Likability and Influence
Leaders have the responsibility of influencing the actions of others. This is true of the actions of their teams as well as their colleagues across the organization. You have all seen leaders who are masterful in their approach and seem to have incredible influence and others, who despite having incredible ideas, don’t seem to gain any traction. The difference is all in their approach and respect for others.
You may have heard the old sales adage; “People do business with those that they know, like, and trust.” This also rings true in positions of leadership. In fact, the heuristic model of decision making and information processing [1] has been studied significantly over the years. The results are never surprising other than the continual and resounding conclusions that the acceptance of messages is more likely to be determined by who delivers it rather than for the content itself. [2] This is the reason that celebrities are hired to promote products and services since the audience is likely to develop a positive belief about the product itself.
In business, you would think that more of us would use systematic information processing to determine the favorability of the message. While this is true for many large decisions that need to be made, the bulk of our work in business environments is done with an economical approach to decision making. Most often we are trusting that the information presented has been through out and is being presented with good reason. In years past, I would often hear others remark on decisions that didn’t seem to make sense, “Well, the people that made the decision are a lot smarter than me” or “That is above my pay-grade to understand, so I guess it is the right decision”. These are both examples of heuristic model decision making. The employee didn’t possess enough information access, motivation, or time, to fully analyze the decision, so they resorted to application of a positive attribute theory. Roskos-Ewoldsen and Fazio determined that this heuristic decision model builds upon itself, which is to say that the more a communicator activates the heuristic model of information processing, the greater the change in the behavior by the message receiver.
In order to break all of this down for you, you only need to look at examples in your own life. You would readily accept a message from a friend but may shudder at the exact same message from a perfect stranger.
I will end this with a personal story and one that you might be able to relate to. A former boss of mine was incredible at his job. He was highly intelligent and able to foresee complications, benefits, and results with remarkable accuracy in near instantaneous time. No one questioned his knowledge and the directions he wanted to take. He was incredibly likable and people were drawn to him…. outside of work. There were several instances where colleagues would come directly to me and either ask specifically if we could leave my boss out of the conversation, or would make comments that led to that same result. While my answers were nearly always identical to that which my manager would have given, the manner in which I delivered the message, and the relationships that I had built, mattered more.
In the workplace, you can increase your influence quotient by developing natural and authentic relationships with people. Tend to those relationships as you would your garden ensuring that those relationships grow. Offer them help, guidance, a smile, and a healthy dose of respect. Consider that you will also be observed from afar, because people notice you. Your manner of walking through the halls, interactions with those that have no amount of influence for you, and the general aura and mood you generate will be observed. These will all affect your ability to influence in the future.
The power of persuasion and influence is not in your fancy powerpoint, or in your detailed, results driven report…. It is in the work that you do every day leading up to that moment.
Chaiken, S. (1980). Heuristic vs systematic information processing and the use of source vs message cues. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology
Roskos-Ewoldsen, D. R., & Fazio, R. H. (1992). The Accessibility of Source Likability as a Determinant of Persuasion. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 18(1), 19–25. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167292181004
Resources
Building relationships can be easy for extroverts, but introverts can have a difficult time doing this. If you struggle with confidence or understanding how to build meaningful and authentic relationships, send me an email at Sheila@executive-U.com and I can help.