How effective Leaders influence, communicate and negotiate - how do YOU rate?
Effective
leadership and effective
influence are synonymous.
- 80% of influence occurs informally within organizations - effective Leaders know this and use it.
- 'How' a Leader communicates is more influential than 'What' is communicated. Think of the implications behind this?
Skilled Leaders and skilled influencers are
process driven - the 'How' again.
- Less effective Leaders get hijacked by the content - the 'What'.
Effective
influence and
negotiation is all about identifying and satisfying needs ... yours and theirs.
- However, personal and 'hidden' needs are frequently overlooked or ignored. In terms of understanding agreement and commitment, this always causes problems.
- Effective Leaders know how to identify 'hidden' needs and how to ensure they won't cause problems - down the track.
Hardliner or
Softliner ... which is the most effective Leadership style?
- It always depends on the situation. There is a need to be tough in certain situations and more cooperative and collaborative in others. Very few Leaders would disagree with this, however, very few Leaders demonstrate this degree of style flexibility.
Effective Leaders manage and control the
climate of discussion and communication.
- They are aware of the critical variables of time, place and mood and intentionally control these ingredients to achieve the outcome they want.
- Less effective Leaders are often unaware of these variables or do not know how to control them.
Tactically, effective Leaders are very flexible and draw on a large repertoire of tactical responses that increases their
leverage and
influence.
- Most Leaders unconsciously rely on a small range of tactics (say up to 6) that they use to handle most situations. This makes them predictable and generally less effective.
In meetings and discussions there is a distinct 4 stage process that always occurs:
- Introductory
- Differentiation
- Integration
- Settlement
Failure to understand and manage these 4 stages will result in ineffective meetings and inferior outcomes.
Statements or
Questions?
- The effective Leader understands the power of skilled questioning as a way of exerting positive influence and reducing resistance. Less than 20% of Leaders possess this skill.
As a Leader do you focus on
Differences or areas of
Common Ground?
- The less effective Leader focuses excessively on the differences and in doing this, often (unintentionally) increases the level of difference!
Note that common ground is not necessarily common agreement.
Credibility as a Leader rests on two fundamental
perceptions:
- Perception of your level of expertise - technical and business related.
- Perception of how effectively you manage relationships – internally and externally.
The effective Leader manages these perceptions with great respect and skill.
- At some level, a lot of the above will be known to Leaders in organisations. The vital question is.... 'How well and how consistently do you apply these ideas?'
- Our experience and research reveals that only a small minority of Leaders pass the consistent application test!
These are critical skills that have to be learnt and mastered.