Persuasion: A Key Leadership Skill by Barbara Baggerly-Hinojosa

Photo Credit: Laurie Madden Mire/
Laurie Mire Photography

I have good news for you.  You don’t have to be a slick salesperson in order to be persuasive.  The skill of persuasion is simply the ability to convince others rather than coercing compliance. During a recent seminar I conducted at Texas State Technical Institute, the skill of persuasion was one that prompted the most discussion.  The Servant Leader primarily relies on making decisions within an organization based on persuasion rather than positional authority. 

In other words, you will never hear the Servant Leader say, “do it because I am the boss and I say to.”  This particular element offers one of the clearest distinctions between the traditional authoritarian model of leadership and the concept of servant leadership.  The technique of convincing rather than coercing is one of the most effective ways a Servant Leader can build consensus within groups.

Photo Credit for remaining pictures:
Google Images

Instead of making a big deal about something and telling your colleagues that they have to change, “or else,” the Servant Leader has learned to use a method of gentle but clear and persistent persuasion.  Leadership by persuasion has the ability to encourage change by convincement rather than coercion.  Its advantages are enormous.  Just think about it, aren’t you more apt to make a change if someone has convinced you of it as opposed to telling you that you MUST change because the boss said so?  In order to be highly persuasive, a leader must have developed relationships with others. Effective leaders are able to form bonds with others that result in relationships.  These relationships allow for open communication that lay the way for trust.  People who trust you will be more easily persuaded by you.

A final point to keep in mind is this…effective Servant Leaders who are great persuaders don’t ask themselves, “who can help me?” but instead ask, “whom can I help?”  There are some basic techniques that can help you develop your persuasive skills.  I hope you will try some of them this week and join me on this great journey to become the most effective Servant Leader we can be. 

As discussed in more detail in my book, Are You a 10? The Ten Characteristics of a Servant Leader (2010), the following tips can help you as you develop your persuasion skills:

• Create Transparency
• Practice Fairness
• Develop Consistency
• Build Consensus

Barbara Baggerly-Hinojosa is a mother, educator, and wife living in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas.  She is a PhD student with Our Lady of the Lake University in Leadership Studies.  Mrs. Baggerly-Hinojosa is currently researching the relationship between the leadership of the high school principal and the high school drop out rate.  This article is an excerpt from the  book, Are You A Ten?  The Ten Characteristics of a Servant Leader.   For ordering information, please contact Mrs. Baggerly-Hinojosa at Barbara@leadershipempoewrmentgroup.com or like us on Facebook at Leadership Empowerment Group, LLC.  Ordering information can also be found at Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.com.

What We Need is a Little More Convincing and a Little Less Coercing By Barbara Baggerly-Hinojosa

Did you know that one of the most important ways to deal with others is through influence and persuasion?  In today’s organizations, workers show little regard for authority while electronic communication and globalization have further diminished the hierarchy that has existed in business and organizations for decades.

Today’s workers often don’t just ask “what should I do?” but “why should I do it?”  Because of these changing times, leaders must be able to answer the “why” question in order for productivity to take place.  

Persuasion is the skill that will help the leader succeed in the 21^st century organization by convincing others instead of coercing.

As today’s leader, your organization’s success may depend on your ability to get things done.  In order to get things done, leaders must be able to persuade others.  In fact, effective leaders must be able to convince others to take action even when there is no formal authority.

Not only must the persuasive leader construct a rational argument, but must also be able to frame the idea with approaches and solutions that appeal to workers.  

In order to effectively persuade others, leaders must be constantly working on building relationships with those we work and live with.  Before trying to persuade others to do something, leaders must know something about the audience before preparing any arguments. 

One way this can be done is through dialogue and candid conversations.  Effective leaders invite people to discuss solutions, debate positions, and offer honest and candid feedback.

In Are You a 10? The Ten Characteristics of a Servant Leader (2010), I discuss ways to develop Persuasion Skills.  The following are three important steps to leading through persuasion.

1. Create transparency and credibility. Persuasion is about being open, honest, and accountable.  Credibility is usually developed through expertise and relationships. Listen actively to other people's suggestions. Establish an environment in which candid discussions are encouraged.  Be truthful.

2. Create relationships.  Speak a little less, listen a little more.  Remain positive.  Communicate better.  Encourage others.  A relationship must demonstrate both intellectual and emotional commitment. 

3. Build consensus. Structure discussions with vivid language and compelling evidence that originates from strong data.  List issues on paper.  Listen to the opinions of others.  Get conflict out in the open.  Recognize and value differing opinions.

One key component to being persuasive is the strength of your relationships with those you work and live with.  Successful leaders have the ability to develop relationships that last.  In today’s economic environment, we all have to build successful work relationships and interact with people in a positive way in order to achieve our goals.

Photo Credits: Google Images

~~~~~~~

Barbara Baggerly-Hinojosa is a mother, educator, and wife living in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas.  She is a PhD student with Our Lady of the Lake University in Leadership Studies.  Mrs. Baggerly-Hinojosa is the President of the Leadership Empowerment Group, LLC and is currently researching the relationship between the leadership of the high school principal and the high school drop out rate.  Mrs. Baggerly-Hinojosa is the author of Are You A Ten?  The Ten Characteristics of a Servant Leader.   For ordering information, please contact Mrs. Baggerly-Hinojosa at Barbara@leadershipempowermentgroup.com.