After joining Chartwell Learning & Development, Jonathan Scott attended the 5-day Positive Power & Influence Programme at Rowhill Grange Hotel. Here’s what happened . . . Day 1 Before recounting my experiences on this programme, I should explain that the publishing houses I’ve worked for in the past rarely had the budget or inclination to invest in any kind of training. The last course I attended, well over a decade ago, was ‘Advanced Grammar 2’. I’ve never experienced any kind of learning that focuses on influence, leadership or effectiveness. So, at just after 9am on Day 1, I felt like a total beginner, and had the sweaty palms to prove it. During the introductions it became clear we were a very international group – Ireland, Belgium, Germany and Britain were represented, there was a Zimbabwean working in Johannesburg, and an Indian working in Abu Dhabi. The first day on the Positive Power & Influence Programme was taken up with the three facilitators introducing us to the models that underpin PPI. First came the balance beam – the concept that everyone in the workplace has to balance meeting their own business objectives with maintaining their work relationships. If you’re the kind of person who prioritises business objectives, it’s likely that you may follow these goals, sometimes at the expense of a working relationship. On the other hand if, like me, you tended to prioritise relationships with colleagues, this can sometimes be to the detriment of workplace targets. Then we moved to the Situational Influence Model that sits at the heart of the programme. In short, the message is that to be an effective influencer, you should not rely on one dominant style, but apply specific styles that are best suited to each influence situation. We were then taken through the ‘push’ styles (asserting and persuading), the ‘pull’ styles (bridging and attracting), and finally disengaging. There were three practical exercises during the course of Day 1: ‘Consensus Decision Making’, ‘Share Bargaining’ and ‘Energising Yourself & Others’. All three were filmed so we could review our performance afterwards, which, though excruciating, was very valuable for seeing just how you came across. The last was a nerve-wracking exercise for anyone uncomfortable about speaking in public – 10 minutes to prepare a 2-minute presentation on a subject we were passionate about. Subjects varied from agricultural engineering, to sailing, to 12 Angry Men. The point of all three, aside from being our first attempts at persuading, asserting, bridging and attracting, was to get into the rhythm of giving open and honest feedback to one another. Throughout the exercises we had to grade our colleagues’ performance – what they did well, what they failed to do,...

Every worker from every sector will, at one time or another, have endured a long and seemingly pointless meeting, writes Nicola Lincoln. Throughout, as you watch your working day slip away, you ask yourself ‘what am I doing here?’ or ‘should I be adding something?’ Many people I work with admit to me how they often feel completely swamped by meetings. They spend half their working lives trapped in meetings, the other half preparing for yet more meetings. And too often they find themselves in meetings where their presence is at best questionable, at worst, utterly superfluous. It all eats time, and you can find yourself constantly on the back foot, working through a chock-full diary, punctuated by periods of breathless catching-up when you’re finally back at your own desk. Forbes’ Christopher Frank recently estimated that, with people admitting to spending two to three days of the week in meetings, the weekly cost of meetings for a 10-person team is around £14,783. Whether it’s a decision-making, information-sharing or general brainstorming session, there are questions you can ask yourself before you step through the doors, which will help improve efficiency and avoid time-wasting. All it takes is planning and influence. Indeed if you put these four steps together, it should be possible to halve the amount of time you waste in meetings.  1. Do some research When there’s a meeting scheduled, find out why you are expected to be there. When the original research that formed the basis of the Positive Power & Influence Programme was carried out, it was discovered that the most effective managers and influencers were those that went into situations with clear objectives. They know the people they need to influence, and what it is they seek to gain from them. You need to go into the meeting knowing its purpose and what you want from it. What do you hope to walk away with? Who else is going to be at the meeting? Who are you seeking to influence?  2. Make brief proposals The two keywords here are clarity and brevity. People often waste time. They tend to talk around the project or problem that forms the basis of the meeting. They might not even get to any kind of proposal at all – they will just talk and talk about the general situation, hoping and waiting for a solution to present itself. Have a positive proposal, keep it clear and keep it brief, and you will be much more likely to gain support.  3. Give persuasive rationale It helps to go into a meeting thinking/anticipating questions from everyone else in that meeting, and answer them before they’ve even been asked. If you know the...