Building Coalitions: Get A Group Behind You To Help Influence Others

The word coalition comes from the Latin word coalascere, which refers to the formation of different interests in defense of a common foe. The most common format of a coalition in business is that of a labor union, whereby individual members bargain collectively with their employer instead of competing against each other. Generally, it is assumed that by forming a coalition, everyone is better off than they would be acting singularly.

In politics, business, and any decision or deal-making process, coalitions can increase the leverage, influence, and clout of their members. In creating a coalition, though complete alignment is not necessary, some level of commonality in goals or objectives is important. There should be added value in working together vs. working individually, and the benefits must outweigh the costs of coalescing.

As with any negotiation scenario, take time to research each player. Do any share one or more of your own priorities? Would one or more of them benefit from joining with you in negotiating or influencing against the most formidable player of the group? Would you benefit too?

Identifying each player’s BATNA is a first basic step. Then, deliberately approaching one or more other players to discuss coalition-building is the next step toward building group leverage and power.

A key piece of advice I want to share with you is that most of the times approaching the most difficult party first may offer little chances to make a good deal. To build your influence strategy, start by identifying who influence the target player and to whom that player defers.

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