An incident happened at office yesterday.  A manager recommended a reassignment of an employee and his supervisor opposed to the idea.  An argument took place which resulted to bullying by the manager.  The supervisor, in turn, bursted in tears.

Incidents like this really happen in the office, at home or anywhere. How could the leader influence others to do or follow what he wants them to do?

First, the leader must connect with the people he leads.  The leader must love his people.  If he has a stained relationship with the one he leads, influence would be difficult.  If he shows love and care for his people, anything he does or presents would be easily accepted by them.

Second, the leader must not only possess the abilities and skills of a leader but he must also be a H.O.T. one. H.O.T. which means hands-on and transactional is coined from the term used in the book of Bruce Tulgan.  As a hands-on leader, he spends lots of time with employees spelling out expectations and clarifying standards.

Third, the leader is a role model to his people.  He walks the talk.  He has integrity, his words and actions match.  He is honest and trustworthy.

Fourth, the leader is a good communicator. He must be able to communicate to his people the reasons and the rationale behind his decisions and requests, presenting the needed data, if possible. In doing this, he must also maintain a genuine respect for others’ ideas and perspectives.  If we show willingness to listen to our people first, it will be easy for us to influence them to agree to our opinions and decisions.

According to Dr. Blaine Lee of the Power Principle, these are the words we say to ourselves to check for persuasion:

Have I told them why?

Do they understand why?

Have I tried to help them understand why?

Would it help if they understood why?

Would I like them to understand why?