Influencing skills
Influencing skills are the ability to bring people round to your way of thinking about a certain topic, without force or coercion whilst acknowledging their opinions.
Principles:
Reciprocity
Give something to someone first, so they return with something.
Social Proof
Share the most popular option to validate and show others thoughts to gain consensus.
Authority
Be an expert and help to reduce their uncertainty of the best steps to take.
Unity
The idea of togetherness and a shared identify that both the influencer and influencee become part of.
Commitment
Gain commitment on a small action is important to build credibility then extend this as you gain buy-in.
Scarcity
Share the unique qualities of the proposed offer and what they will lose if they don’t move forward.
Liking
Show similarities to build rapport and desire to work with you.
Skills
- Team Promotion: Leaders cut through the noise to authentically and credibly promote themselves while also promoting what’s good for the entire organization.
- Organizational Intelligence: They understand how to get things done and embrace the reality of working within organizational politics to move teams and important initiatives forward.
- Leveraging Networks: No leader is an island. They are empowered by their connections with others.
- Trust-Building: Because leadership often involves guiding people through risk and change, trust is essential.
Assertiveness Skills
It’s not always easy to identify truly assertive behavior. This is because there’s a fine line between assertiveness and aggression, and people can often confuse the two. For this reason, it’s useful to define the two behaviors so that we can clearly separate them:
Aggressive behavior is based on winning. You do what is in your own best interest without regard for the rights, needs, feelings, or desires of other people. When you’re aggressive, the power you use is selfish. You may come across as pushy or even bullying. You take what you want, often without asking.
Assertiveness is based on balance. It requires being forthright about your wants and needs, while still considering the rights, needs and wants of others. When you’re assertive, you are self-assured and draw power from this to get your point across firmly, fairly and with empathy.
Benefits of Being Assertive
One of the main benefits of being assertive is that it can help you to become more self-confident, as you gain a better understanding of who you are and the value that you offer.
Assertiveness provides several other benefits that can help you both in your workplace and in other areas of your life. In general, assertive people:
- Negotiate successful “win-win” solutions. They are able to recognize the value of their opponent’s position and can quickly find common ground with him.
- Make great managers. They get things done by treating people with fairness and respect, and are treated by others the same way in return. This means that they are often well-liked and seen as leaders that people want to work with.
- Are less anxious and stressed. They are self-assured and don’t feel threatened or victimized when things don’t go as planned or as expected.
- Are better doers and problem solvers. They feel empowered to do whatever it takes to find the best solution to the problems that they encounter.