All successful influencers cultivate collaboration to form productive relationships. Effective influence results from two-way dialogue, not manipulation.
Here are six questions to ask yourself when forming productive partnerships:
- What do I want to achieve from this relationship?
- What does my potential colleague want to achieve?
- How can I weave these sets of wants together so we are both satisfied?
- What can I give up without undermining my overall goal?
- What can my counterpart bring to the table that might not be immediately obvious?
- What new solutions serve our common goal?
"The secret is to gang up on the problem, rather than each other." - Thomas Stallkamp
