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“Creating Successful Leaders”

Tag Archives: Margaret Smith licensed Insights practitioner

May 15, 2024 No One Listening? 5 Techniques to Be More Persuasive

A version of this blog post was first published in November, 2019.

Do you have trouble getting what you want? Are you often overlooked or not listened to? Do you know a change needs to be made, but you’re having trouble framing your argument?

It sounds like you need to tap into the power of persuasion!

Being persuasive doesn’t necessarily mean you’re being sneaky or underhanded. If you use persuasion in an honest way, it means articulating something so others can see your point of view. Sometimes, you have to be persuasive to make positive changes or advance your career.

How do you become persuasive? Try a few of the following techniques:

1. Prepare

No matter if you’re leading a meeting, having a one-on-one with your boss, or proposing a new idea around the water cooler, it’s necessary to come prepared.

Do your homework, research the ins and outs of your proposal, AND anticipate potential problems or questions others may ask. If you know your stuff, you’ll automatically be more persuasive.

2. Be Confident

When you’re speaking, don’t use words like “I believe” or “I suppose.” Be confident when making a claim. Say it boldly, and people will listen.

Research shows people are more likely to listen to someone who is confident than someone who is an actual expert. Of course, you don’t want to spread false information, but when you do have something to say, say it with confidence!

3. Frame Your Words Carefully

Consider these two sentences, and tell me which is more effective:

“I’d like to be considered for the management position because I’m interested in furthering my career.”

“I’d like to be considered for the management position because I’m interested in new opportunities and challenges.”

The second one, right? These sentences both convey that someone is wishing to be considered for a promotion. Yet the second sentence focuses on personal growth and a desire to learn, while the first seems to say that the person, at the end of the day, is really only in it for themselves.

Before going into a meeting, practice your phrasing in front of a mirror until you feel comfortable delivering it.

4. Utilize Storytelling

Storytelling is a powerful technique for persuasion. People are naturally drawn to stories—by sharing anecdotes or personal experiences, you can make your points more relatable and memorable. Crafting a compelling narrative can help you connect with your audience on an emotional level, making your message more impactful and resonant. Consider weaving storytelling into your communication to effectively engage and persuade others.

5. Know Your Audience

Pay attention and start noticing what matters to people in your office. Do certain topics of conversation keep coming up? Are people interested in family, football, pets, or local music? What values do they seem to have?

Getting to know the people around you is invaluable for building rapport and gaining trust. Ultimately, if others find you easy to talk to and pleasant to be around, you won’t even have to think about being persuasive—people will want to listen to what you have to say.

If you want to make a change, put forth an idea, or simply be heard, it’s a good idea to hone your personal power of persuasion. It may not come easily at first, but with practice, you’ll be a pro!

MARGARET SMITH IS A CAREER COACH, AUTHOR, INSIGHTS® DISCOVERY (AND DEEPER DISCOVERY) LICENSED PRACTITIONER, AND FOUNDER OF UXL. SHE HOSTS WORKSHOPS FOR PEOPLE WHO NEED CAREER OR PERSONAL GUIDANCE. 
CHECK OUT MARGARET’S ONLINE LEADERSHIP COURSE. 

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March 13, 2024 5 Ways to Facilitate an Inclusive Brainstorming Session

Have you noticed that some members of your team tend to dominate the brainstorming sessions or the meetings that call for creative input? A few voices are usually the ones that rise to the top—the ones that deliver their feedback, opinions, and ideas. In the meantime, others are usually quiet, maybe only occasionally contributing, or not speaking up at all. This does not necessarily mean these individuals don’t have anything to contribute; rather, they might be shy or soft-spoken, or they may prefer to analyze the situation in more depth before contributing their thoughts (see my post on communication and Insights® Discovery).

How can you make sure everyone on the team is heard? How can you foster an environment that welcomes all perspectives and people? Let’s discuss five ways to facilitate an inclusive brainstorming session:

1. Set Some Parameters

Before the brainstorming session begins, you may want to encourage participation by setting some ground rules. You could, perhaps, give everyone five minutes to voice their thoughts, and then go around the table (or video conferencing screen), so everyone has an equal chance to “hold the floor.” This helps to give your quieter team members uninterrupted time to voice their thoughts.

2. Intentionally Involve Team Members

If appropriate, try asking a specific team member for their perspective. If a certain subject applies to a team member, or if someone looks like they want to say something, help them along by asking them a pointed question. For example, you might say, “Diedre, I know you have been working on a project related to what we’re discussing. Do you have any thoughts?” Or: “Marcus, it looks like you wanted to add something. What’s your perspective on this?”

3. Help Your Team Understand Communication Styles

One way to help equalize brainstorming sessions is to help your team members understand each other’s communication styles and preferences. I recommend utilizing a science-based assessment program, such as Insights® Discovery. I’m a Licensed Practitioner of Insights®, and I can attest to its effectiveness! This type of program can help people understand the root of others’ behaviors—why some people are more reserved, for example, or why some people thrive in brainstorming or creative sessions, while others prefer different ways of idea generating. Additionally, once people have a common language to voice thoughts, they can communicate more effectively. When using Insights, you might say something like, “I don’t have much of an opinion right now, but that’s probably my ‘Blue energy’ coming through and telling me I need to analyze all the options in more depth.” (If you’d like to know what I’m talking about, check out this past blog post!)

4. Meet One-On-One

In some situations, it is best to meet individually with team members to get their perspectives on certain projects, initiatives, and ideas. Not everyone feels comfortable sharing openly in a group, so these one-on-one meetings can provide a chance for quieter team members to voice their thoughts. Be sure to create a safe space where your people feel comfortable sharing openly and honestly.

5. Provide Other Communication Channels

When holding a brainstorming session, it’s a good idea to establish up front that this is a no-pressure situation, and there will be room for additional thoughts, ideas, and opinions after the meeting. Then, let your team members know how, exactly, they can put forth those opinions. Ideas include emailing you (or the team leader) directly, meeting with the team leader one-on-one, filling out an anonymous survey, or starting an online spreadsheet that shows the various ideas and potential directions.

The important thing is to remember that not everyone communicates or participates in the same way. To truly facilitate a welcoming and inclusive brainstorming session, it is essential to consider your team members and their communication preferences. When you put in an honest effort to ensure everyone’s voice is heard, you usually end up with more innovative, creative, and thoughtful ideas to propel your team forward.

MARGARET SMITH IS A CAREER COACH, AUTHOR, INSIGHTS® DISCOVERY (AND DEEPER DISCOVERY) LICENSED PRACTITIONER, AND FOUNDER OF UXL. SHE HOSTS WORKSHOPS FOR PEOPLE WHO NEED CAREER OR PERSONAL GUIDANCE. 
CHECK OUT MARGARET’S ONLINE LEADERSHIP COURSE. 

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February 14, 2024 Improve Team Dynamics with Insights

You know it when you’re a part of it. A team with a great working relationship communicates well, respects each other, and has a great balance of creativity and strategy. This type of team has excellent rapport, and everyone feels as though they have a voice and their perspectives are respected. When you partner with a team like this, the work seems effortless and you tend to be highly productive.

How do you achieve such a “dream team”?

What can you, as a leader, do to foster the type of environment that produces great teams?

Excellent teams can be built in a number of ways, but in my experience, the very foundation of creating a great team involves getting to know your people at a deep level, and figuring out how they mesh with one another. This may seem like a daunting task, but there is actually a relatively simple tool you can use to develop this type of deep understanding of your team members: Insights® Discovery.

Insights® is a science-based program that helps people gain an intimate understanding of their personal thought patterns, behavioral tendencies, communication preferences, strengths, and more. The data gathered through assessments is analyzed and explained using a very approachable methodology: four colors. The main idea of Insights® is that we all have the capability to embrace all four colors (i.e., personality types), but we tend to prefer one or two colors over the others.

The colors are:

  • Cool Blue (analytical, thoughtful, data and strategy driven)
  • Sunshine Yellow (social, creative, idea and relationship driven)
  • Fiery Red (confident, commanding/natural leader, to-the-point)
  • Earth Green (empathetic, inclusive, pensive)

Though this is an oversimplification of the program, this gives you a general idea of the four colors and how they are associated with personalities (read more about Insights® and communication in this past blog post).

How does Insights® relate to team dynamics?

A person’s Insights® profile not only provides information and insights about how that individual functions (and their ideal environment), but also tells us how individuals relate to others. For example, we might learn that one person tends to embody many “Sunshine Yellow” qualities—they are gregarious, social, and more enthusiastic about idea generation than analytics or strategy. This person might work with someone who leans toward “Cool Blue” and is fairly quiet and reserved, likes to fully analyze the numbers, and wants to explore many options before making a decision.

If these two people do not understand A) how they, personally, tend to operate or B) how their teammate operates, they might start to clash or become frustrated with each other. On the other hand, if these individuals are fully aware of how each person tends to think, behave, and communicate, they can lean into each other’s strengths instead of clashing. Different people can be assigned different roles within the team (don’t put the Sunshine Yellow person behind a desk, crunching numbers all day; and don’t make the Cool Blue person lead a creative brainstorming session!), so everyone can shine.

I have been a Licensed Practitioner of Insights® for about a decade, and I can attest to its effectiveness. Communication and understanding improve, and suddenly teams are talking to each other using the Insights® color language (“My ‘red’ side is really anxious to get this done, but I think we should hear what the ‘blues’ have to say” or “I know this is very ‘green’ of me, but I think we should bring Becky into the conversation and see what she has to say”).

By acknowledging your own tendencies and understanding the thought patterns and preferences of others, you can begin to build a harmonious team that capitalizes on each other’s strengths and recognizes potential trouble spots. If your work team needs to improve its dynamics, consider taking a closer look at Insights®.

MARGARET SMITH IS A CAREER COACH, AUTHOR, INSIGHTS® DISCOVERY (AND DEEPER DISCOVERY) LICENSED PRACTITIONER, AND FOUNDER OF UXL. SHE HOSTS WORKSHOPS FOR PEOPLE WHO NEED CAREER OR PERSONAL GUIDANCE. 
CHECK OUT MARGARET’S ONLINE LEADERSHIP COURSE. 

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