Influence Style: Bridging
You’re brimming with ideas, have developed great plans, and put your expertise and enthusiasm into it, but you still can’t get your manager or colleagues on board. Frustrating, isn’t it? How do you turn resistance into support and commitment?
Put the other person at the center with the Influence Style Bridging
The key lies in putting your own goals aside. Put the other person at the center instead of yourself. Being genuinely interested in the perspective, feelings, and knowledge of your manager or colleague helps build a connection. That’s Bridging.
It’s important to do this calmly, kindly, and invitingly. Perhaps you are good at bridging, but sometimes you may use the wrong tone
- You set aside your own goal.
- You ask follow-up questions and involve the other person.
- You check if you’ve understood the other person correctly.
- You express what’s going on inside you.
Become more assertive and create clarity
Do you want to achieve your goals but struggle to get people on board? Do you ask a lot of questions but your client or colleague feels like they’re not being understood even though you’re listening? Do emotions sometimes run high in your work? Take our Influence Test®, discover how you score on the Bridging Influence Style, and identify areas for improvement.
When you apply Bridging effectively and at the right moment
- An open and harmonious atmosphere is created
- There is a genuine interest in the other person
- Support and trust are established.
- A connection with the other person is formed.
When you apply Bridging ineffectively or at the wrong moment
- You subdue your own opinions and needs to those of others
- You listen, but you don't really hear what's being said
- You lose sight of the objective
- You fail to be specific or concrete
