How a Leader Influence his team members ?

Last week, I was talking about charisma, this week, I would like to discuss about how a leader can influence his / her team members.

Being able to influence will make a difference in getting things done to achieve the goals of the organization. Influence is being defined as the ability of a leader to communicate ideas and gain acceptance by the team members.

Influence is a force one person exerts on someone else to induce a change, including changes in behaviors, opinions, attitudes, goals, needs and values and the ability to affect the behavior of others in a particular direction. To influence, a leader uses strategies or tactics, actual behaviors designed to change another person’s attitudes, beliefs, values or actions.


The better skilled you are, with the great range of influence tactics, the better you will be able to influence in the variety of situations in which you may find yourself.


Thus, how can a leader influence his / her team members ?

Leading by Example

An effective way of influencing group members is leading by example or leading by acting as a positive role model. The ideal approach to leading by example is to be a “ do as I say and do “ manager – that is, one whose actions and words are consistent. Also actions and words confirm, support, and often clarify each other.

Anti-aparthied campaigner and former South African President Nelson Mandela provides and example of someone who used example to influence others. He fought against what he considered the illegitimate government of his country and yet when he was released after long prison term, he demonstrated his commitment to behave in a multiracial society. He provided an example that enables his compatriots to behave in the same way in trying to create a fair society.


Rational Persuasion

Rational persuasion involves using logical arguments and factual evidence to convince another person that a proposal or request is workable and likely to result in goal attainment. Assertiveness combined with careful research is necessary to make rational persuasion an effective tactic. Rational persuasion is likely to be most effective with people who are intelligent and rational Chief executive officers typically use rational persuasion to convince their boards that an undertaking, such as product diversification, is mandatory.

Developing a reputation as a subject matter expert

Becoming a subject matter expert on a topic of importance to the organization is an effective strategy for gaining influence. Being a subject matter expert can be considered a subset of rational persuasion. A series of interviews conducted by Bernard Keys and Thomas case ( 1990 ) support this observation. Managers who posses expert knowledge in a relevant field and who continually build on that knowledge can get others to help them get work accomplished. The accompanying leader in action provides information about an entrepreneur who leads through his subject matter experience.


Exchanging favors and bargaining

Offering to exchange favors if another person will help you achieve a work goal is another standard influence tactic. By making an exchange, you strike a bargain with the other party. The exchange often translates into being willing to reciprocate at a later date. The exchange might also be promising a share of the benefits if the other person helps you accomplish a task. For example, you might promise to place a person’s name on a report to the top management if that person helps analyze the date and prepare the tables.


A recommended approach to asking a favor is to give the other person as much time as feasible to accomplish the task, such as saying, “ Could you find 10 minutes between now and the end of the month to help me ? “ Not pressing for immediate assistance will tend to lower resistance to the request.


I can remember when I was working with a German multinational corporations as their head of marketing, I offered incentives to my team of sales managers for a free trip to Mauritius if they hit they sales target in 1992. And that year, our sales team has doubled the sales target and we went for an all paid company holiday to Mauritius.


Getting Network Members to support your Position

Networking is an important strategy for career management, including becoming an influential person. The ability to establish a network and call on a member of the network when needed helps you exert influence.

One of my friend working in a semi conductor factory in Singapore , Peter Soh, a plant manager wanted to convince upper management that running the plant on a continuous operation would be profitable for the company. So the contacted 2 people to support him. The first was a plant manager from another company whose plant runs continuously, and the second was a professor of operations management. Thus Peter organized a breakfast and invited his director of manufacturing and his network friends to discuss about continuous plant operations. The information discussion of the potential advantages in running three shifts convinced the director of manufacturing to give continuous operation a trial.



Inspirational appeal and emotional display

A leader is support to inspire others, so it follows that making an inspirational appeal is an important influence tactic. As Jeffrey Pfeffer notes:- “ Executives and others seeking to exercise influence in organization often develop skill in displaying, or not displaying, their feelings in a strategic fashion.” An inspirational appeal usually involves an emotional display by the leader. It also involves appealing to group members’ emotions.



For emotional appeal to be effective, the influence agent must understand the values, motives, and goals of the target. Charismatic leadership relies on making inspirational appeals.



Conclusion

People who aim for a positive group outcome need to diagnose the situation and determine if a hard/push or a soft/pull tactic would be appropriate. Mastering the art of influence is a key leadership component. A successful leader will understand what influence tactic works best for the situation and the person or group. If the desired results are not obtained perhaps the wrong tactic is being used. Effective leadership and influence has available a wide range of tactics. Too often potential leaders use the same tactic over and over, getting few results because the tactic was applied inappropriately. If ideas are to be accepted toward a given change, leaders must learnt the art of influence.