Leadership Lessons and Strategic Communication
Three major “take-aways” for me from that course were: 1) the importance of being strategic in all our communications; 2) the tools and techniques leaders use to effectively communicate the destination; and 3) the imperative of brevity in our world of endless scrolling and distractions.
Thinking Big Picture
Being strategic is essential for all interpersonal communications; however, for leaders and organizations, it is arguably the most important thing we do. For organizations, not having a strategy for the communications effort can result in a dysfunctional, ineffective, and chaotic group. This translates into a simple concept: words matter. Language—the words we use—is fundamental, we often take it for granted.
Language, as Wood (2000) notes, is “presentational in that it presents images, ideas, and perspectives” (p. 92) and has a lasting impact on the receiver. Strategy should also re-focus our ideas, mission, and activities in light of the audience, since we are asking them to think, feel, or do something—possibly radically differently than they have been, or want to. This requires a new orientation, a broader one, and we must be strategic and diligent in how we express ourselves and our organizational construct, which is the vision we aspire to.
Where Are We Headed?
Vision is a destination. It is the future state expressed as “if everything went exceptionally well, this is how the world (or our little piece of it) would look.” As Heath and Heath (2010) describe, pointing to the destination is about helping people see the possible; as leaders, we must give people a postcard, “a vivid picture from the near-future that shows what could be possible” (p. 76). There is empowerment in this image of a postcard—a sense of “wish you were here.” Goal setting and using clear and powerful language (notice again the power of language, mentioned above) makes a compelling and motivating force that leaders must harness and enact.
Be Clear. Be Brief. Repeat
Politicians know some sage advice: “be brief, be bold, sit down.” There is enormous energy in clear, succinct, simple words and images. Pink (2012) discusses the use of various pitches and exercises to focus our mind and decrease the volume of communication to brief statements that showcase who we are, what we do, and why our organizations exist. Pitches such as the Twitter pitch (p. 165), done in 140 characters or less, the rhyming pitch (p. 161), or even the one-word pitch (p. 158) seek to distill our ideas into micro-messages that are easily stated and remembered, and drive the recipient to action or emotion. Brief is beautiful.
Leaders Lead Through Communication
Communication is ultimately about other people; Wood stated it best: “through communication with members of our groups, we learn the values, meanings, and ways of interpreting the world” (p. 223). We assimilate and integrate all we have learned, seen, heard, and processed through verbal, non-verbal, images, words, actions, and inactions. Leaders are the quintessential communicators. I am grateful for all that I have learned in that course, especially in the interactions with Dr. Robert Yawson and my classmates for their experiences and perspectives. It also compelled me to enroll in the Strategic Communication graduate certificate at Purdue University, which is why I am writing this blog now!
Heath, D., & Heath, C. (2010). Switch: How to
change things when change is hard. New York: Random House
Pink, D. (2012). To sell is human: The surprising
truth about moving others. New York: Penguin
Wood, J.T. (2000). Communication theories in
action: an introduction (2nd ed.). Wadsworth.
Photo: FBI patrol communications, 1937. Library of Congress Collection
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