Leadership Principles are personal and at the same time, universal. Here we will look at the Principles that have emerged from the studies of successful leaders and that we can all learn from. Applying them, will add value to your repertoire of persuasive leadership skills and improve your chances of influencing the outcomes in any organisation.
There are at least six Principles of Persuasive Leader’s Check list (Wharton 2022: Executive Presence and Influence: Persuasive Leadership Development):
- Conveying your character.
- Developing your leadership narrative.
- Developing an executive presence.
- Cultivating an improvisational poise.
- Strengthening leadership in others.
- Leading upwardly.
Conveying your character
Did you know that people prefer moral and cold person to immoral and warm? Or, that they even prefer a moral and incompetent person to immoral and competent? Traits such as generosity, empathy, staying calm under pressure, keeping promises and sticking to the deadlines, reflect our inner strengths. Where do you keep repeating the same mistakes and how have those played out in your life? Character doesn’t distinguish between the “working” and the “private”, so try to evaluate your life as a whole. Building up positive character traits is far from easy but nonetheless possible. It requires development of new habits through self-awareness and a lot of practice.
Developing your leadership narrative
Your personal stories convey who you are, what you are about and what impact you want to make. The key is to tie your story and your purpose, to the purpose of the organisation. Your message will be more believable and authentic if your values match that of an organisation.
Developing an executive presence
Do you have what it takes to succeed? Executive presence is a precondition to success. It includes qualities such as confidence, poise and authenticity. These qualities transport the message to other people that you are in charge or deserve to be. Executive Presence is not a measure of performance but rather a measure of image (S.A. Hewlett, 2014).
Cultivating an improvisational poise
You are always on stage whether you are aware of it or not. You are being judged by the energy you hold, the eye contacts you make, your voice and physical movements. One of the most powerful ways to cultivate your poise is to show up as a whole person, emotions and intellect in a body.
Strengthening leadership in others
Assuming that you have become a leader of yourself, you can move to leading others. Leading others is about inspiring them to step out of their comfort zone, to do things that they haven’t tried before. This could mean entrusting them with new assignments, listening to their opinions and inclusive decision-making. A precondition to strengthening leadership in others is the ability to recognise people’s potential.
Leading upwardly
Have you ever heard of the concept of leading your boss? As unusual as it may sound, it is real. Perhaps you are already practising it without knowing the term. Perhaps you are in the right place and your boss knows about the benefits of strengthening the leadership in you. This concept closely relates to confidence and our ability to think critically. Therefore, it takes our own initiative and courage to challenge the status quo, provide our (unsolicited) input and be informed beyond the scope of our everyday work (think your organisation’s strategy).
Developing leadership presence is not a one time event but an ongoing process. It takes awareness, effort, intentionality and action. I encourage you not to wait for somebody else and that includes your boss, to offer you an opportunity to lead. Instead, believe in yourself and ask the question: What Principle would benefit me the most at this moment? What Principles do I want to adopt in six months from now? And then take action.
Image: Hert Washere