2. Chapter 7: Exercising Ethical Influence
• Ethical Issues in Influence
– The key for leaders is not whether to exercise
influence but how to do so in an ethical manner.
– This chapter examines the ethical issues
surrounding four sets of influence tools important
to leaders:
• Compliance gaining
• The communication of expectations
• Argumentation
• Negotiation
Johnson, Meeting the Ethical Challenges of
Leadership, 6e. SAGE Publishing, 2018.
2
3. Compliance Gaining
• These are verbal tactics that leaders and
others use to get their way.
• Gary Yukl of the State University of New
York at Albany identified 11 common
proactive managerial influence tactics
used in the organizational setting.
• These are listed on the next slide and
discussed in detail in the book.
Johnson, Meeting the Ethical Challenges of
Leadership, 6e. SAGE Publishing, 2018.
3
5. Focus on Followership Ethics
• Arizona State University professor Jeffrey
Kassing’s five strategies workers use to
express dissent to the organizational leaders
– Direct-factual appeals
– Solution presentations
– Repetition
– Circumvention
– Threatening resignation
Johnson, Meeting the Ethical Challenges of
Leadership, 6e. SAGE Publishing, 2018.
5
6. Communication of Expectations
• Pygmalion Effect
– Self-fulfilling prophecy named after the prince in
Greek mythology
– Acknowledges that we tend to live up to the
expectations others place on us, as in leaders’
impact on followers
• Golem effect
– The idea that negative expectations can lower
performance
Johnson, Meeting the Ethical Challenges of
Leadership, 6e. SAGE Publishing, 2018.
6
7. Communication of Expectations
• Four channels leaders use to signal high or
low expectancies:
– 1. Climate: the social and emotional atmospheres
leaders create for followers
– 2. Feedback: leaders give more frequent positive
feedback when they have high expectations of
followers
– 3. Input: refers to the attention and focus given to
followers
– 4. Output: high performers are given more
opportunities to speak
Johnson, Meeting the Ethical Challenges of
Leadership, 6e. SAGE Publishing, 2018.
7
8. Communication of Expectations
• Strategies for improving organization-wide
performance should focus on building follower
self-efficacy or self-confidence by:
– 1. Breaking down tasks into manageable segments
and providing followers with the time to practice their
skills
– 2. Delivering constructive suggestions about how to
improve performance or how to carry out tasks
– 3. Modeling skills as well as positive thinking and how
to deal with failure
– 4. Verbal persuasion backed with reasons why the
follower will succeed
Johnson, Meeting the Ethical Challenges of
Leadership, 6e. SAGE Publishing, 2018.
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9. Argumentation
• Leaders generally rely on arguments when
they want to influence others who take a
different side on controversial issues
• Argumentation is focused on ideas
• Verbal aggressiveness is hostile
communication that attacks the self-
concepts of others instead of issues
Johnson, Meeting the Ethical Challenges of
Leadership, 6e. SAGE Publishing, 2018.
9
11. Argumentation
• Argumentation expert Dominic Infante
identifies five skills that make up
argumentative competence:
– Stating the controversy in propositional form
– Inventing arguments
– Presenting and defining your position
– Attacking other positions
– Managing interpersonal relations
Johnson, Meeting the Ethical Challenges of
Leadership, 6e. SAGE Publishing, 2018.
11
12. Box 7.1 The Toulmin Model
• Professor Stephen Toulmin developed one
widely used model for developing arguments:
– Claim based on fact
– Grounds or proof to support the claim
– Warrant makes the link from the grounds to the
claim
– Backing with additional evidence
– Qualifiers
– Rebuttals
Johnson, Meeting the Ethical Challenges of
Leadership, 6e. SAGE Publishing, 2018.
12
13. Negotiation
• Involves influencing those who actively disagree
• The goal of negotiation is to reach a settlement
that satisfies both sides
• Leaders of all kinds engage in negotiation
• Ethical issues in negotiation generally fall into
three categories:
– The choice of tactics
– The distribution of benefits
– The impact of the settlement on those who are not at
the bargaining table
Johnson, Meeting the Ethical Challenges of
Leadership, 6e. SAGE Publishing, 2018.
13
14. Negotiation
• Fisher, Ury, and Patton’s principled
negotiation model of problem solving:
– 1. Separate the people from the problem
– 2. Focus on interests, not positions
– 3. Invent options for mutual gain
– 4. Insist on objective criteria
Johnson, Meeting the Ethical Challenges of
Leadership, 6e. SAGE Publishing, 2018.
14
15. Leadership Ethics at the Movies: Bridge of
Spies
• Discussion questions:
– 1. What dirty tricks did the East Germans and
Soviet negotiators employ? Did the Americans
use any unethical strategies?
– 2. Was Donovan justified in lying to his family
about his whereabouts during the negotiation?
– Was it ethical for Donovan to risk the return of
Powers in order to secure the release of the other
American?
– 4. What strengths and character traits made
Donovan an effective negotiator?
Johnson, Meeting the Ethical Challenges of
Leadership, 6e. SAGE Publishing, 2018.
15
16. Resisting Influence
• Leaders must resist unethical influence
attempts
• Reciprocation (Give and Take)
– Reciprocation—the obligation to repay others—is
a universal norm of human society that
encourages cooperation.
– The power of reciprocation is long lasting.
– The reciprocity norm can lead to disastrous
decisions.
– One way to resist the power of reciprocity is by
turning down the initial favor.
Johnson, Meeting the Ethical Challenges of
Leadership, 6e. SAGE Publishing, 2018.
16
17. Resisting Influence
• Commitment and Consistency
– Consistency reduces the need for careful
thought and reduces the likelihood of regret or
dissonance after making a decision.
– Once we make a commitment, no matter how
minor, we want to remain consistent.
Johnson, Meeting the Ethical Challenges of
Leadership, 6e. SAGE Publishing, 2018.
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18. Resisting Influence
• Social Proof
– Looking at others to determine how we should
behave
– Uncertainty increases the impact of social
proof
– Bystander effect
– Recognize counterfeit evidence of social proof
Johnson, Meeting the Ethical Challenges of
Leadership, 6e. SAGE Publishing, 2018.
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19. Resisting Influence
• Liking
– We are more likely to comply with the
requests of people we like
– Liking is based on:
• 1. physical appearance
• 2. similarity
• 3. compliments
• 4. contact and cooperation
• 5 association
Johnson, Meeting the Ethical Challenges of
Leadership, 6e. SAGE Publishing, 2018.
19
20. Resisting Influence
• Authority
– Obeying authority allows organizations,
communities, and societies to coordinate their
activities.
– We often comply with the appearance of
authority, not real authority.
– Consider credentials and the relevance of
those credentials.
Johnson, Meeting the Ethical Challenges of
Leadership, 6e. SAGE Publishing, 2018.
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21. Resisting Influence
• Scarcity
– This principle is based on the notion that
when opportunities are less available, they
appear more valuable.
– This principle is most influential when items or
information are newly scarce.
– We find scarcity hard to resist.
Johnson, Meeting the Ethical Challenges of
Leadership, 6e. SAGE Publishing, 2018.
21
22. Case Study 7.1: Going Digital
• Discussion Questions:
– What obstacles does Pia face in communicating
high expectations to the entire staff? What
advantages does he have?
– What initial steps should Joe take when he
arrives at South Town?
– How can the new publisher foster self-efficacy in
his entire staff? Promote a learning orientation?
– How can Pia use indirect channels to
communicate high expectations to each individual
member of his leadership team?
Johnson, Meeting the Ethical Challenges of
Leadership, 6e. SAGE Publishing, 2018.
22
23. Case Study 7.2: The Plight of the Modern
Chicken
• Discussion Questions:
– How would you state this controversy in propositional form? Is
your proposition one of fact, value, definition, or policy?
– Are you for or against the proposition?
– What evidence would you offer for your position? Where would
you look for more information to support your claim?
– What logic would you use to support your claim?
– What evidence and logic might the other side use? What
objections might they raise to your position?
– What might be some faulty evidence and reasoning in your
argument? In the argument of the other party?
Johnson, Meeting the Ethical Challenges of
Leadership, 6e. SAGE Publishing, 2018.
23
24. Case Study 7.3: The Housing Demolition
Derby
• Discussion Questions
– If you were a homeowner approached by a developer,
would you refuse to sell based on the concerns of your
neighbors?
– Should neighbors be able to block home demolitions?
– What responsibility do developers have to established
neighborhoods?
– What benefits do you see in urban infill?
– Should Portland follow the lead of Vancouver, BC, Seattle,
and San Francisco and put additional restrictions on home
demolitions? Why or why not?
– What solutions might benefit sellers, developers, and
neighbors?
Johnson, Meeting the Ethical Challenges of
Leadership, 6e. SAGE Publishing, 2018.
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