Your powers of persuasion are more important than ever before, thanks to a changing workforce and new post-recession business strategies.

According to recent studies (several are cited in The Atlantic’s August 2010 cover article, The End of Men,” by Hanna Rosin) women now make up a majority of the U.S. workforce, hold more than half of all managerial and professional jobs, and earn nearly 60% of bachelor’s and master’s degrees and 42% of all MBAs.

These changes in the makeup of the U.S. workforce couldn’t come at a better time for businesses still coming to grips with the recession. There’s a growing trend among companies battered by one-too-many risky business ventures to seek out executives who, along with solid technical expertise and business savvy, possess what has traditionally been considered a strength among women executives -- strong persuasion and influence skills. While not exactly asking executives to develop a “softer” side, companies are less interested in leaders who assume total control and take all the risks; the emphasis now is on executives who are mentors, consensus-builders, coaches and collaborators.

This isn’t a new concept. Ten years ago, Jim Collins’s “Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap . . . And Others Don’t” suggested that great leaders – what Collins called Level 5 leaders – were those who combined personal humility with an intense professional will. These leaders focused on people first, strategy and vision second.

Traditionally, women have been promoted within their departments and divisions because they possess a solid work ethic, and have the knowledge and drive to get the job done. That gets them only so far, though. What propels women into senior management positions that span the organization are their finely tuned persuasion and influencing skills.

Women executives need to take advantage of their natural communications skills and social intelligence so that they can make level-headed decisions that, more often than not, are reached through collaboration.

Persuading and Influencing
You may have earned a reputation as the go-to person who understands the business and makes things happen. Now, though, as a leader, you need to step back. Instead of issuing directives, you need to question, probe, and understand, so that you are better able to foster a spirit of collaboration.

• Be objective. Before you can make prudent decisions, you need to have all options on the table, so that each option can be weighed, probed, and discussed. What are the advantages of one option over another? Any underlying needs and concerns? Is there a common viewpoint? Can anything be negotiated? Persuading and influencing is, after all, being able to argue the opposite point of view as well as your own. You can’t be successful without objectivity, a relentless pursuit of facts and data that plays a major role in persuasion.
• Ask open-ended questions. It’s always best to do some pre-work before you start serious discussions. When that’s not possible, or you don’t have all information at your disposal, asking a few open-ended questions goes a long way in helping you to understand all viewpoints and underlying factors.
• Make the “pre-emptive strike.” At every meeting, there’s always an undercurrent, something left unsaid that is bubbling under the surface. Often, it can be a major issue. You can be the person to bring up the subject, to say “I know what you’re thinking” (in a diplomatic way, of course). If you’ve done some pre-work and already know how to address the issue, you’re able to save time that would be spent skirting or talking around the issue – and you can spend that valuable time addressing what needs to be addressed.
• Be mindful of the “elephant in the room.” While a pre-emptive strike may be a prudent move, you need to be careful. Putting into words what everyone is thinking (but not saying) doesn’t give you carte blanche to verbalize all thoughts swirling around a meeting. The elephant could be anything, from the personal (“executive A hates executive B”), to company history (a business failure, a losing venture). Tread carefully. You don’t want to come this far and lose it because of a better-left-unspoken thought.

Thanks to a changing workforce and new post-recession strategies, there’s a new playing field out there. The powers of persuasion and influence – long considered women’s traditional strengths -- have never been more in demand.

Nyman Group delivers workshops and programs that can help you and your team achieve effective persuasion and influence with others, with the minimal level of conflict.

It's no surprise that many industries are undergoing unprecedented change, and it's going to continue. A recent article, authored by Marilyn Nyman and appearing in Life Science Leader magazine, offers some advice for leaders whose teams are experience rapid business or industry change. 

Among the suggestions for leaders facing this challenge: 

• Don't let ambiguity overwhelm you...regardless of whether your challenges involve adapting to a new CEO, parent company or organizational structure; dismantling a team you've spent time developing; walking the tightrope of working with sites in lower-cost locations; or finding yourself competing against your former global partners.  Your strategy during this time of uncertainty should be the same: it's time for situational leadership. Remember, executives who spend their time seeking quick fixes will be disappointed with the results and ultimately unsuccessful in both their leadership strategy and career path.
• Network – both internally and externally. This should not be an afterthought; you cannot afford to be insular in a changing industry. It's a given that you need to network externally in your industry -- as well as in your social and professional circles. However, many executives tend to forget that networking inside the company is just as important, perhaps even more so, in times of change and ambiguity.
• Leverage the ambiguity.  If you're not curious, you're dead. The more you know – about the competition, new markets, and the landscape of potential acquisitions -- the better prepared you are to step up and lead when a new project, position or assignment opens up. Expand your reading material beyond the basics.  Consider The Financial Times (www.foreignaffairs.com), The New Republic (www.tnr.com), and The Economist (www.economist.com). These additions to your regular reading will help you expand your horizons and give you access to concepts you can make use of as a leader.

For the full article in Life Science Leader, please visit:
http://www.lifescienceleader.com/index.php?option=com_jambozine&layout=article&view=page&aid=4055

Finding Top Talent Can Help Your Business Thrive
By Marilyn S. Nyman, M.Ed., CCC/SP

First the good news: with recession fears subsiding and your business outlook brightening, you're now ready to rebuild or revitalize your leadership team with some fresh blood.  And now the not-so-good news: finding the best person to fill a key leadership position is never an easy task.

A wrong hiring decision can have far-reaching impact on you, your leadership team, your employees and your shareholders. A good hire, on the other hand, could help propel your company from your current survive mode and into a thrive mode.

Here are a few tips to help you find the right person for the right seat on the bus:

• First determine "what," then "who."  Yes, you're very busy, and so is the rest of your team. No doubt, you're tempted to dust off an old job description and try to find, as quickly as possible, a person who fits that description. Resist the temptation. You can't delegate the job of finding a new leadership team member entirely to your existing leadership team or the Human Resources department.   Take a deep look. What are your expectations for this team member? What's your vision for the company -- and what role do you see this person playing in your vision?
• Lead – don't delegate -- the search.  You need to actively participate in the search. One of the biggest mistakes a CEO can make is staying out of the search process until the final interview.  You can work closely with your HR/employment team to ensure that you will be presented with the best candidates for interviewing. Use social and professional contacts to stay abreast of what's happening in your industry, and tap into these same contacts to find appealing candidates for your open leadership position.
• Interviewing: the art of the question. It's counter-productive to dust off the same questions that candidates have heard time and again. Develop new questions or refresh old questions to help you bring out a candidate's character. Tailor the questions to the type of person you are looking for. A good idea:  use the formal part of the interview to test knowledge, business skills, and industry savvy; the informal portion helps screen candidates, above all, for cultural fit. (Take the candidate to lunch or dinner with another member of your team and observe how he/she interacts with you, the colleague and even the wait staff.) 

As the economic picture brightens, you must anticipate what you need to stay ahead of the curve to achieve a competitive advantage. A new, post-recession business environment calls for new thinking, which includes the right leadership team. Take an active role in the selection of new executives you are expecting to help accomplish your business plan. Finally, here are a Nyman Group's recommendations for five great interview questions...

Five Great Interview Questions

These are for illustrative purposes only, but you can see how answers to these questions would help you dig deeper than the standard (dare we even say, stale) interview questions.

1. Tell me your story.
2. What makes you think you fit well into our organization?
3. How would you define success in this role?
4. In your opinion, what are the major challenges facing our industry over the next 3 years?
5. Are there any questions you would like to ask us?

An article in Fast Company cited some interesting findings from a study on executive coaching* — a study involving 48 organizations and 86 leaders who were being coached at the time.

• Perceptions of coaching appear to be changing – from a “fix it tool” for problem leaders to a resource for helping even successful leaders improve on an already-good thing.
• For the leader with a coach: having one is now seen as a badge of honor.
• Some 43% of CEOs and 71% of the senior executives have worked with a coach.
• Coaching seems to be gaining in popularity: 63% of organizations surveyed said they would be increasing their use of coaches. And 92% of leaders that had one said they planned to use a coach again.

Nyman Group has our own “take” on coaching. For more information about our perspective on this important topic, please visit: Executive Coaching.

(* Fast Company, “Coaching: The Fad That Won’t Go Away,” Jim Bolt, April 10, 2006)