The Power of Persuasion at Work

Simple Leadership Basics

A great cloud of jargon, debate, and junk theory surrounds the idea of leadership, what it is, who does it, and how to do it well. But if you have just been promoted, and you're responsible for a group for the first time, there are only a few things you really need to know about leadership.

When you get promoted and become responsible for the performance of a group you become a leader. But you don't undergo some magical change. In fact, it will probably take you over a year to completely adjust to your new role.

You're a leader because the people in your group treat you like one. The only choice you have is what kind of job you'll do.

 As an individual contributor, you just have to decide to work harder, longer or smarter to improve performance. When you're responsible for the performance of a group, the group is your destiny. They choose whether to act or not.

When you become a leader, your influence goes up. The people who work for you pay attention to what you say and do. They adjust their behavior accordingly.

The result is that you use your behavior (what you say and do) to influence the behavior of the people who work for you to achieve a defined objective.

Achieving the objective is part of your job as a leader. The other part is caring for your people.

It may be possible to achieve good short term results without caring for your people. But you can't achieve long term success for you or your company without the willing cooperation of the best folks you can find.

At the end of the day, you can measure your leadership based on those two standards. Did we accomplish the mission? Are the members of my group better off today than yesterday?

You can find out more about all of this and learn it almost effortlessly from my digital book, How to Use Charisma, Persuasion, and Influence to Develop Your Leadership Skills, visit:  Charisma

Are You a Leader or a Slacker?

Do you claim to be a Leader in your business or your field of expertise?  

I have noticed that many people claim to be Leaders, but I consider them Slackers instead.  A Slacker is someone that basically likes to give instruction or direction, but takes no action on advancing themselves or their business.  Does this describe you, your up-line or someone else on your Mastermind Team?  Here are some clues that might help you out.

Leader:  Praises his/her team and offers encouragement

Slacker:  Quick to find fault and slow to give praise

Leader:  Holds himself/herself to a higher standard that his/her team

Slacker:  Has a high level of expectation for his/her team but doesn’t hold

                 himself/herself to that same standard

Leader:  Leads by example and is a role model for his/her team

Slacker:  Blends in with crowd and never steps up to take a leadership role

Leader:  Has deep rooted belief in his/her business and leads new teammates

                through the growth process (learning the business and facing obstacles)

Slacker:  Convinces a person to join his/her team then pawns them off on someone

                 else or simply pushes them to the side (Referred to as “sign and drop”)

Which of these characteristics, best describes you and your teammates?  Be honest with yourself.

Just remember, that a leader must lead and nourish others through the growth process.  If he/she loses integrity and fails to take action, then this same failure mindset will ripple down to his/her teammates.  A team will duplicate their leader and their leader’s actions.

Let me ask you one last time…Are you a Leader or a Slacker?

For information on becoming a more effective leader, visit: Charisma

How Charismatic Leaders Use Personalized Charisma

Edward Brown, M.S., of Core Edge Image & Charisma Institute provides questions and answers on when and why charismatic leaders use personalized charisma.

Q: First of all, what is personalized charisma?

Brown: Andrew J. Dubrin in his book, “Leadership Research Findings, Practice and Skills,” defined personalized charisma as a means of a leader utilizing their persuasive powers for personal gain.

Q: That sounds manipulative, how is this important to students of charismatic leadership?

Brown: Because charismatic leadership is the predominate leadership model where sheer personality is its effectiveness, a charismatic leader has to use highly advanced interpersonal relationship skills to get things done. The charismatic leader is not afforded nepotism or job promotion in leading a mission or crusade. Consequently, manipulation might be necessary to affect a desired outcome.

Q: Is this where charismatic leadership gets its bad reputation?

Brown: To a large degree, yes.  However, the act of manipulation speaks to the naiveté of individuals as opposed to anything a charismatic leader does.

Q: How so? What do you mean?

Brown: How many times have you tried to persuade someone to act in a way that benefits society as a whole? If people are basically selfish and motivated by self-interest, what evidence can be provided that suggests that people are inclined to do the right thing for the good of society without some level of persuasion? Without religion, government, and laws, we would have total chaos. We have these institutions in place and still crime is rampant in the U.S., the freest country in the world.

Q: Your point is clear, but isn’t the secret to manipulation lost once you reveal its motivation?

Brown: On the contrary!  The hard-wiring for people to believe in hope or something bigger than themselves makes the manipulation process viable.  I heard a minister once say that if he found out that there was no God, he would continue worshipping God anyway. He received an “Amen” from his congregation, but how logical is such proclamations?

Q: Are you excusing the manipulation of charismatic leaders, because people have faith and need to find hope where they can?

Brown: I don’t attribute negative connotations to words like “manipulation” or “self-interest.” When a politician, you haven’t seen in four years, kisses your baby on live TV during a reelection campaign, do you vote for him because of his political platform or because he made your family celebrities for 15 minutes? In most cases, individuals don’t even know the platform issues of politicians. You don’t vote for a politician necessarily because of his views, you vote based on how he makes you feel.  Your self-interest on feeling good is more important than a politician’s views.  

Q: So, what’s the answer?

Brown: The French philosopher Rousseau said that humans ceased to be whole as soon as they were touched by civilization.  Every day we all are persuaded, influenced, or manipulated on some level. The point is not to deny this reality, but to be vigilant when persuasion, influence, and manipulation act contrary to our self-interest.  Even charismatic leaders cannot act contrary to the will of the people without the people’s permission.

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