Manipulation/Power LO670

George J. Takacs (takacs@europa.umuc.edu)
Tue, 04 Apr 1995 08:39:29 EST

I also have had problems with participants saying that by studying
power they would become manipulative. This in a city that thrives on
power (Washington, D.C). I have come to the conclusion that in this city
the real "closet" issue is power.
I have tried to distinguish with the participants when
manipulation is bad (when I win and the other loses) and when manipulation
is good (when we both get what we want). No Luck
I try to get them to see that their desire to learn how to
motivate their employees is a form of manipulation. No they say,
motivation and manipulation are different.
I found that using the word influence works better than power. My
biggest discovery was that when I gave them case studies, where someone
could not do something because they did not have organizational power,
they all came up with the right answer. The person needs influence to be
effective.
So now when I make presentations on power and influence I always
do it in the form of case studies. The closer they are to the
participants work situation the better. Since I have started to use case
studies, the charge of manipulation has not been raised.
Hope this helps.
George Takacs
Takacs Techniques
Largo, MD
Takacs@europa.umuc.edu