In my last post, I looked at the importance of connection and inspiration. Today, let’s look at how great leaders actively manage their level of confidence and use all the tools of persuasive communication.
Manage your self-confidence. Leaders who feel confident within themselves are more likely to engage others, speak out, and take the risks that influence requires.
All leaders have seasons where their confidence is high or low. I know this because they talk about it in coaching conversations. Confidence grows with experience and success, and can dip in new roles or unusually challenging circumstances. This is why even seasoned senior executives need to monitor, and at times nurture, their confidence.
If you’re in a low confidence moment, reflect on the high moments in your career and life. What were you doing? What did you accomplish? How did you feel? Use those insights to bolster your feeling about your capabilities. You are still that same person now— just wiser and more experienced.
Reflect on your strengths and make sure you’re using them. Spend a moment at the end of each day writing down a few small wins. Remember that confidence can be built through behaviors, or it can be nurtured from within.
Having said that, if your confidence is high, make sure you don’t fall prey to one of the greatest risks: that you’re so sure that you’re right that you stop taking in contrary facts.
Use all the tools of persuasive communication. Influence is magnified by deftly using all the levers of persuasiveness. For example, stories are often more emotionally engaging and memorable than just information. This is why politicians say things like, “Jim, a factory worker in Detroit, was denied health insurance when he was laid off.” Story is one of our most basic functions as humans: we are wired to connect through story. If you’re not using storytelling in your communication, you’re missing a powerful opportunity.
Data is also powerful. This is particularly true in life sciences and technology companies, where experts value scientific bases for decisions. If you are looking to persuade your leadership team or your board, do your homework and gather credible facts. Base your recommendations on data from sources your audience will trust. But don’t “data dump”: choose the material that will make your case.
“Matching” your audience can be effective. By subtly adopting some of the norms and behaviors of their audience, great leaders adapt their style to increase their communication effectiveness with specific audiences. For example, you may be very direct in your communication style, but perhaps you have a peer who is more of a diplomat. You would do well to add more diplomacy skills to your communication toolbox, so you can be effective with them, rather than assume your style is best and that they should adapt to you.
Flexing your style is not a matter of comprising your authentic self but rather, as a colleague once said, an act of generosity. It makes you more accessible and trustworthy for your audience. Other elements of executive presence can also boost influence. Confident body language, tone of voice, thoughtful choice of words and authenticity all make a difference.
Throughout this four-part series, I’ve tried to make the point that Influence is the lifeblood of leadership. And the good news is that no matter how skilled you are, you can always get better at it. It’s worth doing so, because influence is what will enable you, and your company, to achieve your mission.