8-1 Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.

8-2 Skills for Building Personal Credibility and Influencing Others Chapter 88

8-3 Introduction This chapter will concentrate on the most “basic” skills that leaders need. –Building credibility –Communication –Listening –Assertiveness –Conducting meetings –Effective stress management –Problem solving –Improving creativity

8-4 Building Credibility Credibility is the ability to engender trust in others. Leaders with high levels of credibility are seen as trustworthy and having a strong sense of right and wrong. Credibility is comprised of two components: –Expertise consists of technical competence, organizational knowledge, and industry knowledge. –Trust is comprised of clarifying and communicating your values and building relationships with others.

8-5 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).

8-6 Expertise x Trust Leaders in each quadrant of the Credibility Matrix have different interactions with followers. –First quadrant leaders have high levels of both trust and expertise; they would likely be considered highly credible. –Second quadrant leaders may include those who haven’t spent much time with followers, who don’t follow through with commitments, or who are new to the firm and haven’t had time to build relationships with co-workers. –Third quadrant leaders may be new college hires or people joining the company from a different industry. They probably do not have technical competence, organizational or industry knowledge, or time to build relationships with co-workers. –Fourth quadrant leaders may include those who were promoted from among peers or who transferred from another department within the company.

8-7 Communication Figure 8.2: A Systems View of Communication

8-8 Communication Effective communication involves the ability to transmit and receive information with a high probability that the intended message is passed from sender to receiver. Few skills are more vital to leadership. The quality of a leader’s communication is positively correlated with subordinate satisfaction, productivity, and quality of services rendered. The effectiveness of the communication process depends on the successful integration of all the steps in the communication process.

8-9 Communication (continued) Leaders can improve their communication skills through a number of different means. –Determining the purpose of the communication before speaking –Choosing an appropriate context and medium for the message –Sending clear verbal and nonverbal signals –Actively ensuring that others understand the message

8-10 Listening Good leaders and followers recognize the value of two-way communication. Listening to others is just as important to effective communication as expressing oneself clearly. Leaders are only as good as the information they have, which usually 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.

8-11 Listening (continued) Active listening improves understanding and visibly demonstrates respect. Active listening skills can be improved in many ways. –Demonstrating nonverbally that you are listening –Actively interpreting the sender’s message –Attending to the sender’s nonverbal behavior –Avoiding defensive behavior

8-12 Assertiveness Individuals exhibiting assertive behavior are 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 differs from acquiescence and aggression. –Acquiescence is avoiding interpersonal conflict entirely either by giving up and giving in or by expressing needs in an apologetic, self-effacing way. –Aggression is an effort to attain objectives by attacking or hurting others.

8-13 Assertiveness, Acquiescence, and Aggression Figure 8.4: Relationships between Assertiveness, Acquiescence, and Aggression

8-14 Assertiveness (continued) We can do several things to behave more assertively. –Using “I” statements –Speaking up for what we need –Learning to say “no” to others –Monitoring our inner dialogue to ensure that it is positive and affirming –Being persistent without becoming irritated, angry, or loud

8-15 Conducting Meetings Meetings can help accomplish goals, exchange information, and maintain communication. Guth and Shaw have 7 tips for running meetings: –Determine whether a meeting is necessary –List the objectives –Stick to the agenda –Provide pertinent materials in advance –Make the meeting convenient –Encourage participation –Keep a record

8-16 Effective Stress Management Stress is the process of perceiving and responding 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 are characteristics in individuals, tasks, organizations, or the environment that pose some degree of threat or challenge to people.

8-17 Effective Stress Management (continued) Stress can either facilitate or inhibit performance, depending on the situation. Manage stress by: –Monitoring your own and your followers’ stress levels. –Identifying what is causing the stress. –Practicing a healthy lifestyle. –Learning how to relax. –Developing supportive relationships. –Keeping things in perspective. –Applying the A-B-C Model to change self-talk.| A - Triggering Event B - Your Thinking C - Feelings and Behaviors

8-18 Problem Solving Identify problems or opportunities for improvement to ensure that the task is clear. Analyze the causes of the problem using a cause- and-effect diagram and force field analysis. Develop alternative solutions using the nominal group technique (NGT) to generate ideas. Select and implement the best solution based on established criteria. Assess the impact of the solution using measurable criteria of success.

8-19 Cause-and-Effect Diagram Figure 8.5: A Cause-and-Effect Diagram

8-20 Force Field Analysis Figure 8.6: Force Field Analysis Example: Starting a Personal Exercise Program

8-21 Improving Creativity Brainstorming stimulates creative group thinking. Seeing things in new ways enhances creativity but is difficult because of functional fixedness. This mental block can be overcome by: –Thinking in terms of analogies. –Putting an idea/problem into a picture rather than words. Leaders can use power constructively to encourage the open expression of creative ideas. Forming diverse problem-solving groups increases creativity but may also increase conflict.