Monday, September 21, 2009

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Do You Know How You Influence Others?

We influence others all the time, but do you know how we do it? Many leaders, managers and sales professionals have the idea that influencing is a complex, often subtle, process of persuasion that either works or doesn't. In reality, the Center for Creative Leadership has found that influencing tactics fall into one of three categories: logical, emotional or cooperative.

“Looking at the wide array of behaviors and tactics leaders use to influence others, we've found that influencing involves making appeals based on logic, emotion or sense of cooperation. The most effective influencers know how to utilize all three approaches," says CCL's David Baldwin. "We call this influencing with head, heart and hands.”

Logical appeals (head) tap into people's rational and intellectual positions. You present an argument for the best choice of action based on organizational and/or personal benefits. Tactics include:

  • Objectively and logically explaining your reasons in a clear and compelling way
  • Offering factual and detailed evidence that your proposal is feasible without overstating or being unrealistic
  • Demonstrating clearly and logically why your idea is the best possible option, showing that you have carefully considered other possibilities
  • Explaining individual benefits, such as gaining more visibility, learning new skills or improving the work in a way that makes the job easier or more interesting

Emotional appeals (heart) connect your message or goal to an important emotional motivator. An idea that promotes a person's feelings of well-being, service or sense of belonging has a good chance of gaining support. Ways to do this include:

  • Connecting to an individual's goals and values
  • Describing the task with enthusiasm and expressing confidence in the person's ability to accomplish it
  • Linking your request to a clear and appealing vision the person can fully support
  • Appealing to the person's self-image

Cooperative appeals (hands) build a connection between you, the person you are trying to influence and others to get support for your proposal. Working together to accomplish a mutually important goal extends a hand to others in the organization and is an extremely effective way of influencing. Building those connections includes:

  • Involving others in the process of deciding how to carry out your goals
  • Engaging credible people to help you influence others
  • Reducing difficulty by removing barriers to success
  • Thoughtfully responding to concerns and suggestions

To maximize our personal influence, we need to understand our own style of influencing. What tactics do you currently use? Do you rely exclusively on logical appeals? If so, you're missing the chance to engage people through their emotions, values and relationships. If you overemphasize emotional or cooperative appeals, you may be leaving out the data and rationale that is critical information to have in a plan.

“As you learn new approaches and gain experience using different influence tactics, you will gain more confidence in your influencing skills,” says Baldwin.

It is also very useful to understand how others respond to different styles of influencing. Do they need the emotional approach- do they need to "feel good" about something before taking action? Will they best get into action with a cooperative approach- feeling like they are part of a team with you? Or are they most likely to be moved by a logical, well thought-out style? Getting to know your customer, team-mates or employees and what moves them will support you in being a strong influencer.

Learn from Others

You can get better at influencing by using a mentor, colleague or coach to help develop your skills. Look for influential people in your organization or community. Watch what they do and say and how they handle their opportunities to influence.

Article excerpts taken from the Harvard Business Revue

Programs & Products

To see our programs & products, please click on the links below:

Team Coaching

Team coaching benefits organizations who want to build high- performance teams, and demonstrate better cross-team and in-line team communication skills. This is also valuable for those who are blending cultures with other organizations through take –over or buy-outs, or facing other big changes. Coaching is done in person or by teleconference, so that participants may benefit even if they are scattered around the world.

In-person workshops and seminars bring teams together in a powerful way, to learn to communicate more efficiently and understand how they can leverage their individual strengths to benefit the team and organization. On-going coaching may also be delivered by phone in conference calls.

Career Coaching

We offer practical guidance about planning and conducting an effective career transition and managing your career. You:

  • Stay focused and save time by doing it right
  • Drive your career transition in a manner that fits your personal goals, style and situation
  • Develop a marketing strategy
  • Receive articles for support
  • Evaluating offers and making decisions
  • Making a successful transition into your new position

Leadership Development & Coaching

Leadership in the 21st Century

What distinguishes highly effective leaders?

What do they do or say that allows for their success?

Leaders in organizations need to become more effective communicators and develop their people, not just manage them. Leadership training and development allows them to:

  • Expand their leadership skills and draw on different leadership styles as the occasion calls for
  • Build high- performance teams based on collaboration, cooperation and trust that meet the strategic objectives of the organization and the future.

We use a number of tools to support leadership training including:

  • 360 interviews
  • EQ Map
  • Print Survey
  • Work from Your Strengths™

Business Coaching

Exceptional Business Coaching

Improve your organization and communication skills through the proven processes and techniques provided by South Florida’s business coach, Susan Klein.

If you are a business owner or a leader of a business unit and want to establish a shared vision that anchors the team, in-person seminars and workshops, such as group coaching, will support you in building high-performance teams and manage cross-team and in-line teams.

Create high-level accountability if you are blending cultures with other organizations through mergers or buy-outs, or facing other big changes.

When was the last time you could talk about your visions, dreams, and concerns, and share ideas with someone who was committed only to your success?

Call or write now and I will give you a complimentary thirty minutes to see what value you will receive from coaching.

Executive Coaching Programs

Using a variety of interviews, assessment tools and on-site observations, we create individualized programs for expanding awareness, attitudes, performance and productivity. Over the coaching engagement, in a “partnership” relationship, coaching empowers leaders to achieve sustainable, high-impact results, inspire action, enhance leadership skills, maintain focus, stress management.

While all coaching focuses on effectiveness, productivity and performance, there are tailored approaches. Some of the executive coaching programs are:

Performance Coaching

For the executive who is very competent yet may be challenged in other areas, such communication or leadership style. The focus is on effective communication, leadership competencies and style development.

Success Coaching

For the “high potential” executive who is already successful and knows they have greater potential that has either not been identified, or is not being utilized. With coaching, these individuals can accelerate their growth and success.

Transition Coaching

For the individual who is either on-boarding to the organization or has been recently promoted. Coaching ensures they have rapid adjustment to the culture in the first 90 days while being able to contribute strengths and talents.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Your Success Is Worth It

Coach Susan Klein

Success Technologies, Inc. 

(561) 865-9862, susan@coachklein.com

Executives and business owners- get immediate impact and sustained results with coaching services and leadership development. With a coach as your partner, you are able to produce new levels of performance in the face of rapid change, competition and fear. Coaching services provide clarity, focus and direction. Most important, coaching is results-oriented, providing positive change that can be measured, as well as observed.

Executive Coaching Program is for executives and managers who are committed to a level of excellence for themselves and their staff. An executive coach will support you with time and energy management, maximize your strengths, improve your ability to influence others, keep your ideas focused and stress management.

Business Coaching for small to mid-size businesses to develop strategies and techniques and think strategically for business success. With a business coach, you will develop systems and create accountability. Take the Biz Whiz Assessment to identify 100 key factors for profitability and success.

Leadership Development and Coaching to build powerful strength-based teams and a collaborative work culture centered around communication and trust. Leaders develop authentic styles that enable them to influence and motivate for the goals of the organization and the individuals.

Career Coaching supports you in making some big changes and provides tailored solutions during career transition without struggle.

Team Coaching benefits organizations who want to build high- performance teams, and demonstrate better cross-team and in-line team communication and collaboration skills with an effective and inexpensive approach.


If you are looking for a way to meet current challenges without struggle, Contact us today.