Leadership Is Communications

Perhaps this sounds obvious, but Good Leadership is Good Communications, and vice versa.

This came to mind – yet again – as I’m teaching at a client’s business school campus in Edinburgh, Scotland. One benefit of my invitation (among many) is access to an impressive business library.

After dinner one night, I came across a personal favourite: Why CEOs Fail by David Dotlich and Peter Cairo.

The book’s subtitle says it all: The 11 Behaviours That Can Derail Your Climb to the Top – And How to Manage Them.

As I re-read the behaviours the authors say derail careers and destroy organisations – among them, arrogance, aloofness and distrust – I think you can narrow down the entire book into one reason why they fail:  bad leaders don’t know how to communicate, or worse, some them don’t care.

Leadership needs good communications

No one, including CEOs, are taught how to talk. We start talking roughly at age 2, and from that point forward, it’s a skill most people master through trial and error. Even then, I’d argue few know they’re improving unless they’re a point of reflection.

• What did I do well?  Aspects you want to repeat next time
• What did not go well?  Aspects you don’t want to do again next time
• What could I do better next time?  This is the real area of learning

What’s the phrase?  An effective leader is a reflective leader.

This becomes even more crucial as leaders have less time: to consider, prepare, influence, accomplish goals. Too often we rely upon fate, luck and chance to get us through.  (Nana Eklund used to call this The God Principle:  We hope and pray for the best.) I don’t know about you, but I don’t like those odds.

Add to this, there are more channels than ever to communicate, which I find troubling when senior people worry more about the delivery than the words. At the end of the day, I still believe positive, constructive, inspirational words matter.

If leadership can’t communicate, what are they doing?

Leadership uses communications to accomplish many things. Here’s a starting list:

• Persuade
• Influence
• Motivate
• Inspire
• Challenge
• Correct
• Guide
• Engage

What else?  The list could go on and on.

Here’s the Communication Skills Leadership Must Master

While I appreciate Dotlich/Cairo’s book, I’m not a fan of the negativity. Instead, here are the positive skills of communications that all leadership should master.

Use the business result to create the right messages

• What are they trying to say, and why?
• Is it the right time?

Understand the context of the communications

• What’s going on around them, or the organisation?
• What’s the problem they/the organisation is facing?
• Does it reflect what’s going on outside the organisation’s walls?
• How are they going to address it?
• Who’s saying the opposite?  How will they counter the negative voices?

Recognise the audience, to understand their collective mindset

• Who are they speaking to?
• What do they think now, and why?
• What does their audience wanting to hear? vs What does the leader want to say?
• How can the leader bridge that gap?

Create messages which are authentic

• What messages will inspire – or change – the minds of the audience?
• Do they sound consistent?  (Consistency is a big part of.)  

Choose the right format and style to convey the messages

• What are they using to get their messages out to the right people?
• Is it the right channel for the right audience?

Deliver the messages with the proper technique

Are the messages …

• Credible?
• Believable?
• Trustworthy?
• Are they right messages, delivered at the right time?

Speak and listen, more so, to respond appropriately

• How do they react?
• What should they say in response?
• Are they re-acting or responding?

Ensure closure

• After all is said and done, how do they bring the organisation together to move forward?

Any other behaviours or reasons you know or have experienced which keep a leadership from being a good communicator?

Please add your thoughts and comments below.