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Influencing+%26+Negotiating

Influencing

Communication, in diverse ways, is central to our work and equipping leaders to develop their capacity to influence is a particular area of expertise and focus. We believe it is a core leadership responsibility to influence – proactively, strategically, and with integrity.

We regularly deliver one or two day workshops that invite participants to work on a current influencing challenge. We consider:

  • ‘what’ is influencing: definitions, motivations, the use of ‘power’, the alignment to organisations outcomes
  • ‘who’ needs to be influenced: stakeholder mapping and analysis, strategic thinking, political astuteness
  • ‘how’ to influence contextually and situationally, identifying appropriate behaviours for personal impact and success

Psychological diversity, (using Myers Briggs), Emotional Intelligence and Transactional Analysis models and concepts are drawn on to support knowledge and awareness in order to develop comprehensive styles and approaches, as well as opportunities to practise skills development.

As in so much of TBG’s work, self awareness, (the intra-personal as well as the inter-personal) underpins learning and change to enable increased effectiveness. Participants are supported to:

  • understand how they communicate and may be perceived
  • choose new influencing strategies
  • influence without using formal authority
  • maximise the use of networks
  • engage multiple stakeholders
  • develop awareness of internal politics
  • achieve a higher level of strategic influencing

TBG believes that successful influencing is:

“Getting a result that meets the legitimate needs of all parties involved, achieving results that are sustainable and improving the relationship between the people involved”
Jay Conger

Sara Hartley, Assistant Director, Workforce, NHS Tees says of our work:

“The Brafferton Group have provided a range of programmes over a number of years and have always been able to adapt and flex the content to suit the changing environment facing staff. Programmes evaluate consistently well and provide a challenging, stimulating but supportive experience which participants appreciate.”

Negotiation

Successful influencers and negotiators proactively prepare:

“Most Negotiations are won or lost even before the talking begins, depending on the quality of the preparation”
William Ury

The Brafferton Group regularly delivers two day Skill Building Workshops for people with negotiating roles. The programme builds confidence and capability to meet the needs of the individual and organisation’s negotiating objectives. It offers a practical and participative environment underpinned by established models.

Workshop content includes:

  • Defining negotiation
  • The impact of perceptions on negotiation
  • Developing the skills for negotiating in specific contexts
  • Drawing on ‘Getting to Yes’ and ‘Getting Past No’ W. Ury
  • Identifying, understanding and managing resistance
  • Application of Influencing models
  • Experiential exercises and skills practice / feedback

We regularly deliver:

  • One day ‘Influencing and Persuading Others’ workshops for Assistant Deans, Programme and Subject Leaders at the University of Teesside.
  • Two day Engaging and Influencing Stakeholders programmes for both clinicians and managers at all levels in both Primary and Secondary Health settings.
  • Two day ‘Service-Focused Negotiation’ programmes. Client participants include: commissioning managers, Audit Facilitators, Project Managers, Service Improvement
  • Managers, Senior Commercial Managers, Pharmacy Technicians, Business Planners, Performance Managers and Health Improvement Specialists.

See our section on ‘Programmes’ to see diagrammatic overviews of Service Focussed Negotiation and Influencing and Engaging Programmes, and evaluative comment.