We have all experienced a great speech. Maybe it was one that impacted us directly; for example, from the CEO of our employer. Or maybe it was from someone we were “less connected” to that still impacted us in a profound way; for example, a great political or charitable leader.
When a leader captures our views, imagination, excitement and support by presenting their own vision of what the future can become, and the impact that we can have in creating that future, we are drawn to help achieve that vision. Leaders with these skills are great at getting people committed to helping their cause.
However, getting this commitment from others is just the beginning. Many of these same leaders lack the other communication skills necessary to take that vision and convert it into the results that will actually accomplish their vision. This begins to differentiate a leader from a great leader.
A great leader embodies many different types of communication skills to drive their vision to tangible results. Here are 5 communication skills critical to be a great leader:
- Motivate for purpose – After taking the time to develop an inspirational vision, one that captures your dreams for making whatever it may be better, you then need to present this vision in a way that is clear, concise and exciting. In presenting your vision to others, you need to motivate them to join your cause. If you are excited about what you can achieve, others will be as well!
- Organize for strategy – Once you have your vision, you need to develop a strategy to support this inspirational vision. In other words, what are your strategic goals to achieve this vision. Once you have your strategy, you need to leverage your communication skills to organize your thoughts into tangible terms that others can understand and work towards to accomplish your vision.
- Direct for action – Once you have your strategic goals, you need to begin to action them. Creating actions that are measurable will assist everyone in ensuring progress is made toward your goals. As part of this, clear and decisive communication skills are critical to direct others to do (or not do) exactly what needs to get done to accomplish your goals.
- Negotiate and influence for compromise – As you and your team take action to accomplish your goals, you will ultimately encounter different ideas on how to get things done. Embrace these different perspectives, as there may be a better way to do things. As part of this process, you need to use your negotiation and influencing communication skills to discuss, debate and agree the appropriate course of action.
- Connect for personal impact – Finally, it is critical that you are able to transition between the big picture and specific issues when interacting with your team. Leveraging your communication skills with people on a one-on-one basis not only engages them further to assist you in accomplishing your vision, but it is critical in addressing any issues that may arise along the way.
Prism Partners International can assist you and your leaders in developing your vision and strategy, and embedding it into your organization to motivate your employees for superior performance and results. We can help you develop the next great leaders in your organization who will drive your vision forward by identifying and developing the skills they will need to be successful, including comprehensive communication skills. Through our practical, operational experience and innovative organizational alignment model and training material, we can focus and align management and employees to achieve improved profitability.
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