The Persuasive Management Style in The Workplace

What is the persuasive management style? 

A persuasive management style focuses on building relationships with employees in order to influence and inspire them to achieve their full potential. Persuasive managers are able to use their excellent interpersonal skills to persuade and motivate others towards a common goal.¹ 

These leaders use techniques such as active listening, clear messaging, and addressing employees’ concerns in order to persuade their team to follow their lead.¹ They might also use rewards and incentives to help motivate and inspire their employees and team members to reach specific targets or meet goals. While persuasive managers still make unilateral decisions without input from others, this leadership style helps team members feel more connected to the decision-making process as the manager is able to share logic and rationale behind their decisions.² 

Pros of the persuasive management style 

Communication is a top priority  

• Persuasive leaders are skilled communicators able to convey their ideas clearly to make employees aware of why a decision has been made. While these leaders may encourage their teams to speak up and voice concerns, they are able to help their team understand why they have made certain decisions. 
   
• Greater communication between teams can also result in greater employee engagement, increased morale and improved productivity³ – helping to create a workplace your employees will want to thrive in.  
   
• You may choose to communicate team projects and tasks over a casual coffee meeting in order to create a more relaxed setting where employees feel able to speak and you can explain the rationale behind your decision-making process. 

Work gets done quickly 

• A persuasive manager is also able to make decisions and set specific goals and targets while using their interpersonal skills to help their team understand why these goals and targets have been set. This can lead to greater clarity for employees of expectations, resulting in higher engagement and productivity.¹ 
   
• These charismatic leaders are able to inspire their teams to finish tasks quickly and to a high standard because everyone is clear about what they need to do and why. 

Encourages employees to be open to change 

• The persuasive management style, in particular, can be effective in workplaces that are resistant to change.⁴ In cases like these, persuasive management can convince more senior team members that they can trust your judgement while instilling a sense of reassurance.⁵ 

Cons of the persuasive management style 

Relies heavily on good communication skills  

• Persuasive management can be effective, however, if the manager or leader are not skilled communicators, this can lead to confusion and tension between team members.¹ 
   
• Without a strong communicator, goals and expectations for a project may not be delivered clearly which can have an impact on not just the productivity of the team but also employee wellbeing and morale.⁶ 

Creativity can be stifled 

• Much like authoritative and autocratic management styles, while persuasive managers often discuss ideas with their team, the manager still retains full control over decision-making and projects.² 
   
• Managers who are too focused on making sure that their team is aligned with their vision, can often be less receptive to new and alternative creative solutions to a problem. This, therefore, can mean employees are discouraged from sharing their perspectives and lead to a lack of diversity in ideas.¹ 

While a persuasive management strategy is helpful in offering guidance to employees, and helping them understand decision-making rationales, it can lead to long-term problems being ignored in the workplace if you are not careful. By focusing on clear and open communication to help employees see their point of view and avoiding the pitfalls outlined above, a persuasive management style can be successful in the workplace. 

See our guide on the different management styles next and find out when it’s best to use an authoritative management style vs a democratic management style. 

Learn more about persuasive management: 

1. How Persuasive Management Style Helps You Succeed: 5 Examples and Benefits, Risely 
2. 9 Types of Management Styles and When to Use Them, Asana 
3. Communication is key in the workplace. Here’s how to improve, BetterUp 
4. The Power Of Persuasion: Exploring The Persuasive Management Style 
5. What is Persuasive Management?, CPL 
6. The importance of good communication in the workplace, Michael Page 

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