Persuasive Leadership Style

What Is Persuasive Leadership Style?

Leaders who adopt a persuasive leadership style leverage their expertise and passion to inspire and motivate team members to support their vision, plans, and solutions.

Persuasive leaders possess the ability to influence teams and actualize specific mindsets and behaviors. Persuasive leaders are talented in effectively and confidently communicating their vision to rally others to support their goals.

What Are Persuasive Leadership Skills?

You can identify a persuasive leader by their high EQ and mastery of several soft skills, including active listening, empathy, and confidence.

You will often find that a persuasive leader:

• Fosters connections: Persuasive leaders will learn what team members value and then use this information to help explain how their vision or plan aligns with those values. This empathetic connection helps leaders to clearly communicate the benefits of a proposed plan or strategy.
• Supports camaraderie and sincerity: Persuasion requires trust. Managers with a persuasive leadership style are skilled in fostering camaraderie and showing genuine sincerity. They rely on these skills to build connections, which helps them communicate their thoughts and inspire others.
• Seeks support: Someone with a persuasive leadership style will often recruit other influential individuals to support their proposed plan and in turn help to influence and create by in from other team members.

These behaviors are similar to the characteristics involved in supportive leadership and transformational leadership styles, where empathy and motivation play significant roles. The key difference between those leadership styles and persuasive leadership is that, with the latter, the leader takes a more authoritative approach rather than a collaborative one.

Why Is Persuasive Leadership Style Important in the Workplace?

A persuasive leadership style is beneficial in situations where:

• Quick decisions need to be made—When team members face tight turnarounds and weighty decisions; a persuasive leader can help them coalesce quickly and act decisively.
• Inexperienced team members require guidance—Persuasive leaders are skilled in reason and logic and use these talents to help lead a less experienced team. In addition, a persuasive leader instills confidence in their team, which newer team members may need to in order to feel ownership and dive into their tasks.
• Alignment needs to be established—Team goals should be aligned with the organization’s overarching mission. Persuasive leadership can help team members understand the bigger picture and align their roles with that vision.
• Team members need to be motivated—Whether they feel discouraged or even too comfortable in their roles, persuasive leadership can give them the drive they need. A strong persuasive leader can leverage their strong interpersonal communication skills to help team members find new meaning in their roles.

What Are Some Best Practices for Persuasive Leadership Style?

Becoming an expert persuasive leader involves four easy-to-implement best practices:

1. Practice effective communication—Persuasive leadership requires strong communication skills that involve:

• Speaking with precision and forethought
• Noticing how others react to your words
• Imbuing the right tone in your communication
• Finding opportunities to practice interpersonal skills

2. Develop good intentions—Trust is pivotal to successfully executing persuasive leadership.

Leaders must:

• Be intentional about their vision or goal
• Ensure their goals benefit their team and organization

3. Have empathy—This involves assessing team members’ values, strengths, and opportunities for growth in order to learn how your proposed plan can benefit them. Actively listen to team members to determine how your vision can provide value.

It’s easy to stray into ego and self-promotion with persuasive leadership, which is why the right leader will understand where to draw the line. Use empathy to establish connections that are rooted in care and authenticity.

4. Logic and deductive reasoning—Using logic and deductive reasoning will help you support your claims well and build more persuasive arguments. Take the time to carefully and sincerely analyze the situation, exploring both its flaws and strengths to reach an appropriate solution.

Consider talking to your trusted circle of colleagues to receive feedback and make any necessary adjustments.

For more guidance on developing leadership skills, look into CMOE’s Leadership Development Workshops. Our workshops provide customized leadership training to establish lasting change for your business.