LEADERSHIP: IS YOUR VOICE PERSUASIVE?

If you’re reading this post, I’ve caught you at one of those times of year when we reflect upon our blessings as well as where we are headed in 2009.  Between now and New Year’s Day and I’d say even through the end of January, there will be times when in the midst of work and family events, we will pause and think about our big dreams, challenges, responsibilities, and projects for the next year. Just imagine if next year’s efforts flowed smoothly with everyone supporting you and just getting the work done. No more disagreements, doubt, and resistance.  Just imagine that everyone you work with wants to risk helping you to achieve your goals if you can persuade them to trust you. 

Whether you work in academia, a corporation, or in the social sector, everyone wants to be persuasive. I’m sure the leaders of the Big 3 in Detroit have spent time this week reflecting upon how to persuade Congress and the American public that they deserve to remain as players in the United States auto industry.  

One of the key aspects of leadership is the power to convince others to act.  At its basic level, leadership is an exchange process; a bartering between individuals.  In the book, Leadership, James MacGregor Burns described this as leadership in which “…leaders approach followers with an eye to exchanging one thing for another:..”

In many ways, leaders are like sales people, understanding what their audience needs and desires and then describing the benefits of making a sacrifice to achieve the goal.  The best sales people and leaders use the art and science of persuasion to build trust and comfort that motivates others to action.

Persuasion isn’t an easy leadership competency.   As we’ve witnessed with the auto industry executives, it isn’t enough just to say it is so.  People want tangible proof that a leader has what it takes to make things happen.  The ability to persuade, build trust and develop comfort in one’s leadership vision is a multifaceted process. 

How do I build and strengthen my persuasive voice?  Here are a few suggestions for your consideration:

First, find your voice. What is your passion?  What is it that you want to be an expert in? What is your focus of interest?  Is it leadership, strategy, organizational change, operations, teaching, research?  Decide and begin to develop what it is you have to say in your area of expertise. 

Second, know what the experts say. Who are the leaders in your chosen area of expertise?  What are they writing and talking about? Who publishes their work?  Who are they citing in their work? How current is their work? Was it written five or 50 years ago? Do they blog about the subject or write book?  Are they interviewed on television and other media outlets?  Do they speak at conferences?  Choose someone whose work you admire and follow what they say about the topic.  Do you agree or disagree?  What would you add to the discussion based upon your experience?

Third, provide relevant facts, figures, dates, names, titles of publications. When you present, speak, or write about a topic, it’s a good idea to provide tangible information that your audience can review.  Don’t you think it would have been a good idea if the auto industry executives had a business plan summary with them when they appeared before Congress?  When a leader is in the process of building trust and comfort in where they want to lead their followers, the leader must provide data that validates their vision.  Make sure you do your homework before you try to persuade someone to act! You can also try conducting informal interviews and write up your results.  How does your results match up to what the experts say? Are there other businesses that have faced the same challenges or achieved similar goals?  What information can you find about this situation? 

The old adage that a picture is worth a thousand words works well here.  For example, I was working with an organization that knew anecdotally that one of their information systems wasn’t being used by their sales people.  The organization’s leaders thought the system could be modified and re-launched until they ran a simple query on their system usage files and found that less than five people in an audience of 1000 had used the system for more than a week after it had been launched.  These statistics did a lot to persuade the leaders to look for another solution to their challenge.

Fourth, what’s the other side of the story? Look for and present the other side’s argument.  You better understand the objections to what you are proposing.  Don’t you think the auto industry executives would have been more persuasive if they’d done some research or thought about what their critics would say?  Disagreement with someone’s ideas is healthy.  Be ready to explain why you think they are wrong.  This process will strengthen your proposal as you think about what needs to be done to overcome objections.

Fifth and always, listen. Listen to what others are saying; observe, observe, observe!   Let go of bias and judgments; be open to other opinions and other ways of looking at a topic.

Sixth, know your audience. Are you selling an idea to an expert, the management team at work, the team you are leading?  Is it a concept or an issue that fits into the norms and issues that they are passionate about? What are the higher order needs that your voice is addressing?  What might you audience fear about committing to your leadership and vision? In Congress’s treatment of the auto industry executives, we saw the aftermath of the financial services bailout and its effect on Congress. 

Most importantly, build trust and authenticity.  Clearly articulate the rationale for what you are doing. Does the audience understand the relevance and purpose of the topic? Does your work build on a framework and other research findings? Is it clearly written? Does it create an image, a concept in the reader’s mind? And, most importantly, deliver on your commitments.  As individuals begin to realize that you don’t just talk the talk but you walk it, your trust factor with increase exponentially.

In conclusion, Dr. Seuss’s Horton may hear a “who” but in the art of persuasion the audience wants the “why” they should trust and follow you.

What do you think? How have you demonstrated persuasiveness?  Do you know anyone who operates on these guidelines?  Do you have further suggestions?

Til next time,

Dr. M.