Pooja is a senior programmer

who leads projects. 

© 2020 IBM Corporation 1

 Pooja was working on a demanding project and her team
was struggling to cope with excessive workloads. In an
informal meeting, Pooja informed team members that she,
too, was experiencing the same problem.

She suggested that the team members record the time they
spent on each task in a week. This would help them manage
their time better and help their project manager understand
how their workload was affecting productivity.

The idea was met with immediate resistance from the other
team members. Pooja had to find a way to convince the
team of the benefits of her idea.

© 2020 IBM Corporation 2

 Pooja invited people to share their reservations, while
maintaining a friendly and supportive tone.

Some of the team members were worried about the

motive of the exercise. Most complained that tracking
their time would become another task to worry about.
A few team members didn’t want their manager to
view their weekly records. They were not sure if they
were using their time properly.

© 2020 IBM Corporation 3

 Pooja acknowledged each of these worries. She
explained that tracking time would help them determine
how much work they could realistically handle. This
would allow them to plan their work better. She also
offered to share a template that the team could use to
record time.

Gradually, people started seeing the benefits of Pooja’s

suggestion. Everyone left the meeting willing to give the
idea a try. Pooja’s personal relationship with the team
helped her to convince them to try her idea.

© 2020 IBM Corporation 4

 Pooja demonstrated her personal influence by proposing a solution and then used
empathy and potential benefits to persuade her team to try the solution. Consider
how Pooja behaved and how she convinced her teammates to try her idea.

How did Pooja behave? How did Pooja convince?

• She asserted her idea. • She made suggestions.

• She remained confident.
• She listened attentively.
• She sympathized with the
worries of her team members.
• She was honest about the risks
and the benefits.
• She explained the benefits.
• She tactfully countered
objections.
• She offered to help with a
template.

© 2020 IBM Corporation 5