Influence Tactics in Organizational Leadership

Influence tactics constitute the deliberate behaviours employed by leaders to shape the attitudes, beliefs and actions of others within organisations. They are broadly categorised into soft tactics, which rely on relational and persuasive approaches, and hard tactics, which invoke formal authority or economic and social pressures. Across diverse contexts, from face-to-face teams to remote working environments, influence tactics have been shown to affect job creativity, performance, stress levels and change acceptance. Contemporary research emphasises the interplay between top-down and bottom-up influence, highlighting reciprocal interdependence between leaders and followers. Moreover, technological advances have introduced new channels for organisational influence, while the global pandemic has underscored the role of virtual modalities. Practically, understanding the nuances of rational, inspirational, coalition and legitimating tactics is critical for designing leadership development programmes, optimising team dynamics and navigating change management on a global scale.

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Influence Tactics in Organizational Leadership publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in influence tactics in organizational leadership across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Soft influence tactics: Persuasive behaviours such as inspirational appeals, ingratiation and consultation that foster voluntary commitment.

Hard influence tactics: Directive actions including pressure, coalition and legitimating appeals that leverage formal authority or external threats.

Transformational leadership: A style characterised by idealised influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individualised consideration.

Rational tactics: Influencing methods that rely on logical arguments, factual evidence and analytical reasoning.

Upward influence: Strategies by which subordinates affect leaders’ decisions and actions, often through resource interdependence and coalition building.

References

1. The Impacts of Leaders’ Influence Tactics on Teleworkers’ Job Stress and Performance: The Moderating Role of Organizational Support in COVID-19. Behavioral Sciences (2023).
2. Impact of Managerial Influence Tactics on Job Creativity and Performance: A Focus on Korean Airline Service Employees. Sustainability (2019).
3. Reverse the Lens, Set Focus on the Followers: A Theoretical Framework of Resource Dependence, Upward Influence, and Leadership. Frontiers in Psychology (2021).
4. A leadership-organisational performance model for state-owned enterprises in emerging economies. South African Journal of Business Management (2023).