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.