Develop and stand by your Convictions

Conviction - Webster defines conviction as a strong belief or opinion.  

In the course of our daily business interactions, there are many occasions where we need to provide our opinions on various matters - some with smaller implications and some with larger implications.  Some people have the ability to generate greater buy-in in to their thoughts, ideas, and opinions than others.  This ability to generate buy-in in to one's thoughts and opinions is one of the key traits of successful leaders. 

If we look more closely in to why these leaders are able to gain more buy-in and influence others, few things stand out.  These leaders would have done the following:

1. Thought through the matter at hand from all possible perspectives.  
2. Researched and gathered the required data to form an informed opinion.  
3. Developed their hypothesis on the matter.  
4. Tested their hypothesis with the data they gathered.  
5. And finally they would have developed a very strong opinion - a conviction

Their opinions are based on facts and not emotions.  They know the alternatives and the pros and cons of the available options. They are able to speak with authority as they have done their research already.  They can communicate effectively and efficiently as they are not making it up on the fly.  And they inspire confidence in their audience and hence they are able to generate buy-in.  More importantly they stand by their convictions and not afraid to stand by their point of view even before people of higher authority by rank.  

The thing these leaders need to watch out though is not to fall in to the trap of over confidence.  They should still be open to others feedback and input and be flexible to change their own point of view if their assumptions proves to be incorrect or they learn new facts.  

Develop a strong point of view, a conviction, on important matters and stand by your conviction. 

Zoom in and out..Be dynamic focussed

Effective leaders have the ability to zoom in and zoom out effectively and dynamically.  This is a required critical skill to lead teams under varying circumstances and continue to expand a leaders span of influence. An effective leader should be able to work at varying levels.  It is important to be able to stand back and see the big picture while at the same time be able to get in to the details very quickly if the situation warrants. Being able to transition between these varying levels of details and being dynamic and flexible in doing so determines the effectiveness of a leader. 

 

Zoom out perspective helps leaders to be more strategic and to keep the big picture in mind as they make decisions.  It helps them align the teams to the underlying principles, strategic goals and priorities of an organization.  It helps them look at problems in a bigger context and from an abstract point of view and to really think about what the true desired outcomes are.  It helps leaders expand their span of influence quickly and effectively. Zoom out perspective helps leaders come up with alternatives, ask thought provoking questions, and be objective in their decision making.  While leaders, teams, and organizations significantly benefit from zoom out perspective, there are also some drawbacks.  Leaders who always take the zoom out position tend to be dreamers and not understand the reality on the ground.  They may miss the threats and seriousness and impact of issues on the ground. They may lose their followers respect as they may come across naive and clueless. 

Zoom in perspective helps leaders understand nuances and subtle details that are sometimes required to make right decisions.  Zooming in on few critical situations will convey to the teams the importance of those situations.  It helps leaders understand the thought process of their teams and underlying issues at an intimate level.  However, staying stuck at zoom in perspective is not good for the leaders, teams, and organizations.  It takes away the bandwidth required by the leaders to think more strategic and to think about the big picture.  Leaders could get too attached to a point of view and may take things more personal and lose objectivity in their decision making.  It could undermine mid level management's authority as senior leaders are now directly engaged with the teams. Teams may fall in to group think mode and take leader's point of view to please the leader. 

In conclusion, effective leaders should have the ability to zoom in and zoom out dynamically.  In general, leaders should be more zoomed out and should zoom in on as few situations as absolutely required. 

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P.S: More information on this topic can be obtained from Harvard Business School Professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter's article "Managing Yourself: Zoom In, Zoom Out".  However, in the spirit of giving credit where it's due, I first learned about this concept from one of the leaders that provided some mentor-ship guidance to me while I was working for one of my previous employers.  

If you can just shut up for 10 seconds...

Silence is a very powerful weapon, when used wisely.   Lot of the times we get in to discussions, arguments, and negotiations and continue to talk as fast as we can to make our point.  In the course of doing so, sometimes, we completely loose our point, say something that hurts the other person, or simply cede ground.  This results in undesirable outcomes.  

Instead, next time when you run in to one of these situations, use silence as a communication tool.  Sometimes silence speaks volumes.  Make your point clearly and just take a 10 second pause.  That gives the other person time to digest what you said and think rationally.  It also demonstrates great confidence on your part and you will not come across desperate.  While it might look counter intuitive, using silence as a communication tool could totally change the overall outcome. 

Silence can be effectively used to demonstrate authority and letting others make your point for you. It can also be intimidating to the person on the other side of the argument.  It helps the other person to come around and start listening to you carefully.  Brief silence can also be very effective when providing critical feedback to the people you work with. Use Silence along with other communication techniques like persuasion, win-win solutions, active listening and you could be more effective in your communication than ever before.

"Silence is a source of great strength" - Laozi, Chinese philosopher