Leadership Secrets to Persuade People - Getting Things Done Through Others

By Maynard Brusman

Are you working in an organization which values leaders capable of influencing others? Do the leaders in your organization focus more on logic and reason than emotion when attempting to persuade others?

One of the most powerful questions one can ask oneself is Am I relying on logic and reason more than emotion when influencing people? Exceptional leaders persuade others by appealing to emotion.

Are you good at influencing people at work? Do you focus on what would persuade other people rather than yourself? Are you passionate about focusing on influencing people to achieve significant goals at work that emotionally engage your people?

Getting Things Done Through Others

Personal and organizational success hinges on how well you persuade people to willingly follow your directions. Your boss may give you specific powers, but execution and results come from successfully influencing others.

So, what have we learned about the process of persuasion that we did not know before? What does brain science tell us about the natural processes of decision-making and being influenced? What can we learn to become better persuaders?

Actually, we have discovered a great deal in the last 10 to 15 years about how the human brain processes information. With the recent advent of live, real-time brain-imaging technology, we can now look at what happens inside the brain as we process information, make decisions and respond to others.

It is important to emphasize that our brain is not similar to a computer. Author and neuroscientist Richard Restak, MD, puts it this way:

* We are not thinking machines, we are feeling machines that think.
* Your brain is not a logic machine. As it turns out, emotions and feelings about something or someone occur before you have made any attempt at conscious evaluation.

Working with a seasoned executive coach trained in emotional intelligence and incorporating leadership assessments can help you become a leader who gets things done through people. You can become a leader who models emotional intelligence, and who inspires people to become happily engaged with the strategy and vision of the company.