An ASCD Study Guide for Forces of Influence: How Educators Can Leverage Relationships to Improve Practice

Most of the questions contained in this study guide are ones you can think about on your own, with a colleague, or in a study group with others who have read (or are reading) Forces of Influence.

Chapter 1. Influence: It's All About Relationships

1. Give yourself the time to create a plus/delta chart exploring three of your most relied-on relationships. In a plus/delta chart, you list the positive elements of something (in this case, your relationship with someone) on the left-hand side of a T-chart, and on the right side, the delta side, you list what you would be interested in changing. After creating a chart for each of these three relationships, consider commonalities and differences that you've identified for both the positives and the areas of change.
2. Consider an important relationship from either your professional or your personal life. Based on the stages of relationships starting on page 8, consider what stage this relationship currently exists at, and how you might move the relationship forward, or, if it already exists at the "bonded" stage, what you can do to sustain that relationship.
3. The four keys to relationship building (listening, trust, respect, and collaboration) are all ingredients to build relationships that last. Either individually or in conversation with close colleagues, reflect on which of these keys you exhibit most strongly, and which are areas for you to further develop.
4. Complete Figure 1.1 on page 17 and take some time to consider the results. What did you learn about the relationship from conducting this audit? What are your relationship next steps?
5. We always play roles in relationships. When have you most recently been a taker? A giver? A wonderer? What does the percentage of your time in each role tell you about the relationships you form?

Chapter 2. Give to Get

1. Review your Influence Worksheet on page 25 (Figure 2.1). What do you notice about the times you have influenced or been influenced? When have you effectively used leverage? When has it been used on you?
2. We can exert influence through the roles we hold, our access to resources, and our respect for others. When have you used your role, resources, and respect to influence others? When have these been used to influence you?
3. Which of the three forms of networking, beginning on page 29, do you find yourself utilizing most frequently? Which do you utilize least? How might you strengthen your least often used form of networking? How might you use your most often employed form of networking to support others?
4. Thinking of Katz and Blumler's research on human needs on page 37, how would you help your colleagues meet their needs in each of the five areas listed?
5. One of the key elements of using influence and leverage effectively is knowing your audience. What steps do you take, and what skills do you use, to best know those you serve?

Chapter 3. The Forces of Influence

1. Review Figure 3.1 (page 45). Based on the four quadrants of the matrix, where do you find yourself operating most frequently? Where do you find yourself operating least frequently? What does that tell you about your leadership style?
2. After reading about the quadrants and the four forces (pages 46–52), what wonderings do you have regarding your current and future use of these forces? Which do you feel are most conducive to your current role? Why? Which do you anticipate will be the most challenging for your work and growth?

Chapter 4. The Pull

1. Pulls and coaching have a lot in common. What elements of a coaching model and structure support the use of a pull? Based on your knowledge of coaching, when is it valuable to use a pull? When doesn't it fit?
2. Consider the positive and negative elements of using a pull (pages 59–60). Which of these elements do you see as most connected to your work? Which do you need to think most deeply about in order to utilize a pull effectively?
3. Pulls are "high-energy" forces. Owing to the amount of time and investment they require, they cannot be engaged in lightly. What are situations you are currently engaged in where you are using a pull or where a pull might fit? How many of those pull situations are you involved in or are on the horizon? Is that too many? Too few? Just right?
4. Complete the Pull Planner beginning on page 70 (Figure 4.2). What did you learn from this work? Use the completed Pull Planner to engage in a pull. What worked in the planner? What didn't?

Chapter 5. The Push

1. What's an example of a time when you have been pushed effectively? When did a push that was applied to you fall flat? What was different about those two situations?
2. Consider the push questions on page 88. What other questions might you want to ask to determine whether a push is warranted?
3. Which of the positive and negative elements of the push (starting on page 89) do you think are most impactful in your current work?
4. Review the Force Factor Worksheet on page 94 (Figure 5.1). Thinking about a change in a relationship that you anticipate, complete the worksheet and consider the identified force. Does the result make sense? Why or why not?

Chapter 6. The Shove

1. Look at the characteristics and consequences of each force on pages 103–104. Are there any that give you a gut reaction, such as a strong aversion or a sense of calm? What does that tell you about the force? Are you having that feeling when you consider being the one using that force, or when that force is being applied to you? Why?
2. Refer to information about stress on pages 107–108. Reflect on a time when stress served as a positive in your life. What mitigating factors (e.g., people, interactions, or resources) helped the stress move from something potentially negative to something that helped you grow or perform? What does that tell you about applying a shove to someone else?
3. Review "The How" of a shove on page 114. Which of the listed strategies have you tried? What other strategies could help support a shove?
4. Reflect on a situation where you have little positional power or are unlikely to have implemented a shove previously. Using the Stress Test on page 111 (Figure 6.1), consider if a shove could be applied to the situation. If not, what other force might you consider?

Chapter 7. The Nudge

1. Think back to a situation where you think you developed an idea or made a decision on your own. Is it possible any elements of a nudge were in place? Who or what influenced your work? How could those supports translate into how you influence others?
2. There are potential positives and negatives to every force. How could you offset the possible negatives of a nudge? When would the potential positives outweigh the potential negatives?
3. Using the Sample Forces of Influence Leadership Matrix on page 130 (Figure 7.1), develop your own matrix with an example for each quadrant. What areas were easiest for you to fill in? Where did you struggle to think of examples? What does this imply about your work, position, and relationships?
4. Figure 7.2 (page 133) outlines some common nudging strategies. What other subtle moves exist that could be used to implement a nudge, and where would you place them on the "nudginess" continuum?
5. Nudges take a fair bit of expertise, background, or planning to implement effectively. What types of knowledge and resources would be best to have at the ready when implementing a nudge? When would human capital or relationships trump tangible products, and when would they not?

Chapter 8. Stacking the Forces

1. Two theories of change are presented on page 142 (Figure 8.1). Which theory of change do you agree with more and why? Are there any situations where the opposing theory is more likely to happen? Consider how knowing both theories could impact how you attempt to influence others.
2. Read "The Importance of Context" on page 144. List all the aspects of your context and consider your positionality as well. In what ways are you a part of the community around you? In what ways do you have authority or privilege? In what ways do you lack power? What does this mean for using forces in your work?
3. Try out the role-plays in Appendix A. Which force did you gravitate toward automatically? Try replaying the situation using a force you wouldn't expect to work. How did it change the interaction?
4. Is there a situation you have tried to influence that did not work? If so, which force did your actions align with most? Is there a way to stack a force now? Refer to Figure 8.2 and Appendix B to think through the stacking options. If you were to revisit the situation, which force would you add at this point?
5. How long is too long? Forces take time, and relationships can grow slowly. How do you determine when to keep pressing and when to abandon the attempt? What is gained or lost by pushing forward, or not?

Chapter 9. When Forces Succeed and Fail

1. Take a critical look at a time when a relationship you were in was damaged. Relationships are complex, so it is likely many forces were at play over time. Was there any one force you implemented that helped support, or degrade, the relationship?
2. Read the ways in which forces can go wrong (pages 156, 158, and 161). When you have been in a situation where a force went wrong (with you either on the giving or on the receiving end), what do you now think was the issue? Could a different force have led to a different outcome?
3. There are five strategies for what to do when a force fails. Which one feels most uncomfortable to you? Why do you think that is? What could be the benefit of exploring this option?
4. Apply the Influencer's Journey on page 166 (Figure 9.1) to a situation you would like to influence. Draw a model and think through the force you are most likely to use. Anticipate what failure would look like and what strategy you could use to rebound. Try the same situation again, testing out a different first force and a different rebound technique.
5. How does using the Force-Actions-Emotion-Reaction questioning tool before using a force help frame the situation for success?

Reflection

1. Most chapters in this book include at least one tool or template to help guide your thinking. If you could share only one with a colleague, which would you choose and why?
2. This book presents four Forces of influence that are at play in all our relationships. Are there other forces that aren't encompassed in the matrix? If you had to add at least one, what would it be, and where would you place it in relationship to the matrix?
3. Telling your story: if you had to use one sentence to sum up each chapter, what would it be? Using those ideas, how could you summarize the Forces of Influence in 30 seconds? 10 seconds? With a tweet? Using six words?

Forces of Influence: How Educators Can Leverage Relationships to Improve Practice was written by Fred Ende and Meghan Everette. This 196-page, 6" x 9" book (Stock #120009; ISBN-13: 978-1-4166-2873-6) is available from ASCD. Copyright © 2020 by ASCD. To order a copy, call ASCD at 1-800-933-2723 (in Virginia 1-703-578-9600) and press 2 for the Service Center. Or buy the book from ASCD's Online Store.