Leadership Influence Planner V2

Break loops and influence ethically

Use this skill when leadership influence is stuck inside a repeated conversation loop. Diagnose the transaction/game pattern first, then choose a Baker influence strategy that changes the loop and moves the work forward ethically.

What This Combines

• Transactional analysis: Parent/Adult/Child ego states, crossed/complementary/ulterior transactions, games, payoffs, and antithesis.
• Baker influence strategies: Investigation, Calculation, Motivation, and Collaboration.

Use transactional-game-analysis and leadership-influence-planner as optional source skills if they are available, but this v2 skill is self-contained enough to run without them.

Boundaries

• Treat pattern labels as hypotheses, not diagnosis.
• Do not manipulate, deceive, shame, threaten, or exploit insecurity.
• Do not recommend pouring more persuasion into a game loop. Change the transaction first.
• If there is abuse, coercion, threats, serious mental-health risk, violence, harassment, or retaliation risk, prioritize safety, documentation, HR/legal/professional support, and boundaries over influence tactics.
• Preserve agency. The goal is clear leadership and better choices, not hidden control.

Integrated Model

Transactional analysis answers: "What loop are we in?"

• Which ego states are active?
• Is the exchange complementary, crossed, or ulterior?
• What payoff keeps it repeating?
• What antithesis changes the payoff?

Baker influence answers: "What ethical influence mode moves us forward?"

• Investigation = Push + Logical: clarify facts, evidence, and the case.
• Calculation = Pull + Logical: help them reason through benefits, costs, risks, and tradeoffs.
• Motivation = Push + Emotional: connect to purpose, standards, urgency, pride, or care.
• Collaboration = Pull + Emotional: build trust, listen, invite ownership, and co-create the path.

Workflow

1. Define the leadership outcome

   • State what the leader wants: agreement, action, accountability, repair, buy-in, clarity, de-escalation, or decision.
   • Identify the person/group, relationship, power dynamic, stakes, and deadline.

2. Separate task problem from people pattern

   • Task problem: facts, resources, decision, accountability, priorities.
   • People pattern: defensiveness, passivity, resentment, blame, rescue, gotcha, helplessness, avoidance, triangulation, or status conflict.

3. Map the transaction loop

   • Identify likely ego-state invitations: Parent, Adult, Child.
   • Mark crossed or ulterior turns.
   • Name the payoff: attention, righteousness, avoidance, rescue, control, grievance, excuse, belonging, or familiar identity.
   • If a concrete Berne named game fits, name it cautiously and list runners-up.

4. Choose the antithesis before the influence mode

   • For blame loops, return responsibility and facts.
   • For rescue loops, ask for ownership and choices.
   • For gotcha loops, acknowledge the concrete issue without accepting punishment theatre.
   • For helplessness loops, stop solution-chasing and ask what experiment they will own.
   • For courtroom loops, refuse the judge/audience role and move to agreements.
   • For passive resistance, clarify the commitment and consequence without moralizing.

5. Choose Baker mode after the loop is interrupted

   • Facts barrier -> Investigation.
   • Tradeoff barrier -> Calculation.
   • Energy/courage barrier -> Motivation.
   • Trust/ownership barrier -> Collaboration.
   • If the first barrier is emotional mistrust, start Collaboration even if the final decision needs Investigation.
   • If urgency is high, state the decision boundary first, then use the warmest mode still honest.

6. Build a two-step leadership move

   • Step A: antithesis script that exits the loop.
   • Step B: influence script that advances the work.
   • Keep both short enough to actually say.

7. Stress-test

   • Predict how the other person may try to pull the old loop back.
   • Prepare a one-line repeat boundary.
   • Identify what not to say.
   • Choose a fallback mode.

8. Return an action-ready answer

   • Give the leader the recommended first message or meeting plan.
   • Include a short version for chat and a fuller version for a 1:1 when useful.
   • Include what success looks like and what to do if resistance continues.

Mode Pairings

• Game: Why Don't You - Yes But + Influence: Collaboration/Calculation Stop offering solutions. Ask what outcome matters and what option they will test.

• Game: Now I've Got You + Influence: Investigation Acknowledge the factual miss, narrow scope, and separate correction from punishment.

• Game: Courtroom + Influence: Collaboration Refuse judge role. Ask each person for desired outcome, constraints, and agreement.

• Game: See What You Made Me Do + Influence: Investigation/Boundary Separate triggers from responsibility. Return to observable behavior and next action.

• Game: I'm Only Trying to Help You + Influence: Collaboration Ask consent before helping. Give ownership back.

• Game: Blemish + Influence: Calculation Move from fault-finding to decision criteria and tradeoffs.

• Game: Kick Me + Influence: Collaboration/Boundary Avoid criticism bait. Name the behavior and offer a clean path.

• Game: Uproar + Influence: Collaboration first Lower tempo, pause, and restore the Adult channel before any persuasion.

Output Template

markdown

**Leadership Read**
- Outcome: [desired result]
- Stakeholder stance: [supporter/persuadable/skeptical/resistant/passive/adversarial]
- Main barrier: [facts/tradeoff/energy/trust/game-loop]

**Transaction/Game Pattern**
- Likely loop: [descriptive or named game]
- Ego-state pattern: [e.g. Parent-to-Child correction met by rebellious Child]
- Payoff: [what keeps it going]
- Antithesis: [what changes the payoff]

**Influence Strategy**
- Primary Baker mode: [Investigation/Calculation/Motivation/Collaboration]
- Why: [short reason]
- Fallback mode: [if resistance continues]

**Two-Step Script**
1. Loop reset: [one or two lines]
2. Influence move: [one or two lines]

**Do Not Say**
- [counterproductive line/tactic]

**Next Move**
[one concrete action and what success looks like]

Quality Bar

• Diagnose the loop before choosing persuasion tactics.
• Recommend one primary Baker mode and one fallback.
• Give language the leader can actually say.
• Keep the leader in Adult: factual, boundaried, curious, and direct.
• Do not reward the other person's game payoff just to get short-term compliance.
• Prefer repair, clarity, ownership, and trust over winning the exchange.