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Skills for Building Personal Credibility and Influencing Others 8 Chapter Skills for Building Personal Credibility and Influencing Others

Introduction This chapter will concentrate on the following basic skills leaders need: Building credibility. Communication. Listening. Assertiveness. Conducting meetings. Effective stress management. Problem solving. Improving creativity.

Building Credibility Credibility is the ability to engender trust in others. It is comprised of two components: Expertise - building expertise involves increasing one’s knowledge and skills in the areas of technical competence, organizational knowledge, and industry knowledge. Trust – is comprised of clarifying and communicating your values, and building relationships with others

The Credibility Matrix Figure 8.1: The Credibility Matrix Source: G. J. Curphy, Credibility: Building Your Reputation throughout the Organization (Minneapolis Personnel Decisions International, 1997).

The Credibility Matrix Explained Leaders who are in each quadrant have different interactions with followers. First quadrant - have a high level of trust and a high level of expertise; they would likely be seen by others as highly credible. Second quadrant - might include leaders who have spent little time with followers, who do not follow through with commitments, or who are new to the organization and have had little time to build relationships with coworkers. Third quadrant - may be new college hires or people joining the company from a different industry. Unlikely they would have technical competence, organizational or industry knowledge, or time to build relationships with coworkers. Fourth quadrant - may include those promoted from among peers or transferring from another department within the company.

Communication Figure 8.2: A Systems View of Communication

Ways to improve communication Leaders can improve their communication through a number of different means including: Know What Your Purpose Is. Choose an Appropriate Context and Medium. Send Clear Signals Actively Ensure That Others Understand the Message

Listening It is important to remember that listening to others is just as important to good communication as is expressing yourself clearly. Leaders are only as good as the information they have, and much of that information comes from watching and listening to what is going on around them. The best listeners are active listeners. Passive listeners are not focused on understanding the speaker.

Active Listening 4 ways to improve active listening skills include: Demonstrate Nonverbally That You Are Listening. Actively Interpret the Sender’s Message. Attend to the Sender’s Nonverbal Behavior. Avoid Becoming Defensive.

Assertiveness Assertive behavior allows someone to be able to stand up for their own rights (or their group’s rights) in a way that also recognizes the concurrent right of others to do the same.

Assertiveness Assertive behavior allows someone to be able to stand up for their own rights (or their group’s rights) in a way that also recognizes the concurrent right of others to do the same. It is different from acquiescence and aggression. Acquiescence is avoiding interpersonal conflict entirely either by giving up and giving in or by expressing our needs in an apologetic, self- effacing way. Aggression is an effort to attain objectives by attacking or hurting others

Assertiveness, Acquiescence and Aggression. Figure 8.4: Relationships between Assertiveness, Acquiescence, and Aggression

Developing Assertiveness We can do several things to behave more assertively: Using “I” statements Speaking up for what we need Learning to say no Monitoring our inner dialogue Being persistent.

Conducting meetings Seven helpful tips for running meetings from Guth and Shaw: Determine Whether It Is Necessary List the Objectives Stick to the Agenda Provide Pertinent Materials in Advance Make It Convenient Encourage Participation Keep a Record

Stress Stress - the process by which we perceive and respond to situations that challenge or threaten us. Responses may include: Increased levels of emotional arousal Changes in physiological symptoms(increases in perspiration, heart rate, cholesterol level, or blood pressure). Stress often occurs in situations that are complex, demanding, or unclear. Stressors - specific characteristics in individuals, tasks, organizations, or the environment that pose some degree of threat or challenge to people. Stress can either facilitate or inhibit performance, depending on the situation

Effective Stress Management Monitor Your Own and Your Followers’ Stress Levels. Identify What Is Causing the Stress. Practice a Healthy Lifestyle. Learn How to Relax. Develop Supportive Relationships. Keep Things in Perspective. The A-B-C Model:| A) Triggering Event B) Your Thinking C) Feelings and Behaviors

Steps in Problem Solving Identifying Problems or Opportunities for Improvement Analyzing the Causes Developing Alternative Solutions Selecting and Implementing the Best Solution Assessing the Impact of the Solution

Cause and Affect Analysis Figure 8.5: A Cause-and-Effect Diagram

Selecting and Implementing the Best Solution Figure 8.6: Force Field Analysis Example: Starting a Personal Exercise Program

Improving creativity There are several ways to increase creativity: Seeing Things in New Ways Think in terms of analogies Try putting an idea or problem into a picture rather than into words Using Power Constructively Forming Diverse Problem-Solving Groups