Influence, Storytelling, and Smart Negotiation

Real power has nothing to do with your job title and everything to do with influence. If you want people

to actually listen, stop dumping data and start using the STAR method. Situation,

Task, Action, Result. Humans are wired for stories,

not spreadsheets. When conflict happens, and it will, keep it focused on the problem,

not the person. Task conflict makes teams smarter, but personal drama destroys them.

And finally, stop negotiating like there’s only one winner. That is a rookie

move. The pros look for trade-offs to expand the pie so everyone walks away with

more value.