How to Coach Yourself and Others Influencing, Inter Personal and Leadership Skills | Page 90

said, what the speaker did while saying it, or even to whom it was said. Clearly,
understanding the special needs within your community will enhance the strength of
your personal influence.
Whether dealing with an individual or with a group, understanding your allies’ interests
and motivations is a vital component of political savvy. It is also one of the most underpracticed skills in organizational life, and the place where the process of influence often
breaks down. We frequently become so intent on our own idea that we forget to present
it in a way that makes it easier for the other person to accept it.
Third Question: How Does My Idea Relate to Their Concern?
First, you identified your potential allies in relation to your situation. Next, you focused
on two of them - the approver and an enabler - and tried to understand more about
what they care about. The third step is to relate your ideas to those of your allies and to
position your idea in a way that makes it easy for these allies to say “Yes.”
To complete this step, you need to answer two sets of questions:
 In what ways could my initiative support their priorities? Are there ways in which my
initiative might work against that person’s objectives?
 How could I modify either my idea or my presentation of it so that it would be more
attractive to these people?
We have talked about the importance of having an alliance mindset and of
understanding your allies. The third building block for political savvy is to be an ally.
3. Being an ally to others
Principle of Reciprocity
Being an ally means invoking the principle of reciprocity: As we do things for others in
organizations, they become more likely to help us in return.
It is important to realize that this is NOT a “scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours”
approach. It is also not a tit-for-tat trade where, to get a specific idea through, you
promise something in return.
Rather, it means being a friend to others in the organization, because by helping others
you will also be helping the organization and helping yourself.
Keep thinking of the metaphor of friendship: You are more willing to support a friend
who has been there for you than to support someone who has never shown any
particular kindness in the past. The same holds true for organizations. Being an ally
means creating a web of good will in which others will be, in turn, more inclined to help
you at a time when you need it.
Caution: It will be too late to start being an ally at the point when you need something
from someone else. People see right through this as manipulation.
Being an ally means taking a day-in and day-out stance of helpfulness, whether you
need something today - or ever - from that person
On the other hand, this principle of reciprocity could sound like a plea just to be a nice
person. And while that’s true, the politically astute people have discovered that treating
others well also turns out to be smart business.
These words best sum up the idea of being an ally: