Question 1: What is your overall evaluation of your leadership ability to persuade others?

I don't believe people can be persuaded until trust, relationships, and rapport exist. In the reading, to persuade others, you need to have:

The logical reasoning and credibility align with Aristotle's ethos and logos rhetorical principles.

Some people make decisions based on emotion, yet others based on logic, depending on the situation. For example, one employee did not agree with my annual performance review comment that she is improving "respecting" others. What she wanted was not to get my comments in the HR record. What I wanted was to show that she was making progress with good intentions. She is a logical person; however, she is often emotional when she is under stress. Luckily, she found the time right after her "walk outside" to speak with me. I let her know my rationale is actually more beneficial for her. I gave her several examples in stories. 

The reality is that she may be OK for that moment; who knows if she will come back to bite me again. Letting people know there is room to improve can be difficult, but it is necessary moving the team forward.

Question 2: What are your persuasion shortcomings and what can you do to overcome these?

There are several shortcomings:

• Check-out and Check-in: I often get so wrapped up in other tasks, meetings, etc., that I am not in the zone yet. I often will take a few moments to check out from my previous tasks/meetings, then check in with the person that I am meeting. So I am present and engaged.
• "Let them theory!" I recently learned from a book, "Let Them Theory," to allow others to talk so I can hear and listen to what they are saying before making too many judgments. Having too much judgment prevents me from actually listening to the situations. In this case, I need to 1) let them talk, 2) let them judge, and 3) let them feel heard.

Not to manipulate people's emotions. I am terrible at manipulating people's emotions and rarely do that. But I have witnessed a few people who are craftive at manipulating people's emotions. I am smart enough now to catch that, so I don't get manipulated by others.

Question 3: What did you learn from this week's assignments that would enhance your leadership persuasion abilities?

There are a few items:

• Understanding others' motivations and needs: I need to and will pack my patience in every opportunity to understand where people are coming from.
• This will help me acknowledge what others are saying and engage in further alternatives. To be open-minded. 
• To reciprocate others' kindness to teams, I don't need to be right at all times. Let others shine brighter than me. I am here to serve.