Business Strategy Series

Purpose – Reinforce the importance of influence skills, collaborative decision-making and flexible leadership styles in today's complex business environment.

Design/methodology/approach – Introduce research conducted by Robert Cialdini, Ph.D. on influence and explain how these skills can be applied through examples and quotes from senior executives.

Findings – Influence skills help leaders get colleagues on board for change initiatives, access resources, guide teams, develop shared goals, reduce resistance, encourage teamwork beyond functional boundaries, win support from those with competing agendas, empower others and sell ideas to the boss.

Practical implications – When leaders harness the power of influence, they create a shared sense of responsibility, improve communications, encounter fewer problems with change-implementation, discover more innovation and creativity, experience less attrition and less resistance while gaining access to more information for better decision making.

Originality/value – Leaders benefit from recognizing the importance of influence skills and taking the steps to increase their sphere of influence by nurturing a culture in which these skills can flourish.