Influencing V/S Manipulation
Influencing and it’s alter-ego, manipulation, are ubiquitous in business organisations thriving on primal human instincts of insecurity, power and control.

The phase of doubt and questions
Sneha Kapoor, a Millennial, with a decade or more in a large, hierarchical Public Sector organisation, is finding herself in a bit of a spot. She’s sincere in her work and has been a great individual contributor. Her organisation entrusts her with a new project, trusting in her execution capabilities, and she is informally asked to lead the project with some other team members who are “equal” to her in terms of “seniority” – the bugbear which still matters above everything else in deciding power and authority in Indian PSUs. By virtue of the organisational structure and hierarchy, she lacks seniority and authority. If she passes up this opportunity out of fear and lack of authority, it may well be way into her late forties that she might ever derive any positional authority, if at all. Confronted with the situation, she dials her Gen-X senior colleague, Rajesh Nair, with whom she had worked when she joined this organisation, with the question, “How does she influence without the authority?”

S’s situation is typical of many large organisations with rigid growth structures and implicit seniority bias. Navigating these waters can be tricky. It can also be surprisingly enriching from a leadership development perspective.

The phase of self-discovery through listening and discussion

With his experience in the hierarchical set-up of over two decades, Rajesh tells Sneha that as employees grow up in the organisational hierarchy, they are required to increase their circle of influence beyond the limited confines of their reporting chains or matrix. Learning to influence without authority is a must-have in a manager’s skill repertoire.

He tells her that while we join an organisation, it is all about the knowledge and skills which one possesses and the effective deployment of these in meeting the objectives of the organisation, often under clear instructions of a superior. However, with time in the organisation, the organisation’s expectations of you change. You are no longer expected to play the role of the solo vocalist. Your role is expected to naturally expand and become part of a team, and sync with the rest of the team and your role. Gradually, you are expected to influence/lead/command part of the team/ project, and if adept at it, you may be made in charge of the entire Team/ project. Your role as an influencer plays a key part in the success of this evolution.

In such circumstances, command and control leadership-the “I leader, you follower” approach -doesn’t get a manager very far. It calls for a more lateral style of leadership. Lateral leadership counts among a manager’s most essential skills, and comprises a constellation of capabilities – from networking and coalition building to persuading and negotiating. Though honing these skills takes time and patience, the payoff is worth it. Sneha feels it is now the right time to practice and imbibe the practices of lateral leadership, where influencing is a key skill.

Nair presents a powerful thought to Sneha that, unless one possesses unusually high expertise or charisma, influencing stakeholders is the toughest battle that remains to be won on the organisational turf. And it presents itself in myriad ways with remarkably high frequency in one’s work life. Having one’s way with diverse people and groups may become a headache for most.

The ability to persuade people is essential to grow in any career, as it is needed to successfully negotiate, to gain the support of stakeholders at your company, and for leaders and managers to encourage their team to enact the changes you want to see and create value.

The Phase of Reflect, Deep Dive, Read, Learn, Discuss and Churn
Somewhere, while exploring the theme of “influencing”, Sneha reads about the term “manipulation” being utilised as a substitute for influencing. Rajesh meets Sneha during an internal corporate brainstorm retreat. Their conversation veers to the topic of “manipulation”. She ambushes him with the statement, “Isn’t influencing a form of manipulation?”.

Rajesh recollects their previous conversation, chuckles and replies…The aim of both may be the same – to make the other(s) decide or act as per your wish – but the crucial difference is that in influencing, you let the person whom you are trying to influence make the choice – you don’t take away their power of independent choice. In manipulation, you take away the power of choice from the individual. At the same time, the line separating influence from manipulation is thin. In influencing, the means adopted are largely benign and are focused towards achieving a higher, positive purpose. Manipulation is misleading, often to satisfy petty and individual interests. Influence is transparent; manipulation is trickery.

She is struck by the profoundness of the statement and is more inclined to research the nuances of “manipulation”.

She researches into the available studies of leading international journals to understand that underlying intent matters. Influence is a neutral term and simply denotes the capacity to have an effect on others; it involves persuasion where the recipient maintains freedom of choice, it aims to make the other see the shared vision, and creates a win-win situation. Manipulation, in contrast, carries negative connotations and is about control, often via disguised or exploitative tactics that serve the manipulator’s interests and may harm the target. Influence is transparent and respects others’ autonomy, whereas manipulation is deceptive and imposes hidden agendas. Manipulation can come from anyone in the workplace, regardless of position.

Manipulation is the darker side of power and influence. When one becomes individual-centric and desires power and influence for power’s sake, rather than to achieve common goals, an undesirable scenario of toxicity and maliciousness presents itself. This spoils the working experience for everyone and hampers long-term productivity.

It is also true that manipulation is not taboo in the complex and toxic high alleys of the corporate world, where success is determined only by your winning rates. The end always matters, but means are seldom questioned.

Spreading lies and falsehoods about others is, of course, the most primitive method of manipulation. The manipulator at the workplace may use it shamelessly on his subject(s) to gain their trust and thus make them do as per his/her bidding.

Common Manipulation Tactics include the following: –

• Casting Self-Doubt: Inducing guilt or making someone question their competence through criticism, gaslighting, passive-aggressiveness, or the silent treatment
• Superficial Charm: Using praise or favours to coax someone into accepting extra or undesirable tasks
• Social Comparisons: Highlighting others as role models to make the target feel inadequate or compelled to comply
• Misinformation: Spreading false information about others to alter perceptions and foster dependence on the manipulator.

Sneha wonders if it isn’t important to measure this toxic trait of manipulation in the workplace. A quick reading provides interesting insights. There are several validated measures and psychometric scales designed to assess manipulation and related behaviours in the workplace, such as the Gaslighting at Work Questionnaire (GWQ) and the Machiavellian Personality Scale (MPS), among others.

Gaslighting at Work Questionnaire (GWQ): – The GWQ is a 12-item scale specifically developed to measure gaslighting behaviours perpetrated by supervisors towards their subordinates in the workplace.

The scale’s factor structure includes two main dimensions: trivialization (undermining the subordinate’s perspective) and affliction (inflicting psychological pain).

The questionnaire measures the supervisor’s trivialising and pain-afflicting behaviour with various questions which help assess the frequency of certain toxic behaviours. This is measured over a period of 6 months to understand the manipulation exercised by the manager at the workplace.

Machiavellian Personality Scale (MPS):- The MPS, as developed by Dahling et al. (2009), is a 16-item scale consisting of four subscales: amorality (5 items), desire for control (3 items), desire for status (3 items), and distrust of others (5 items). Items are rated on a 7-point Likert scale (1 = Strongly Disagree; 7 = Strongly Agree). The scale is used to predict job satisfaction, task performance, and counterproductive work behaviours.

The phase of we learn from each other and practice
In one of their by-now regular conversations on the theme, Rajesh learns about GWQ and MPS from Sneha. He is fascinated by such measures and their use at the workplace. At his work-unit, where he heads the HR, he proposes to introduce a “Workplace Manipulation” survey utilising the GWQ method. His suggestion finds favour with the local Management grappling with the problem of high attrition, as toxicity and manipulative behaviour are cited as one of the top reasons by employees at the time of departure. The survey helps identify the “high manipulators”, and he, along with the management, takes steps to counsel some, isolate others and turn out a few and thus improve the workplace culture and reduce attrition. It gets Rajesh a much-cherished elevation to VP-level, before time.

With time, Sneha gleans through her keen observation and reflections that influence is an outcome of established credibility over years of work and patience. It is not a shortcut and can’t stand the test of time if it is negative and manipulative. The façade unravels at some point. Only the genuine endure and eventually grow to thrive. It is important for organisations to always emphasise and encourage positive behaviours, while identifying and isolating negative behaviours and taking measures to correct them.

The phase of internalising key behaviours
Sneha gradually imbibes new behaviours and starts practising them at the workplace, eventually finding acceptance and success in her new role, where influencing is key. Over time, she gets recognised as a “high-value” employee who has the ability to work across functions and influence others to achieve group goals. She is identified as a “Hi-Po” and earmarked for marquee trainings and stretch assignments. She draws up her ready reckoner on influencing without authority, which comprises the following behaviours:-

Effective communication:
One of the top skills every manager must have is communication. Communicate the top three important things you want done, do it mindfully, politely, and pay attention to your body language and tone. A smile is always welcome.

Take time out to connect with people, without work outcome in mind:
It is always important to know your peers and colleagues across various teams, bond and connect with them. Be open to sharing information and knowledge that can be shared. Connecting over a cup of coffee with any colleague can be surprisingly refreshing and offers a different point of view.

Your work is not all that matters; how you make others feel is what they will remember about you
Every conversation is important, every reaction is a vibe and a feeling you send out. Keep it positive, be real and confident. People are far more likely to respond better to a pleasant persona than one that sets them off. While this seems easy, it is challenging for most, given the amount of stress people deal with on a daily basis.

Take Initiative:
Be present at organisational events and initiatives. Be aware of what’s happening and see where you can contribute. All organisations have forums where they encourage you to participate and contribute. This builds better engagement and bonds.

Be shameless about asking for help and resources:
You don’t have to do everything on your own. You are not the first person doing anything. In some form, people have tried things before; feel free to reach out and ask for help and advice. Pick up the phone and just call or message.

Much as you want to feel valued, so do others. Appreciate good work
Be generous with compliments and appreciate good work. Spread a good word about those who help and do good work. This creates a positive work environment and makes working with people easier.

Sneha is feted as the “ Manager of the Year” in her large hierarchical organisation. She looks back on her journey with contentment and a desire to move ahead with greater purpose and energy.

Both Rajesh and Sneha realise that their synergistic exploration of the subject of influence and manipulation needs to be presented to a larger audience, and they decide to submit a

co-written article, based on their research and experience, to HR Vista – the quarterly HR Magazine powered by IndianOil.