BMA eBook - Manual / Resource - Page 98
Feser / When Execution Isn’t Enough / 10
Resistance is when the person targeted opposes the requested action and tries to
avoid doing it by refusing, arguing, delaying, or seeking to have the request
nullified.
Figure 3.3 shows the results of a study performed by Yukl and Falbe.20
Figure 3.3 Outcome of Influencing Tactics
Source: C. M. Falbe and G. Yukl, “Consequences for Managers of Using Single
Influence Tactics and Combinations of Tactics,” Academy of Management Journal 35,
no. 3 (1992): 638–652.This study finds that inspirational appeals are the most effective
tactics in getting people to commit to actions.
A recent four-year study involving more than 200,000 respondents by Zenger,
Folkman, and Edinger, three leadership consultants, confirms these findings.21 The three
authors found that when leaders behave in a truly inspirational manner, their employees
are more committed, more satisfied, and more productive than those who follow less
inspiring leaders. Specifically, they found that inspirational leaders (defined as leaders
with a top one-third score on “ability to inspire and motivate others”) have 2.4 times more
highly committed followers than noninspirational leaders (defined as leaders with a
bottom one-third score on “ability to inspire and motivate others”). Inspirational leaders
have also 83 percen more satisfied followers and 49 percent more productive followers
than noninspirational leaders (Figure 3.4).
