Why ‘Just Trust Me’ Doesn’t Cut It During Crunch Times (And When It Might)

Crunch times require data, evidence and corroboration and despite everyone being aligned and motivated to deliver, sometimes getting this is like pulling teeth. It very quickly becomes about influence.

Why is that?

People have different ways of knowing that something is right. Our standards and guidelines dictate that there are certain pieces of evidence that must be obtained.

Everything else is up to our individual preferences and judgment. Knowing this is critical to get it right first time.

People are the primary obstacle to delivering crunch times successfully.

They are the roadblock that needs clearing. It may be a challenging conversation that someone is too scared to have (so puts it off), the inability to get into someone's diary, or simply not being able to get resolution or agreement on a particular conclusion. We need to influence.

Understanding how people are convinced helps us influence quickly.

Consider the following people in your organisation:

Talkers: they love a conversation and are convinced by hearing. You walk into their 'open-door' and hand them a report. They look at the cover, then put it down and say, 'OK, tell me what I need to know.'

Readers: consider the above scenario. Even though you've scheduled 30 minutes of their time, they say, 'email me the report and any key points I should be aware of. I'll get back to you tomorrow.'

Visualisers: these people want to see the evidence in a visually appealing manner to support the conclusion.

Doers: these people will only believe it if they've done it (or can do it) themselves.

Use this information to influence

Before you ask someone for something, or seek approval from someone, consider how they're convinced. Modify your approach to suit their needs (not yours) and see how much quicker you get results. And if you don't know their preferences, ask them or ask someone who might[if !supportFootnotes][1][endif]!

What is your preference?

What are the preferences of those you need to influence today?

Start the conversation and set up you and your team to get it right first time.

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[if !supportFootnotes][1][endif] A more comprehensive way to source this information is through the use of a motivational profiling tool like iWAM (Inventory of Work Attitudes and Motivators). If you want to know more about this, please contact me.