Increase Your Persuasiveness and Influence

A leadership position doesn’t guarantee you influence. It doesn’t come with a job title. It comes from followers. But how do you start?

Two AMA authors who understand the how of influence are John Baldoni and Kurt W. Mortensen. In their books, they truly demonstrate this.

In his book Lead by Example, Baldoni writes, “While orders flow from the top, results happen by bringing people together and getting them aligned around a single purpose. That requires influence to make it happen.”

According to Baldoni, influence is the “measure of your credibility times your ability to get things done. For example, people are promoted into leadership positions because they demonstrate competency in their function (e.g., accounting, sales, human resources), but more importantly, they know how to get things done. When you are a junior person, you do everything yourself, in collaboration with your colleagues. When you scale the ladder, you do less and less of the work, but have more and more responsibility to get things done by working with others. For projects of significance, especially those of a cross-functional nature, you need to be able to reach consensus with peers over whom you have no authority. Your influence is paramount.”

Kurt W. Mortensen describes how you can persuade and motivate others in his book Persuasion IQ. The book offers ten skills you need to get exactly what you want. In his book he writes, “Why have I dedicated my life to understanding, mastering, and teaching persuasion and life mastery? The reason is that I was mad I hadn’t learned these critical life skills while earning my college degree or advanced business degree. Who/what had failed me? If persuasion is the skill of success, why hadn’t I learned it from school, or anywhere else for that matter? Why had I been given a pocket knife to chop down the tree of success and wealth? Why had I been given the wrong tools?”

He concludes: “Learning how to persuade and influence makes the difference between hoping for a better income and actually having a better income.”

Both authors believe that influence doesn’t come with a particular job title, but they believe that influence and power can improve one’s ability to lead. On November 16, they will share the how and the why of influence and power during a live discussion at AMA’s Website. Influence and Power: Improve Your Ability to Lead is designed to give you insight into how you can shape and define your influence to boost your career. You will learn the key skills you need to be regarded as influential, ways to use a collaborative approach to build your influence with colleagues and customers, how to avoid coming across as an “out-for-yourself” leader, and much more.

Attending this Webcast is FREE, but reservations are required.

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John Baldoni is an internationally recognized leadership consultant, speaker, and author. Besides Lead by Example, he is author of The AMA Handbook of Leadership and Lead Your Boss. In 2010, he was named one of the world’s Top 25 Leadership Experts by Top Leadership Gurus. For more information, visit him at www.johnbaldoni.com.

Kurt W. Mortensen is one of America’s leading authorities on persuasion, negotiation, and influence. He has spent 15 years researching persuasion, negotiation, and motivational psychology and he teaches on the university level. His latest book is The Laws of Charisma. For more information, visit www.kurtmortensen.com.