"How is this different?"
As a separate field of learning, Leadership Communication came into existence in the mid-90s, largely in response to the recognition that it could be distinguished from the communication normally emanating from those charged with getting things done.
Running a business or other enterprise requires the capability to give direction about any number of operational issues.
Leadership communication is that part of communication which, without regard to the vehicle or venue, inspires others to want to contribute to the enterprise. As such, it requires the human faculties of empathy, emotional intelligence and presence—these in addition to the wisdom required to guide and direct operations.
Benefits:The primary benefit is engagement and commitment of employees, rather than compliance with rules; such engagement has a marked effect on a number of variables:
- Employee turnover is reduced
- Innovation is markedly increased
- Efficiency is increased as people closer to the problem are more willing to make decisions
- Spontaneity and fast response are hallmarks that are perceived as desirable rather than risky
- There is a minimum of waiting to be told what to do
- People are willing to give up “silos’ in favor of becoming part of something larger than themselves
- And they develop loyalty rather than mere satisfaction with the company and its leaders
Moreover, individual leaders find a new sense of purpose in what they do and are energized to run the company from a platform of values rather than merely relating to the bottom line. As a result, financial results improve.
Cross-Cultural Benefits:
Inherit in the concept of inspiration is the idea of cross-cultural applicability. This learning is based on research in neurobiology, psychology and mythology, fields that recognize the similarities rather than the differences in people, regardless of their beliefs, religious backgrounds, cultural overlays or economic circumstances.
The author sponsored the first Forum on Cross-Cultural Inspiration in 2007, and his research continues to clarify those factors that make this work effective around the world, using a variety of communication venues and vehicles.
Both denotative and connotative distinctions make this proposition more obvious:| Operational Communication | Leadership Communication |
| Motivating | Inspiring |
| Change instructions | Progress definition |
| Competence | Trustworthiness |
| Strategy | Values |
| Compliance | Commitment |
| Results | Meaning |
| Clarity | Depth |
| Satisfaction | Loyalty |
Leadership Communication, then, requires more than education or technique. It requires an understanding, development and deployment of the self from knowledge of the way in which human beings are inspired to follow someone or some proposition and to achieve remarkable results.
Developing the Skill of Leadership Communication:
Obviously, people are at different stages of such development, but we begin with an understanding of the primary responsibilities of the leader, to communicate in a way that people are inspired, to distinguish progress from change and to build and sustain a culture that encourages commitment.
The foundation is a thorough understanding of the neurobiology of change—the nature of implicit memory, the power of the limbic system, how empathy actually works, the emotional pathways around recalcitrance to change, and the neural model of inspiration. Such material very shortly demonstrates the importance of authenticity in such communication and the benefits that follow.
During the course of the program of learning, we emphasize four principles:
- Discovering What Matters: Understanding personal values and their source in experience.
- Finding and Disciplining the Voice: Being willing to communicate through the prism of values, and then developing the skill of message platform development.
- Deciding to Lead: Understanding and increasing emotional intelligence in a way that allows empathy and authenticity to operate.
- Connecting with Others: Recognizing the value of limbic resonance, and developing the skill of communicating in story, personal experience and metaphor as a necessary supplement to facts and analysis.
Methodology:
This capability can only be learned experientially. Concepts only provide another basis for manipulation and could actually create a condition of cynicism and lead to hypocrisy. Accordingly, whatever the format of the “training” it needs to use “live ammunition”—situations actually in play at the organization—so that participants can experience the differences in the real world. In general, this requires an introduction of principles, some pre-work to a longer course meeting, a program of two-three days, and follow-up coaching. During the session, participants actually develop message platforms around change initiatives that are active and for which they are responsible.
Message platforms themselves include four specific sections, each designed to entice the participants to reflect on the situation and be inclusive of constituents. In addition, each section gives the student an opportunity to include basic components of inspiration from their own experience.
- Developing Competence and Trustworthiness: This section includes clarity of purpose, as well as a revelation of personal motivation, acknowledgement of resistance, establishment of commonality and reflections on gratitude and vulnerability. This is generally the most difficult section for participants who are used to communicating only analysis and facts.
- Creating Shared Context: This piece establishes commonality in understanding where we have been and where we are as the basis of where we are going. In this section we examine the priority of the change, add to the breadth of its implication and reinforce personal trustworthiness and competence.
- Declaring and Describing the Future: Developing this section, participants learn the creative power of declaration, and have the experience of communicating a sensory-rich and compelling future. Here we also look at alternative futures and the implication of non-action.
- Committing to Action: This section defines not only organizational steps to the future, but also reinforces the role of the leader in “going first.” What is the leader willing to risk to put the change in play? Finally, we describe the action required of others in order to participate in the future.
Alternative Schedules/Methodology:
The program has been delivered in several formats—as an eleven-week graduate course, over the period of six months as an individual program, or in several sections over various periods of time. The important elements are:
- It must be learned with live situations so that it can be practiced, experienced and reinforced
- People must view it as personal development rather than skills training. Clearly 70% of the value of the program comes from introspection and application of self-discovered ideas, and...
- It must be seen as a new standard of communication throughout the organization. Otherwise, cynicism sets in rather rapidly as practice of the new standard burns up in the fire of old habits.
