Leadership Communication is the Number One Leadership Skill

March 9, 2010 - PRLog -- A leader who has poor leadership communication will find leading far more challenging than a great communicator. Respect and confidence on the part of staff, the executive team and board will be much harder to earn. A poor performance during a media interview can permanently damage a leader's credibility. And investors may lose confidence in a leader struggles during an investors annual meeting.

A leader who has strong leadership communication skills, however, will find it easier to:

o Connect with others, thereby increasing trust and respect.

o Steer a country, organization or community through stormy weather.

o Build morale and manage conflict.

o Inspire people to vote, employees to work harder and a country to stay strong during war.

Winners and Losers in the Leadership Communication Contest

One only has to look at the performances of Bill Clinton, Jack Welch, Ronald Regan and Barack Obama to see the key role that effective leadership communication has played in their successes.

Bill Clinton is widely regarded as the most effective communicator to ever enter the White House. His communication skills and in particular his charisma were regarded as central to his ability to consistently turn opponents into friends and to build strong alliances with world leaders. His informality and openness were central to the connection he was able to establish with audiences and individuals including former Russian President Boris Yeltsin

More recently, President Barack Obama, described as the 'Communicator in Chief', connected with and inspired millions of Americans during his Presidential campaign. His performance as an orator and use of leadership body language is virtually unprecedented for a politician. Critically, Obama possesses a conversational and relaxed communication style that is critical when seeking to connect with people.

By way of contrast the recent lack of success by Caroline Kennedy and John McCain demonstrate the consequences of poor communication skills.

The Key Components of Effective Leadership Communication

To be truly effective as a communicator a leader must:

o Develop the mindset of a leader. Given that our nonverbal communication reveals to the world what we feel inside, emotional mastery is critical to congruent, credible communication.

o Be able to connect with people on an emotional level. This is important for leaders, because research has conclusively established that people form opinions and make decisions based on their emotions. First we listen to our emotional guidance system, then we justify with reasons, then we rationalize.

Bill Clinton is a master at connecting with people by making them feel that they matter to him. In the early years of his Presidency, Clinton, speaking to members of the public, often used the phrase "I feel your pain".

o Develop leadership charisma. There is an important distinction between 'leadership charisma' and 'regular charisma'. The distinction is that a leader must always maintain authority whilst communicating charisma.

There is a popular myth that charisma is a natural quality that cannot be learned or developed. Myth is exactly what it is. Scientists have confirmed that whilst some individuals may have innate elements of charisma, much of charisma is made up of a set of behaviors that can be learned.

o Learn to move like a leader. Body language communicates your emotional state to the world. A leader must become aware of and take control of, the signals they are broadcasting, as these signals may be at odds with the messages they wish to communicate.

We make our decisions primarily on what we see rather than what we hear. Once you understand the meanings of postures, gestures and facial expressions you are then empowered to be far more effective in your leadership communication.

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