W9D2 - Persuasion
March 03, 2014
"Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone" - Proverbs 25:15.
Persuasion is one of the key elements of effective leadership, especially of what's known as servant leadership. Many leaders take time to make a decision, announce the decision, and don't allow followers the same amount of time to process what has been announced. Those leaders often don't share what went into making the decision and sometimes don't see the implications as well as their followers do. That's where persuasion comes into play, for leaders must make a skilled presentation that will allow followers to be convinced in their own mind of the correctness of the decision, also giving a chance for questions and dialogue. What's more, persuasion can't be a manipulating sales job, but rather a sincere and patient attempt to explain the rightness of a course of action, allowing people to conclude of its value for themselves.
LEADERSHIP STEP: In W4D2, you were directed to do a study of the tongue as presented in the book of Proverbs. Did you do that? Let's revisit that exercise, looking up the words tongue, lips, and speech in Proverbs using Bible Gateway. Once you have your list, examine it one more time to see where you can improve your speech to be more persuasive and convincing, rather than just relying on your leadership power to order people to comply.
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