Top Stories
ICPC swoops on Imo LG Bureau Officials
By CHUKS EHIRIM, Abuja
THE game is up for corrupt officials of the Bureau of local government and chieftaincy Affairs, the body that oversees the management and disbursement of funds to local government councils in Imo State, as they are now chatting with the...
 Iwu in fresh trouble
From CHUKS EHIRIM, Abuja
AS dust raised by the controversial 2007 election are yet to settle, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Maurice Iwu, appears headed for yet another storm with....
Tribal war looms in Cross River
CROSS River is gradually on the edge of a precipice as the two dominant tribal groups, the Efik and Atan, are deeply divided in a seeming war of political hegemony in the State. This is believed not to be unconnected with the political colouration that Liyel Imoke introduced during the brief period he was governor before his...  
Raymond Obieri: Good to Great
By KELECHI DECA
“He who sacrifices a whole offering shall be rewarded for a whole offering; he who offers a burnt offering shall have the reward of a burnt offering; but he who offers humility to God and man shall be rewarded with a reward...
Huawei Nigeria:The Innovative Edge
By KELECHI DECA
IF you take a good look at that CDMA cell phone is your hand or the desk phone on your table, there is a surety it has a Huawei logo or name emblazoned on it. Almost 70% of all such...


News

• Ohakim, Udenwa in cold war
• Seven UNIMAID students arraigned for cultism
• Labour leader advocates raise in NYSC members allowances  
• Ibru advocates capacity building among youths
• Seven stores, eight houses razed
• New Law on House rent for Enugu passed
• Yar'Adua commends NYSC on nation building
• Okiro's friends donate office complex to FUTO  
• Wamakko orders N1.7b rice for sale to public
• Ebonyi Radio GM, two others charged with attempted murder
• ICPC blows own trumpent 
• Media reports can jeopardize national security –Army Commander
• NYSC member donates writing materials to school
•Polio cripples 68 children  
• Border clashes imminent between C/River, Abia
• Four docked for alleged armed robbery
• PDP chieftain rallies support for Daniel
• NLC boss escapes lynching
• Court bars Speaker from swearing in APGA candidate
• Fashola wants prisons relocated from residential areas
• Lady Nyako tackles Girl- child education
• Wamakko trains 25,000 unemployed youths

Relating Stories

•Teamwork tips to make you an MVP at work
•Moonlighting: Pros and Cons of a second job
•How to handle jealousy on the job
• Getting your way without Authority
• Why Leaders Fail

Getting your way without Authority

By Margaret Steen

IN today's team-based work world, success depends not only on the quality of your work but on your ability to get others to work with you. This is not always easy, especially when you need to enlist the cooperation of your boss, a peer, or even a potential customer.

"Everybody has to influence beyond their formal authority," said Steve Levin, an executive coach who teaches a course for leaders called "Powerful Conversations."
Experts offer five tips for persuading even when you don't have authority:
1. Know what's in it for you.

What is the larger purpose for asking your colleague to call a potential customer for you, or your boss to offer his support for your project?
Make sure you can answer, "For the sake of what?" about each request, Levin said. Is the goal to keep a key customer happy or to save the company money?

2. Know why you're asking.
You don't need to spell out an exact exchange each time you ask someone for help. But you do need to understand what the other person's goals are, and frame your request in a way that shows how that person will benefit.
If you ask a colleague to call one of your accounts, your colleague could say, "It's your customer -- why do I care?" And you need an answer, such as, "Retaining this customer will enhance our reputation in the marketplace, and that affects all of us," Levin said.

3. Tailor your request to your audience.
Some people are best persuaded with a lot of data; others respond better if you tie what you want to a big-picture goal.
"Communicate with the person the way they want to be communicated with," said Glenn Parker, a team-building consultant in Princeton, N.J. and author of "Team Players and Teamwork: New Strategies for Developing Successful Collaboration."

4. Ask for a commitment.
Often, meetings with colleagues have "a lot of discussion and not a lot of clarity" about who is to do what, Parker said. If you're asking for help from people who don't work for you, you need to be especially careful that everyone understands who has committed to what.

Casually asking, "Can you pay extra attention to this client?" may get your colleague to say yes, but she may not be committed to doing anything differently, Levin said. A more precise request, such as, "Will you call this client before the end of the day?" is more likely to elicit a "meaningful yes."

And don't worry that a specific request will make it easy for the person to say no. "We actually want them to say no, if no is their answer," Levin said.

5. Be fearless.
Many people "give up before they try" to influence beyond their authority, Levin said. But don't assume that others won't listen. Instead, remember why you're asking: You want to help the company keep a customer, or implement an innovative cost-saving measure.
If you're asking for selfish reasons, you probably won't be successful anyway. But if you're asking "on behalf of something larger" than yourself, Levin said, "that's exactly what every leader wants people to do. That's called taking initiative."