Influencing

In Short

Expand influence without relying on positional authority
Best for: Influence skills and strategies
Influencing is a structured tool for coaching and facilitation. Expand influence without relying on positional authority. It provides a repeatable framework that can be adapted to individual, team, and leadership development contexts.
Type of tool: Influence skills and strategies
Expected outcomes:
- Improved ability to expand influence without relying on positional authority
- Improved capacity to which tactics worked and why? 5
- A concrete action or development plan to take forward from the Influencing process

In Detail

Influencing is a professional development resource designed to help coaches, leaders, and facilitators expand influence without relying on positional authority. It sits within the category of Influence skills and strategies, making it particularly useful for practitioners working on capability development, team performance, and individual growth in organisational settings.

In practice, Influencing is delivered as a 5-step process. The process begins by introduce the influencing tactics (Rational Persuasion, Ingratiation, Inspirational Appeals, Personal Appeals, Consultat. The session closes by switch roles and debrief: which tactics worked and why? 5. The structured approach ensures that participants move through a consistent experience while leaving room for the facilitator to adapt pacing and depth to the group's needs.

Influencing is most valuable when practitioners need a reliable, repeatable approach that can be adapted to different contexts without losing its core structure. It bridges the gap between conceptual understanding and practical application, making it a durable addition to any coaching or facilitation toolkit.

How to Use

From Influencing Scenario Cards PDF. 1. Introduce the influencing tactics (Rational Persuasion, Ingratiation, Inspirational Appeals, Personal Appeals, Consultation, Exchange, Coalition Building, Pressure, Legitimating). 2. Participants read a scenario card and identify which tactics are called for. 3. Practice delivering the influence attempt in pairs using the specified tactics. 4. Switch roles and debrief: which tactics worked and why? 5. Build a personal influence strategy for a current real-world challenge.

Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Directly addresses the challenge of expand influence without relying on positional authority through a structured, repeatable approach Adaptable to different seniority levels, team sizes, and organisational contexts Generates actionable insight that participants can apply immediately in their work	Effectiveness varies based on the facilitator's skill level and familiarity with the tool Requires adequate time for both the exercise and a meaningful debrief to realise full value May not be appropriate for all cultural contexts without adaptation

Created by Cohen & Bradford (Influence Without Authority) / Robert Cialdini

When to Use

This tool is suited to the following coaching and facilitation contexts:

Context	Relevant
Individual Coaching	✓
Team Coaching
Leadership Development	✓
Facilitation / Workshop	✓
Online / Virtual

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