Winning Em' Over

Book excerpt: A historic shift is occurring in the nature of management. Until recently, bosses could simply use the power of their positions to direct and order their subordinates. However, in today's workplace, which is significantly different from the remarkably homogenous and traditional business environment of just two decades ago, the approach of command authority no longer works effectively. Winning 'em Over chronicles a revolution. We are witnessing an ancient model of managing built around command and hierarchy give way to a new model built around persuasion and teamwork. Jay Conger demonstrates to managers on all levels how to thrive in the wake of this momentous transformation. Today we work in an environment where people don't just ask "What should I do?" but "Why should I do it?" To successfully answer this "why" question is to persuade. Yet many businesspeople misunderstand and still more make little use of persuasion. The problem? Persuasion is widely perceived as a skill reserved for selling products and closing deals. But in reality, good managers are persuading all day long. As Conger explains with insight and conviction, today's most effective managers are influencing others through constructive forms of persuasion -- and their employees give them levels of commitment and motivation that the managers of the last generation could only dream of. Conger illustrates how three important forces -- new generations of managers and executives, cross-functional teams, and unprecedented access to information that was once the privilege of the most senior levels of management -- are undermining the old Age of Command and ushering in the new Age of Persuasion. He exposes the most commonly held myths about the art of persuasion and shows how to influence others productively, without manipulation. Most important, he outlines the four crucial components of effective managing by persuasion: building one's credibility, finding common ground so that others have a stake in one's ideas, finding compelling positions and evidence, and emotionally connecting with coworkers so that solutions resonate with them on a personal level. In Winning 'em Over, Conger explains how to implement a management style that will succeed in what is becoming a fundamentally and radically different business environment, and he provides readers with all of the new tools they will need to become effective, constructive persuaders.