Influence at work is not the ability to make everyone agree with you. It is the ability to put a proposal forward clearly, understand competing concerns and help others make an informed decision. Sometimes that decision will be no—or a better option than the one you first proposed.
Whether you are seeking resources, coordinating with another team or recommending a change, persuasion should leave room for questions and genuine choice. Pressure, concealed information and invented urgency may produce compliance, but they are not a sound basis for a working relationship.
Understand the decision and the people involved
Before preparing your message, clarify who has authority to decide, who will do the work and who will be affected. Do not assume the person who likes your idea can approve it.
Ask what matters to the people involved: the problem they need solved, the constraints they face and the evidence they would need. These should be questions to explore, not motives you claim to read from their personality or body language.
Separate shared interests from real differences. Two teams may both want reliable delivery while disagreeing about which work should take priority.
Build a case that can be examined
A useful proposal makes its reasoning visible. Keep the structure simple:
- Problem: what is happening, and what evidence supports your description?
- Recommendation: what exactly are you asking people to approve or do?
- Options: what alternatives, including no change, have you considered?
- Trade-offs: what costs, burdens, risks or uncertainties remain?
- Next step: who decides, what information is still needed and when will the matter be reviewed?
Use examples to explain, not to imply results you have not achieved. Label estimates and hypothetical scenarios. Clear logic does not make an unsupported premise true; check the evidence as well as the presentation.
Earn credibility through accuracy and follow-through
State your relevant experience honestly and acknowledge where you need specialist input. Do not present yourself as an expert merely to make a proposal more persuasive.
If you have an interest in the outcome that others should know about, disclose it. When a limitation weakens your case, explain it rather than hoping it will go unnoticed. Keep commitments about follow-up, and correct errors when you discover them.
A confident delivery is not proof that a recommendation is reliable. Give colleagues enough information to assess the case independently.
Listen to objections without treating them as obstacles to defeat
An objection may reveal a missing fact, a competing responsibility or a genuine reason not to proceed. Ask for clarification before responding. Try: “Which part of the proposal creates the greatest difficulty for your team?”
Summarize what you heard and check it. You can acknowledge a concern without agreeing with every conclusion. If the concern changes your judgment, revise your recommendation openly.
Do not manufacture fear or exploit someone’s vulnerability to obtain agreement. Explain the real consequences in proportion, including what you do not know.
A hypothetical cross-team proposal
Imagine an operations lead asking sales colleagues to include delivery information before accepting a non-standard order. Rather than blaming sales for delays, the lead describes the missing information, explains the delivery consequences and invites feedback on the proposed handoff.
The teams might agree to test a brief checklist for a suitable subset of orders, with an exception route for urgent cases. They would review the extra work, missing details and delivery problems before expanding it. This is an illustrative discussion, not a client result or a universal process.
Practise the conversation, not a performance of sincerity
Rehearse with someone who can challenge your assumptions. Ask whether the request is clear, whether the evidence is sufficient and which trade-off you have minimized.
Adapt the format to the audience’s needs: a written summary, a discussion or both. Avoid universal rules about eye contact or posture; communication preferences and access needs vary. If you are unsure whether a message has landed, ask rather than interpreting a gesture as agreement.
Review more than whether you got a yes
After the conversation, consider whether people understood the proposal, had a fair opportunity to question it and knew the next step. Agreement that later proves impractical is not necessarily a success; a well-founded refusal may prevent a poor decision.
Coaching can provide space to examine your approach and rehearse a workplace conversation. Book a free 15-minute fit call to discuss whether that support is appropriate, or apply for two weeks of free coaching. Joel personally reviews applications; acceptance is not guaranteed.
