Does Influence work?
People tend to imagine it as persuasion, communication skills, better storytelling, better decks, better stakeholder management.
Of course these things matter but if you’ve worked in change, transformation, product, or anything cross-functional, you’ve probably noticed that communication rarely fixes the real problem.
Most influence does not work well inside organizations because the influencer hasn’t understood the the stakeholder, barriers and constraints they are working with.
They frame the situation as if the stakeholders are not getting it or they are resistant...which sounds convenient, but it not moving anyone forward
If instead you approach this as I do from the science of behavior change, the questions to ask should be:
-What is the actual behaviour I need from this stakeholder? -What barriers are shaping their behavior? -What norms, risks or incentives are in play? -What problem are they really trying to avoid?
By knowing this, you would then say
If this stakeholder isn’t actively sponsoring, it’s not because they don’t support the change... It’s because that sponsorship exposes them to risk, prioritization trade-offs, or some internal politics, and those issues can't be solved with a simple social proof persuasion tactic.
When you start approaching influence like this, it becomes less about convincing and more about making sure the conditions are there so the behavior makes sense to the stakeholder from their perspective.
Sometimes that means:
-Reducing risk -Creating visibility -Increasing legitimacy -Aligning with incentives -Escalating -Stopping all together
I'll make an extra emphasis on constraints... because most people trying to influence at work are not the boss...they can’t change incentives, structures, or roles directly... they actually influence sideways or upwards.
So when we take a behavior change approach it forces you to ask:
-What can I influence from my position? -What conditions require someone else’s authority? -Where is persuasion pointless because the barrier is structural?
That single change in mindset, in mental model will save you a lot of time and aggravation.
Many times, and I will repeat it... influence attempts don't work not because the tactics are wrong... (the books here are all great resources, you should read them)... but because we were trying to influence the wrong things under the wrong constraints.
I have my own influence system that I apply and teach to teams... and it takes this into account... only then can you create the right strategies and match them up.
Those of you who know behavior change already have the raw material to be much more effective at influence.
Because influence gets a lot easier once you realise it’s not about changing minds..... it’s about changing what makes sense.