Cynics do not make themselves popular with team leaders, but they sometimes voice reservations that others are thinking but not saying. If you are facing a cynical or even hostile response to something you are suggesting you will probably be best using a ‘rational persuasion’ approach. The briefing on influencing skills covers this is some detail. The aim is to acknowledge any underlying issues while at the same time adopting a solution-focused approach to overcoming them. Being constructive and rational is the most successful way to influence cynics and to help people when they are feeling disempowered.
You will need to:
- Take people’s concerns seriously, listening carefully and discussing them openly and constructively.
- Try and get into detail about what people’s concerns are, how accurate and appropriate their concerns are, and, if they are appropriate, how they will be addressed.
- Shift the conversation to what can be done, and how, to your proposals as successful as possible.
The Exercise
If you are in the middle of a situation where you are facing a cynical or hostile response to a proposal, take some time to do the following:
- Note down the concerns people are expressing. Note, this is not your view of their concerns, but their view. You have to be able to step into their shoes.
- Now make a note of how accurate their information is, and what you might say to give them more accurate information. (ie using rational persuasion).
- If their information is already accurate, think about how you might move on to discussing what might be done to alleviate the concerns they are feeling, without making a difference to outcomes that are important to you.
If you approach this discussion sincerely, you may win people over with the steps above. Success is by no means guaranteed, but you will know you have done the best you can to listen and adapt to people’s worries or cynicism.