Invite clients or reports to contribute insight to your approach
Asking someone you lead for their input increases their investment in the outcome.
Why it works
When a leader or coach explicitly requests input from a direct report or client, the helper experiences the Ben Franklin mechanism: "I gave my knowledge to this plan, so I must care about its success." This converts passive recipients of a plan into active stakeholders who have invested their own thinking — which increases both ownership and follow-through.
How to do it
- Before presenting a plan, ask the other person: "What am I missing?" or "What would you change about this?"
- Genuinely incorporate a specific suggestion and tell them you did: "I used your framing for the second section."
- Use this as a standing practice, not a one-time consultation before imposing a pre-formed plan.
Evidence
Participation in decision-making predicts higher commitment to outcomes in organizational psychology research; the Ben Franklin mechanism provides a dissonance-based explanation for this effect alongside the informational and autonomy-support explanations. (observational)
Participatory decision-making research is robust on commitment outcomes; whether the Ben Franklin dissonance mechanism or other routes (ownership, autonomy) is the primary driver is not cleanly isolated.
Common mistake
Asking for input as a formality while having already decided — people detect consultative theater quickly, and it produces more cynicism about participation than no consultation would have.
Practice this with IX Coach
More practices for The Ben Franklin Effect, Made Practical
- Ask for a small, genuine favor from someone you want to build rapport with
Request something real and modest — help you actually need — not a pretext.
- Ask for their expertise or opinion — not just their help
Requesting someone’s expert opinion generates more liking than requesting their labor.
- Close the favor with specific, sincere gratitude
Specific thanks reinforces the helper’s positive self-attribution and deepens the effect.
- Build a pattern of small asks rather than one large one
Multiple small favors over time create a deeper liking pattern than a single large ask.
- Use a small ask to repair a strained relationship
In a cool or conflicted relationship, asking for a small favor can reset the dynamic more effectively than doing one.
- Keep asks sized to what the person can easily afford to give
A favor that costs the helper too much produces regret, not liking.
Related concepts
- Cialdini’s Principles of Persuasion
All seven levers of persuasion, the mechanism behind each, and how to use them honestly
- The Rule of Reciprocity, Made Practical
Why giving first is a lever of persuasion — and how to use it without manipulation
- How to Win Friends and Influence People, Made Practical
The durable principles, their likely mechanisms, and an honest read on the evidence
- Active Listening, Made Practical
The component skills, the mechanisms behind them, and an honest read on the evidence