Influence Starts With Psychology

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When it comes to leading others, power only takes you so far. Great leaders motivate others to act not with coercion or manipulation, but by uniting others around their ideas. They know how to sway the behaviors, attitudes, opinions, and choices of others without force. In other words, they know how to effectively influence.

Whether you’re trying to start a new initiative, bring in fresh business, unify your team, or polish your executive presence, influence is key. And your ability to influence must extend in all directions: down to your team, laterally to your peers, up to your boss and other leaders, and outside your organization to customers, suppliers, and others.??

The good news is that influence is a learned skill. Over the next few newsletters, we’ll discuss how you can build and exercise this essential leadership capacity. This month, the focus is on some of the human psychology that underlies effective influence.

"The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority."?

- Ken Blanchard

Ponder this…

Influence is about human psychology

To influence others, you first need to know how human beings make decisions and why. In other words, what leads us to say “yes?” Nearly 40 years ago, psychologist Dr. Robert Cialdini uncovered 6 persuasion triggers? - the behaviors that drive people to agree - in his research.?

While all of these persuasion principles are important, I’ve found that four are most relevant to influence within organizations. And the simple fact is that you’ll be more effective in your attempts to influence when they are in place.

Liking: When people like you, they’re more likely to agree with you. The impact of this trigger is born out across numerous arenas. For example, wonder why people buy items they don’t really need at all those hosted parties (hello, Tupperware)? Well, it’s because our fondness for the host is twice as important as our regard for the product. In other words, we buy not because we need these items, but because we want to please our host.?

This idea that liking is critical to our ability to influence is not rocket science, but it is under-attended-to by leaders all too often. So how do you increase liking? Research has shown that several factors that reliably increase liking but two stand out: increasing similarity and offering genuine praise. Create deeper relationships by uncovering real commonalities between you and the other person. Look for common interests: maybe it’s sports, kids, or a love of cooking or travel. Also, demonstrate your liking for others by offering them authentic, genuine praise or by making positive statements about their abilities, ideas, or personal qualities.

Reciprocity: Humans are wired to return favors, so if you help someone, they are apt to pay in kind. Charities and nonprofits use this all the time. By sending you free address labels or some other small gift, you’re more motivated to donate. In fact, they double donation rates this way. Physical gifts are just one application of this principle, however.

In organizations, reciprocity is primarily about you displaying a desired behavior first. To activate this trigger, look for solutions that will truly meet someone else’s needs and interests but also serve your own. In other words, freely give what you want to receive. For instance, if you anticipate wanting cooperation down the road from a colleague, offer to help them first or lend them a staff member. They’ll be much more likely to help out when you need it. Call it reciprocity or just karma, but what goes around comes around.

Social Proof: People choose what to think and do based on what they see others doing. We see a behavior as more “correct” when we see others performing it, especially in situations where we’re uncertain. We see this principle in action all around us, from celebrity product endorsements to website testimonials.?

To employ the principle of social proof in your influencing attempts, create a connection between yourself and/or your ideas to other individuals or organizations admired by those you’re hoping to persuade. Within organizations, this often looks like using the power of your peers whenever possible. For example, if you’re trying to promote a new idea at your organization, you might ask one of your more esteemed supporters to speak up on its behalf. If your audience knows you already have support, it will be easier to get them on board.

Authority: We tend to defer to experts and other people in positions of authority. It’s why doctors hang their degrees on the wall and a speaker’s credentials are shared before they present at a conference.?

You may think that your expertise is self-evident, but that’s not often the case and it’s a mistake to assume it. So, without overdoing it (no one likes a blowhard!), you do want to be sure that people are aware of the source of your authority on the topic at hand. To accomplish this without turning people off, drop evidence of your expertise into the normal course of your conversation, or establish it via anecdotes. For example, you might say something like “when we faced this at my old job, we did this…”?

Understanding a bit of human psychology and how to activate these persuasion triggers can be a game-changer for your influence and leadership. By making small adjustments to how you interact with your co-workers and implementing these changes in an authentic, prosocial way, you can amplify your impact and be an enormous force for good in your organization.?

Next time, I’ll cover a few more of the principles you must understand to effectively influence others. There is so much to learn about this essential leadership skill and it’s one of my favorite topics, so if you’re interested in exploring how you can increase your influence feel free to reach out to me here.

In the meantime, if you’re interested in learning more about how to boost this essential leadership capacity in yourself or your team, reach out.

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