Arguably, this mistake makes several others almost inevitable. It also presents a fantastic opportunity to avoid several others too. This is all about becoming so immersed in your own agenda that you fail to translate what you are doing, and what you want others to do, into terms that they can easily understand and relate to.
Put another way, this is the mistake of failing to appropriately link your agenda and language to that of the person you are attempting to influence. It creates an immediate and significant hindrance to your prospects.
There are several divisions to this mistake.
Agenda Translations
Failing to connect your agenda to theirs. With so many agendas flying around, it is not surprising that this happens. Most people are accustomed to thinking about what they are doing, what they are aiming to achieve and doing so in collaboration with their colleagues — who also inhabit the same world. The oversight is not excusable, but it is understandable, especially when the pressure is on to get results.
For example, if you’re working in marketing to launch a new product, you will probably be rationalising your business case in terms of market growth, share or such like. You’ll be talking about the 4 Ps and getting really excited about the marketing plan and advertising options. When you jump in to influence the Finance Director to secure the budget, she may well understand what you are talking about. Then again, she may not.
Her agenda is more likely to be about controlling costs, managing over-spend and negotiating better supplier agreements. Sure, she wants the business to grow too, but not at any cost. Unless you can show how your proposals will be tightly controlled, will lead to greater profit, and how large the contribution will be, you’ll be wading through the long grass. If you can mention the potential impact on share price or PE ratios, even better!
Terminology Translations
Jargon busters needed here. It is natural for any identifiable group to develop their own language. In business, this results in jargon and acronyms. The uniqueness of these terms depends on the group. What you need to be very careful about is the probability that your language will be understood by the target of your influence. It is not about their level of intelligence or education, but about the familiarity they have of your world. At the extreme, it may be like talking a completely different language. Never a good idea if you want to influence someone.
The reason why this happens is that it is an important part of group functioning to develop shared meaning and economise on the need to continually explain everything. Hence, they develop terms with shared meanings so they can communicate and work more effectively together. These terms can become so embedded that people don’t even realise they are using them, or that others outside of the group may not have a clue what they are talking about. This is completely natural, and it is actually the way language and dialects develop. Fascinating and understandable it may be, excusable it is not.
In the example in the previous section, you should be able to easily notice the differences in terminology between marketing and finance. This is just the tip of the iceberg.
Cultural Translations
Far more difficult to appreciate is the degree to which cultures impact and clash between you and the people you wish to influence. Along with language, groups are also developing norms of behaviour. These regulate what is acceptable and what is not. In many groups, violating these unwritten codes is very dangerous, if not fatal. I don’t propose to delve into the complexities of this topic, but you need to study it carefully.
Of particular interest to you when it comes to influence are the various ways in which the culture determines how people interact with each other. This could be as simple as the degree of challenge that is tolerated to the humour that is expected.
You cannot avoid the impact of culture, it will hit you in the face at some point. Far better is to get ahead of the game and make sure that you are communicating in a way which makes them comfortable, almost to the extent that they treat you as one of them — at that point you’ll be flying. Mind you, don’t get so into it that you return to your group like a different person.
Avoiding This Mistake
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The only way to avoid this is to remember not to do it. If you have the presence of mind, or put in place a mechanism or checklist to remind you to consider it, you’ll be well on your way to avoiding it. Once you are thinking about it, you need to:
- Make sure you understand the agenda, language and culture of your target. I’ve already covered quite a lot of this under Faulty Assumptions (Mistake No. 2) so return there and check it out. If you can avoid that mistake, you will already be well on your way to avoiding this one.
- Think long and hard about the implications on your target of what you are suggesting they do or agree with. How is it going to affect their agenda? What difference will it make to the way they work?
- Remember to think of the competition (Mistake No. 4). There are far more agendas out there than you have time to think about, but make sure you are aware of the main pressures or influences that are likely to be bearing down on the target for your influence.
- Get practical. Make sure that all written communication connects with what they are interested in. Rarely is it possible to produce a different document for each person you need to influence, so if you have to use standard phrasing, think about how you can deliver this with a different wrapping to help position it in their minds more effectively.
- Check your jargon. Jargon is essential when you can be sure that everyone in the audience will understand it. Removing jargon unnecessarily can be irritating and potentially a little patronising.
- Get your team bought into this too. You don’t have to do it alone, and you need to make sure that all of those who come into contact with your target are wise to what needs to happen.
- Make sure that you are matching appropriately to the culture in presentations and meetings. It is unwise to mimic it because they may think you are pretending to be something you are not (a member of their gang). However, you must make sure that you move closer to their norm and make deliberate decisions about when you are going to conflict with it.
There is a great deal more you can study on this topic, including what you wear. Cultures have expectations about that too. You’ll probably never get to the bottom of this topic; however, to avoid this mistake becoming a limiting factor in your influence, just make sure to give it serious consideration any time it is really important that you are at your influential best.
The Gautrey Influence Blog
Ever felt overlooked, unheard, or stuck in office politics? You’re not alone. The Gautrey Influence Blog breaks down the real-world strategies behind leadership, influence, and power—giving you the tools to be heard, respected, and successful. Join 35,000+ professionals getting ahead the smart way—subscribe now..
💡 Benchmark your Influence: Take the Master of Influence Assessment (Free for Subscribers!)
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