11 ways to apply brain science to persuade your colleagues (and bosses)
More than a little psychology goes into navigating the workplace shoals, and when it comes to requesting resources, mastery of the emotional tiller wins the day. Take these tacks for success.
Rare is the manager who has too many people or too large a budget for looming tasks.
Mostly, the work of managing is learning to do a lot with a little and then doing just a bit more with even less. However, some individuals break out of this mold and secure the resources needed to build and prosper. They invariably (and often unknowingly) are masters of the principles of positive persuasion.
To follow their lead, you must go where brain science intersects workplace conversations.
Every workplace request for help, resources, money, time and equipment is a negotiation, so you have to choose an approach ranging from win/win to I win/you lose.
If an apple pie were involved, principled negotiators would strive for positive outcomes for all—splitting the pie or, ideally, making the pie bigger. The other camp wants to keep you from eating at all. Strive to expand the pie and help everyone benefit—especially the overall organization.
Keep in mind these 11 core principles of positive persuasion when navigating thorny workplace conversations:
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