanied by displays of anger and refusal to take "no" for an answer.
A low score indicates that you avoid tactics that your manager might view as insistent and
demanding. You tend not to be forceful or persistent with your manager.

Uses: Assertiveness is a two-edged sword. It is useful when you know that you are right and
you wish to improve organizational effectiveness. When used effectively, Assertiveness may
overcome your manager's resistance. However, when used ineffectively, it can create ill will.
This strategy often is used as a backup strategy when your manager is reluctant to accept
your ideas. Assertiveness can be used in combination with other influence strategies such as
Reason. It frequently is used when your duties require that you convince your manager of
some course of action.

Higher Authority
Higher authority is the strategy of influence that relies on the organizational chain of
command—people higher up in the organization that have power over your manager. This is an
indirect means of influence; people other than yourself are used to influence your manager. This
strategy is used in two ways. One is to appeal formally to the chain of command. The second is to ask
higher management informally to deal with your request or to speak to your manager on your behalf.

A high score indicates that you call on higher management to help you to handle your problems with
your manager.
A low score indicates that you tend to avoid calling the attention of higher management to problems
that you have in influencing your manager.

Uses: Higher authority is a backup strategy to be used when you know from experience that
your manager will not agree to your request. This strategy is used for many different reasons.
The problem that results from frequent reliance on this strategy is that it could undermine
your relationship with your manager.

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 Sample Person

Your Back-up Strategies

The graphic below describes how you typically attempt to influence your manager when
your manager resists doing what you want. The interpretation compares your responses to
other managers and professionals who have completed the POIS “Influencing Your
Manager” inventory.
If you have a high score, shown by a blue bar, it means that you use the strategy more
frequently than 70 percent of those who were surveyed previously. A low score, in brown,
shows you use the strategy less frequently than 70 percent of those who were surveyed
(that is, the bottom 30 percent). An average score shown by a green bar is the frequency of
the middle 40 percent of those who were surveyed.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
3 3 2 3 3 3 3

High

Average

Low

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so nd lit ga
i
ert
her hor
ea rie oa ar ss ig u t
R F C B A H A

A rank ordering of the frequency that you use each strategy if your manager resists doing
what you want compared to others who completed the POIS "Influencing Your Manager"
inventory is the following:
Assertiveness
Friendliness
Higher Authority
Reason
Bargaining
Coalition

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 Sample Person

The POIS Profiles

Most people want to know what their profiles mean: are they "good" or "bad?” The POIS
profiles have revealed that there are four major profiles, combinations, of influencer
strategies with which you can compare your own. These are the "Shotgun," the "Ingratiator,"
the "Tactician," and the "Bystander."

Your “First Attempt to Influence” profile most closely matches:

Bystander
Your "Back-up" profile most closely matches:

Shotgun
Here is a description of all four styles:

Shotgun
Individuals with Shotgun profiles are High on many influence strategies. These individuals
use a wide range of strategies in order to persuade others. However, they may not be as
successful as they wish. This may be because they are striking out blindly, without thinking
about the appropriateness of their strategies. They are impatient or highly motivated and
may be pushing on all fronts without thinking about the appropriateness of their strategies.

Ingratiator
Individuals with Ingratiator profiles have Average or High scores on several influence
strategies. However their most frequently used strategy is Friendliness. They invariably
resort to Friendliness as their preferred strategy even though they may vigorously use other
influence strategies.

Tactician
Individuals with Tactician profiles have Average to High scores on three or four influence
strategies with Reason being their highest strategy. They are willing and able to vary their
influence strategies. They are versatile and flexible in their approaches to influence.

Bystander
Individuals with Bystander profiles have Low or Average scores on most influence
strategies. Such individuals apparently do not exercise much influence in their
organizations because they may lack power or motivation to exercise influence. Alternately,
a few rare individuals may not need to employ influence strategies directly because they
possess so much power that their needs and wishes are anticipated by others.

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 Sample Person

Obviously, the Tactician profile seems to have the best chances for success, because there
is a need to vary one's influence strategies, to choose a strategy on the basis of which one
is most likely to yield positive results. But how does one make such a choice? The basis for
analyzing situations and making appropriate choices can be found in Strategic Influence
Theory, which follows.

Strategic Influence Theory

The goal of Strategic Influence Theory is to help people to understand how they use
influence in their organizations. In particular, this theory provides information about the
reasons for one's past choices of influence strategies and presents guidelines to help
people to broaden the range of strategies that they use to influence other people in their
organizations.

Strategic Influence Theory is based on an analysis of the personal and situational "TRAPs"
that often lock people into using ineffective influence strategies. Once these traps are
recognized, people can learn to expand their repertoires of influence strategies. Obviously,
being able to use a wide range of influence strategies can enhance a person's ability to get
things done.

Strategic Influence Theory describes four traps that research has found to be related to
using the seven influence strategies. The four traps are:

1. Target of influence (target person),

2. Resources available to or possessed by the influencer,
3. Adverse reactions of the target person,
4. Purpose for using influence.

Target

People frequently vary their influence strategies depending on whether they seek to
influence their bosses, co-workers, or subordinates. Many people apparently believe that
they should always use a particular strategy with a particular target of influence. For
example, a common stereotype is that people should use friendliness with their managers
and assertiveness with their subordinates. The trap is that this stereotype limits the
influencer’s flexibility in tailoring a combination of influence strategies to fit different people
in different circumstances. All influence strategies have the potential to be used effectively
in the appropriate circumstances. When some strategies are never used, the influencer is
not only situationally inflexible, but also may be limited to using only two or three of the
seven strategies.

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 Sample Person

Resources

It is well recognized that one's resources guide one's choice of influence strategy. For
example, a person who believes that he or she possesses no resources that are valued by
other organizational members may hesitate to attempt to influence others. Resources can
be based on a person's organizational position or on the person's own characteristics.
Examples of organizational resources include control of budgetary matters, control of
information, and the extent to which the person's work is considered important by the
organization. Examples of personal resources include expertise, self-confidence, and
personal manner.

Many people fall into the trap of not recognizing the full range of resources that they control.
As a result, they hesitate to exercise influence or select ineffective strategies. For example,
people who do not recognize the importance of their personal resources, such as their
expert knowledge, may feel that they have no "organizational clout." As a result, these
people may remain passive and feel helpless when called on to direct others. Because they
do not take their personal resources into account, they may not think that they can use
strategies such as Reason, Bargaining, and Coalition.

Adverse Reactions

Adverse reactions refer to situations in which the target person resists doing what the
potential influencer requests. There are several sub-traps that people fall into when such
resistance is encountered. Some simply give up when faced with refusals. Others rigidly
persist in using an initially ineffective influence strategy. Still others escalate prematurely
and use Assertiveness and demands to overcome the target person's resistance. These
strategies often are inappropriate in the early stages of responding to resistance and,
hence, are ineffective. For example, if a person is using the initial strategy of Friendliness in
trying to persuade a manager, when faced with refusal; this person should consider other
strategies. For instance, a more appropriate strategy may be to use Coalition or Reason.

Effective influencers are flexible. They recognize that strategic choices can be made to
overcome resistance. These strategic choices generally have been found to begin with
USING Reason and simple requests. Only after resistance is encountered do effective
influencers select other strategies. These subsequent strategies then apply just enough
pressure to overcome the target person's resistance.

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 Sample Person

Purpose

Most purposes, or objectives for exercising influence can be classified into one of two
groups. People seek to influence other members of an organization or to promote their own
self-interests. Examples of organizationally motivated reasons include a person's wish to
"sell" others on the worth of a new organizational program to motivate people to upgrade
their performance, or to ensure that others do their work properly. In these instances, the
person has the interests of the organization in mind when attempting to influence others.
Examples of personally motivated reasons for exercising influence would include seeking to
obtain an increase in salary, better work assignments, time off, or a promotion. The trap
here is that the person may use the same strategy for each, regardless of what is wanted
from the target person, rather than choosing the strategy that is most appropriate for
obtaining what is wanted. For example, if a person's goal is to influence a manager to
promote a new and better system of work, then Reason may be a more effective strategy
than Friendliness or Assertiveness.

Effective influencers, then, take into account who they are trying to influence (the Target),
their Resources (both personal and organizational), how to react to Adverse reaction, and
their own Purposes for exercising influence. Strategic Influence Theory suggests that
knowledge of these four TRAPS will guide people in analyzing and choosing their own most
appropriate influence strategies.

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 Sample Person

Selecting Specific Strategies

Situational Influence Theory provides a framework for examining situations and helps a
person to identify the key aspects of a specific situation. In itself, it does not prescribe which
influence strategy to use in a specific situation or even in a certain type of situation.
However, from the original research that was done to develop the POIS, some guidelines
have been derived regarding which strategies seem to succeed in certain types of situations
with certain types of targets. The Uses section with each strategy description above
provides these guidelines for using each strategy.

When you are able to clearly define your Target, your own Resources, the possible Adverse
reactions of the target, and your Purpose in making the attempt, you then can review the
range of strategies defined above and decide which are most likely to be effective in the
particular situation. This is quite a contrast to being "trapped" in one of the limited styles and
being ineffective.

Selecting Appropriate Strategies

With the ability to use Strategic Influence Theory, you now can diagnose the
appropriateness of a strategy or combination of strategies for a given situation. To help
yourself to avoid the TRAPs in selecting influence strategies, carefully consider the
following questions:

1. Who am I trying to influence? Is the target person's position in the organization

unconsciously limiting my choice of influence strategies?

2. What organizational and personal resources do I control that are respected or needed by
the target person? What new resources will allow me to be more flexible in my choosing my
influence strategies?

3. What is my purpose in exercising influence? Is my choice of strategies realistic in view of

what I want from the target person?

4. What strategies do I use when the target person at first refuses to comply with my
request? Do I simply give up? Do I persist in using my initial strategy? Do I shift to other
strategies? (Examine the differences between your POIS profiles for your first attempt and
your back-up POIS profiles for when they resist doing what you want.)

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