It is a reality in today’s organizations that in order to be successful, leaders must engage people, build relationships with key stakeholders, and gain their commitment. To find out how the most effective leaders do this, OnPoint Consulting used their Influence With Impact 360° survey to collect data on the influencing skills of 223 leaders (116 men and 107 women) across several organizations and industries.
The study findings indicate that the most effective leaders use four core influence tactics more than less effective leaders:
- Rational Persuasion (the use of facts and logic)
- Inspirational Appeals (appealing to a person’s values and beliefs)
- Consultation (involving people in shaping an idea or proposal)
- Collaboration (reducing the difficulty of complying with a request)
Based on the results of the study, the following recommendations will enhance the ability of leaders to gain the support and commitment of the people they need to get things done:
- Try to influence others more often. The most effective leaders appear to use influence significantly more often than their less effective counterparts. In order to be effective, a leader needs to place a high priority on developing relationships and influencing people.
- Use all the core tactics. All four core tactics are important and have a strong correlation to gaining commitment. The most effective leaders appear to be more versatile and use all four tactics. Effective leaders have a flexible approach and use different influence strategies according to the situation.
- Don’t be afraid to appeal to values and emotions. Inspirational Appeals is the tactic with the most development potential. Although this tactic was used least often, it seems to strongly impact the perception of a leader’s overall effectiveness. Leaders who make the effort to go beyond the use of facts/logic and communicate their ideas in a compelling way are likely to be more effective.
For additional information on OnPoint’s research and influence training opportunities, please contact Meghan Powell at mpowell@onpointconsultingllc.com or visit onpointconsultingllc.com
