HBR Guide to Managing Up and Across (HBR Guide Series)

The Necessary Art of Persuasion

A summary of the full-length HBR article by Jay A. Conger, highlighting key ideas.

THE IDEA IN BRIEF

When you’re operating outside clear reporting lines, your colleagues may not immediately see why they should collaborate with you. That’s when your powers of persuasion come into play. It’s not manipulation. Effective persuasion is a learning and negotiating process for leading your colleagues to a shared solution to a problem.

THE IDEA IN PRACTICE

The process of persuasion has four steps:

1. Establish credibility. Your credibility grows out of two sources: expertise and relationships. If you have a history of well-informed, sound judgment, your colleagues will trust your expertise. If you’ve demonstrated that you ...