Building a Persuasive Organization

My colleagues and I at The Latimer Group talk about this all the time… the power of persuasion is the most important skill one can have in our noisy, distracted world. The people who have the power of persuasion have the ability to build consensus, drive outcomes, sell, lead, and get heard above the noise.

But the same is also true of organizations. This doesn’t have to be just an individual skill. It can also be an organizational skill.

Organizations that have the collective power of persuasion accumulate market share and become market leaders. They innovate. They grow. They become an employment destination for talent. Their collective communication skills are a strength, which leads to healthy information flow and decision making internally, and strong relationships, business development and marketing presence externally.

But how do we build persuasive organizations? What does that even mean?

It starts with organizational priorities coming from the top. When the organization’s leaders declare that “we will be good at this,” that is a great start. But the declaration must be followed by commitment in several ways:

1. Leaders must commit to their own skill development, and “walk the walk.”
2. The organization must prioritize the hiring of people who can communicate.
3. The organization must invest in the development of the skill.
4. The organization must reward good performance in this area.

Truly successful and effective organizations are strengthened in two directions: from the top down and from the bottom up. When the leaders set the tone, make the power of persuasion a priority and invest in the skill for the organization; and when the individual takes it seriously and makes it a personal priority… when both of those things happen, anything is possible.

Don’t just think of strong communication skills as an individual skill set. It also has the potential to be a collective skill set. And when it becomes a collective strength, all sorts of great outcomes are likely to follow.

Good luck!