It is a well established fact that every social species grow and promote their existence through networking and persuasions that inures to their benefit.
Sometimes the persuasion is not so obvious but it magnetizes an individual to the other knowingly or unknowingly, intentionally or unintentionally.
Social media networking even explains this better, we stay in this network with people who somehow persuades us by their thinking approach, line of analysis, common interest, values, thought patterns, career interest, leisure commonality etc.
In this 21st century and beyond with the growth in artificial intelligence, people are going to grow in persuasion and networking that basically motivates and inspire them to reach for more, but they run within nodes where there is common feelings, beliefs, identities,
spiritual roots, cultural ties, and life stories.
Deploying of Information and fostering of relationships that resonates with people’s intuition and values propels them to stay in sync with the lobe and reach for greater heights.
With the above lets consider 5 how’s to network and persuade for peak performance.
HOW 1: Identify similarities of interest and build genuine likeness.
The world has shifted from just buying into things because of what it is, to buying because of who is selling. Social bonding and persuasion is increasing especially in an era where people seem to be consumed in the fast changing world which is equally drifting people apart.
People are building friendship to replace biological bonds due to job transfer, migration, marriage, education etc. People like people who genuinely like them, people like people who show interest in what they do as well. With this reality, anyone who aspire to climb higher especially supervisors, budding managers, managers, leaders in any spheres etc must shift away from only just business sake to interest and similarities to other forms.
But these must be genuine and not a form of patronizing others or making it one-way of interest especially using positional power.
Similarity and common grounds of interest generally magnetize people to each other. In one experiment, reported in a 1968 article in the Journal of Personality, participants stood physically closer to one another after learning that they shared political beliefs and social values. And in a 1963 article in American Behavioral Scientists, researcher F. B. Evans used demographic data from insurance company records to demonstrate that prospects were more willing to purchase a policy from a salesperson who was akin to them in age, religion, politics, or even cigarette-smoking habits
Our kids develop strong likeness and trust for their teachers, but we have not really taken interest in asking why? It is basically because they see their teachers as people who share their floor, their games, exercises, etc with them. That is social nature of human and it is intrinsic.
HOW 2: Practice the reciprocity of giving and kindness
One of the best way to foster networking and promote persuasion for peak performance is to learn the act of giving and receiving compliment and feedback. This particular reciprocity creates access and endear people to each other. When it is well established and facilitated between management and employees they turn to feel trusted, belonging, respected and valued for which reason they are always in high spirit to go the extra mile for results and meeting deadlines.
Just like the words in the song “lean on me”, everyone in one way or the other needs a shoulder to lean on, not only in bad times though. So that act of giving must not necessarily be in material nor cash form but even common sense of empathy goes a long way too. Gifts giving without strings attached also build a certain space in the memory of the limbic systems of the brain because of the emotions attached. I always say that “the magic is not in the size of the gift rather the intent and heart behind the gift”.
Imagine a manager sees to it that his or her personal assistant or subordinates keeps upgrading their skills academically and training wise. They will always say, ” I owe it all to this man or woman” because he or she pushed and encouraged me to go the long haul to come this far. In same manner they are poised to meet deadlines to honor and deepen the bond.
HOW 3: Using networking power
It is very imperative to conduct a thorough SWOT analysis of your network socially and professionally to ascertain where you fit in all of them. The fact is that certain aspect of your network via subliminal persuasion will be some how activated in you. Just as yawing and peeing can be contagious, so can peer to peer persuasion effect some opportunities and challenges.
Women get this better, the moment one person within their network speaks highly of a product or service the others don’t even process the information but they follow suit because of the confidence they have in their friend
Managers must understand this insight to learn to build productive networks that will persuade them to peak high in performance.
Peer to peer persuasion create a lot of results than we think, back in school it gets to a point that lessons from the teacher become challenging but the moment one classmate explains it, it tends to sink better than we heard from the teacher.
When kids are playing especially between ages of 2-6, we wonder what they say. But they are able to tell us what exactly the other kid may have said that we heard it as bubbling.
Jews, Arabs and Asians uses this peer persuasion a lot. Where one of their own builds interest they are all likely to support or invest there.
HOW 4: Let expertise and Skills do the talking
The world has changed at a very fast pace that accolades are fading and expert power and skill demonstration are taking over.
The outcome of your experiences due to your expertise and skills will endear you to your circle of network and in turn enhance your level of influence.
But your expertise and skills in exhibition must be the kind that brings solutions to the people around you.
I must explicitly mention that, when you show first that you share something in common and some other forms of interest like explained in HOW1, it waters the ground to make your deployment of expertise and skills very impacting.
Managers must understand that a certain level of expertise will boast the subordinate drive towards their responsibilities but it must be underpinned by you expressing genuine interest in what makes than feel belonged.
HOW 5: Display uniqueness and exclusivity in capabilities
Niche creation and building of ones persona and potential is vital means to deepens one’s value within a network of peers. In as much as knowledge is becoming easy accessible, the niche and brand one builds within that sphere creates a space of value.
Budding managers, supervisors, managers, leaders etc must always remember within their professional network, someone is warming up for their job. But when one exhibits a certain unique sense of depth and insight in similar area it creates a certain market demand and influence. It is this that makes people say “oh he/she is an authority” on this.
Availability of data alone does not make it the game changer because knowledge becomes obsolete easily in this dispensation but the application of it to solve complex issues with consistency creates a leverage of uniqueness among your peers.
To conclude, I must admit that none of the 5 how’s works as standalone but they are all interlocked to give maximum results. It possible you might have all the five how’s but consistency in practice creates mastering of one’s act.
Scofray Nana Yaw Yeboah
Transformational Coach| Certified Professional Trainer| Author
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