The Leader's Guide to Influence & Persuasion

The job of a leader is to know what she wants, communicate it in a way that inspires others to join her on her mission, and then make it happen through the efforts of others. This requires a leader to not only know her followers, but to be able to influence them. Aristotle was a master of the art of persuasion. In his work, Rhetoric, he identified 4 factors important to the art of persuasion:  ethos, pathos, logos, and Kairos.

The first of these factors is ethos, or credibility. For a leader to influence others, she needs to be perceived as an expert or the authority. She needs to demonstrate that she knows what she is talking about and has the best idea for how to get the job done. When she can do this, people will be more likely to follow her lead. (I will also add that it helps to look the part. Studies have shown that when we are seeking advice, we will always ask the person who is dressed in a suit and not the person in the t-shirt and jeans, simply because the person in the suit looks like an authority figure).

In addition to credibility, a leader needs to be liked by her followers. (Many leaders have been abandoned at the first sign of trouble simply because they weren’t well liked). If we have a “pleasant” personality and are viewed as friendly, our followers are more likely to overlook our shortcomings and do more to support us in our endeavors. Liz Wiseman’s work on “Multipliers” has shown that if leaders are well liked they can get 70-100% work capacity from their teams while “Diminishers” only get 20-50%. Take note! If you’re well liked by your team, you can get up to 2X the amount of work done than if you’re not! 

The second factor Aristotle identifies is pathos, appealing to emotions. Neuroscience has proven that more often than not, we make decisions based on feelings of trust, compassion, and empathy. Marketers know this, so they often incorporate children and puppies in their commercials. Even salespeople will talk about a car as being “sexy.” Politicians will make statements like “Do it for the children!” when making a plea for votes.

And, while we have outgrown some of our childish thoughts, beliefs and behaviors, there is one that still holds true—we want to be part of the crowd. We will do almost anything to avoid feeling rejected or apart from the group. If we see that our co-workers are on board with the boss’ new idea, chances are we will eventually get on that same bandwagon. (It also works in the reverse. Negativity loves a crowd). A good leader creates excitement about the goals and the direction the team is going which entices followers to join the cause.

Additionally, like the “Golden Rule” of “Do unto others as you would have undo to you”, people are more likely to support your cause if you have done a favor for them in the past.  This happens all the time in marriages. For example, I always know when my husband wants to spend his Sunday watching football because on Saturday afternoon, he is busy getting chores done… without my asking. Additionally, if I want a girls’ night out, I tend to do a few things leading up to the night just to keep our relationship in good standing.

While we want to appeal to our follower’s pathos, we also need to appeal to their logos, their intellect. We do this by supporting our requests with data, information, or anything that will help people make a “rational” decision. This is especially helpful when persuading a reluctant boss to change the way work gets done. When we’ve done our “homework”, we appeal to the boss’ intellect with reason supported by charts, graphs, and models.

I will also add that sometimes appealing to intellect means showing your commitment. When it comes to commitment, a good leader never asks of her team something she isn’t willing to do herself or hasn’t already done. Before asking the team to spend their TERMS (time, energy, resources, and mental stability) on your goals, you first need to model your commitment by showing them that you’re making the investment too.

In a recent situation, a landowner was asked to forfeit a few months’ rent for a struggling business. When the landowner asked how much the parent company was investing in the business, the manager said “None.” I think it goes without saying that the landowner decided not to invest either. If you want people to support your goal or mission, you need to be invested up front and throughout the process. And people need to see it, or they will disengage.

Finally, it is important for leaders to know when and where to say what needs to be said, and even how to say it. Knowing the right time and place to share our ideas is what Kairos is all about. Unfortunately, sometimes we get so caught up in the emotions of a moment that we speak our minds irrespective of the situation. A good conversationalist will wait to say what matters, in a way that matters, when it matters. This idea of Kairos is the most overlooked element of Aristotle’s Influence Model, and one that should be kept top of mind.

Of these elements, ethos always comes first. Ideally, we want to appeal to pathos and back our arguments with logos. And we want to remember do it with Kairos-in the right way, at the right time, and in the right place so we never lose ethos.