Using Influence

Request

I will be requesting a day off during my organizations seasonal fund drive, which occurs every quarter and is mandatory for employees to work. I would like one day off during the fund drive week so that I can spend time with visiting family. This request requires influence because our managers normally do not permit anyone to take a day off during our all-important fund drives. Others have asked if they could miss a day during the fund drive and have been rebuffed. Management is always hammering on the importance of being committed to the fund drives, so it is definitely something that is going to require some influence on my part. The request is not totally unrealistic, however, because our managers are fair overall and they like to promote family values. I think that if I use influence appropriately, I may have my request granted.

Audience Analysis

My audience is going to be my manager Ken. Ken is my immediate superior, and he reports to our CEO Mike. The two are friends are share a long history together, so it is not as though if Ken says no I can go to Mike, and I cannot go straight to Mike because he will insist I ask Ken. Ken is highly involved in our department, and is a very by-the-books type of manager. He treats everyone fairly but also emphasizes that everyone do his duty in the department. At the same time, Ken is a very pro-family leader and frequently takes time off himself to do things with his family. I believe that if I tailor my message in a way that I emphasize the important family-aspect of my request, he may be more sympathetic. After all, he sees being there for family as also part of ones duty, so I should be able to appeal to his pro-family identity during my request. Still, the fund drive is an important week for the organization and he is going to be reluctant to meet my requestso I am going to have to tailor my message in an additional way by assuring him that I am not going to be neglecting my duty to the organization.

The Message

Ken? How are you? Good. Ken, I have family visiting the week of the fund drive and I wanted to request a day off to spend time with them. I know the importance of the fund drive and that we all need to be here. Ive already talked to Sal and he...

I would also be willing to pick up a shift this weekend to help cover there. I know weve been having trouble getting weekend volunteers so I just wanted to put that out there.

We dont normally allow days off during the fund drive, you know. Thats a very important time for us. If I start making allowances with one person then everybody is going to starting looking for one, and then, well, it becomes something that no one takes as seriously as they should.

I understand that. Normally I would not ask because I know how important it is. Ive never asked...

…positive about that. He would also see that he was not cutting slack for someone who had not already proved himself.

Thus, my manager would like to say yes because it is a family-oriented request. He would feel compelled to say because I am offering a very fair exchangevolunteer weekend service in exchange for a day off. He would be likely to say yes because I would have already secured support from a co-worker who would cover my missed shift during the drive. He could also look at my commitment to the company and see that I was someone deserving of an indulgence like this.

Reality Check

I will deliver this message because it is one I actually plan to make, as my family actually is coming into town and everything in the script is true. I have never given Ken any reason to feel that I was not a good employee and I have shown my value to the organization over the years. I do not make requests often and have never made one during the fund drive. When I say in the script that I hate to ask, that is trueI really do not like to make requests like this because I want to honor the importance of the fund drive. However, family is also important to me, and I know it is important to Ken. I dont know if he will ask me to cover additional volunteer weekends, but I am willing to do so because I want it to be seen that I am committed to the organization and that I do not take requests like this…