Thursday, January 14, 2016

Leaders communicate


Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time. –Thomas Edison.




History has documented that outstanding leaders take time to reflect. Their success depends on the ability to access their unique perspective and communicate their decisions.

Extraordinary leadership is rooted in several capabilities: seeing before others see, understanding before others understand, and acting before others act.

A leader’s unique perspective becomes a competitive advantage when communicated and acted out.
To thrive this year; Leaders would need to influence all shades of people and as we all make our 2016 Goals, remember to include
  • Improving communication skills 
People receive and communicate information in four main communication styles, but one style is more dominant or preferred:
 
 a) Visual: They learn by watching or having images. They think in pictures and like to see their way clearly so they have a long-term vision, details and are impatient. They use words such as clear, focus, look, see, clarity, show, picture, visualize.
 
 b) Auditory: They learn by listening or talking it out. They brainstorm ideas and are detailed when explaining a project, but they get upset when interrupted. They use words such as sound, hear, tune, resonate, idea, listen, repeat.
 
c) Kinaesthetic: They learn by doing and feeling. They connect well with others and make decisions based on how they feel. They like keeping a balance, but they dislike too many choices. They use words such as comfortable, feel, fits, grasp, connect, get, touch.
 
d) Digital: They learn by having facts and figures. They solve problems and prioritize well, but they can also be stubborn. They use words such as think, makes sense, figure it, process it, first, second, list.
 
As a leaders, we need to connect with our audience by using the principles from all four styles of communication. Have images for the visual person in our presentations; have some emotion and stories for the kinesthetic person; and group work for the auditory person while having some facts and figures for the digital person.

Alex Elle once said "I’m thankful for my struggle because without it, I wouldn’t have stumbled across my strength" 

Make communication skills your strength and See You at the Top