Leadership … Continued Discussion 6/26/09

In this blog I want to share a quote by Gilbert Amelio, President and CEO of National Semiconductor Corp., which I surfaced in John C. Maxwell’s book, The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader.  The quote is about communication and is as follows, “Developing excellent communication skills is absolutely essential to effective leadership.  The leader must be able to share knowledge and ideas to transmit a sense of urgency and enthusiasm to others.  If a leader can’t get a message across clearly and motivate others to act on it, then having a message doesn’t even matter.” In this blog, I want to focus just on spoken communication.

I have known leaders who were great communicators and those who were not so great, but in every instance those who were most effective were those who communicated exceptionally well.  And this is not just about the words spoken, which are very important to be sure, but also about the way in which the words are spoken.  The most effective leaders I have witnessed are those who speak with genuine passion.  Many can speak the word, but effective leaders live the words they speak.  Their words are convincing because these individuals believe in what they say, which comes across in the strength of their delivery … from passionate emphasis to pregnant pause.  These orators make you want to listen to their words.  Their words tether you to them … make you want to hear more … make you want to be a part of what drives them … and make you want to follow their lead.

Very few of us seem to have this commanding ability to rally others through our spoken word, which every great leader seems to be able to unleash with ease.  However, every leader has the capacity to grow their effectiveness as a speaker, which should be a primary goal of everyone aspiring to lead.  I am a keen believer in writing a speech down to the individual word and then practicing it again and again.  This approach works for some, but for others the presentation is simply outlined and then spoken from the heart.  It makes no difference which approach is utilized, as long as the end result is a presentation that is listened to and that has the desired impact.  Great communicators speak clearly and distinctly to the point.  They say what needs to be heard.  And, they speak genuinely from the heart.

To be effective in leading others, growing one’s communication skills is absolutely essential.  And the more one utilizes those skills the greater the opportunity to perfect those skills … as long as the door remains open to such.  And that brings about a significant charge for us all … each of us needs to embrace the reality that our communication skills will never attain perfection and that we need to work tirelessly to bring about improvement.

Author Cross-references:

Gilbert Amelio: None

John C. Maxwell: Also see posts 12/8/08, 6/5/09, 6/26/09, 11/20/09, 3/29/10

Key Word Cross-references:

Communication/Effective Speaking: Also see posts 12/12/08, 3/4/09, 5/17/09, 7/7/09, 9/9/09, 11/20/09, 12/5/09, 1/4/10, 1/29/10, 2/24/10

Inspiration/Motivation: Also see posts 1/16/09, 2/3/09, 2/18/09, 2/25/09, 5/17/09, 6/5/09, 9/9/09, 2/18/10, 2/24/10, 4/19/10

Passion: Also see posts 9/26/09, 12/5/09, 2/24/10

Leadership … Continued Discussion 6/5/09

One of my favorite authors on the subject of leadership is John C. Maxwell.  In this post I want to share thoughts from his book The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader, specifically on the subject of character.  In forwarding his discussion on character Maxwell quotes Bernard Montgomery, a British Field Marshal of World War II fame, who described leadership as follows, “leadership is the capacity and will to rally men and women to a common purpose and the character which inspires confidence.” Maxwell then goes on to describe four specific aspects of character: 1) “Character is more than talk.” 2) “Talent is a gift, but character is a choice.” 3) “Character brings lasting success with people.” And, 4) “Leaders cannot rise above the limitations of their character.” Together, Montgomery’s leadership quote and Maxwell’s character qualifications point to character as an indispensable quality that evolves within the successful leader over time and ultimately defines that leader.

Character is a living, breathing thing … it cannot be fabricated, or suppressed,  or forgotten.  It must be embraced at all times and grown at every opportunity.  And at the heart of character is ethics.  A true leader is ethical beyond reproach.  A true leader lives by the golden rule, does the right thing, is fully transparent and sets the example.  Through their display of character, effective leaders inspire and mentor others to grow their own character.  And this is when leaders become most effective … when all within a team or a staff equally embrace ethics and strength of character as essential qualities.  This is when success has the opportunity to grow to its greatest potential.

Truly, a leader’s character is what binds a following together and inspires a sense of belief in even the faintest of heart.  In its absence or if that character is flawed … team commitment, loyalty and trust have no foundation upon which to grow.  And in their absence, discontent and discord are sure to follow.  Maxwell and Montgomery are most correct, leadership is all about quality of character.

But character can often be confused with charisma, which is a very different thing in my mind.  Charisma is a special charm that draws people to an individual, which is a wonderful attribute for a leader to have.  But character is something different … something much less superficial.  Character is at the very core of a person … it is what drives an individual in everything from decision making to actions taken.  And for the leader who cultivates and matures their character, there is the opportunity to evolve to another level of effectiveness.  Leaders live and breath who they are … their character is what defines them in their own hearts and in the eyes of others.

In choosing which leader to follow, I will take quality of character over anything else.

Author Cross-references:

John C. Maxwell: Also see post 12/8/08, 6/5/09, 6/26/09, 11/20/09, 3/29/10

Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery: None

Key Word Cross-references:

Character/Integrity: Also see posts 2/3/09, 2/6/09, 3/16/09, 5/1/09, 8/17/09, 11/1/09, 12/5/09

Ethical/Principled: Also see post 1/14/09

Inspiration/Motivation: Also see posts 1/16/09, 2/3/09, 2/18/09, 2/25/09, 5/17/09, 6/26/09, 9/9/09, 2/18/10, 2/24/10, 4/19/10

Mentoring/Nurturing/Developing: Also see posts 12/8/08, 12/12/08, 1/13/09, 2/6/09, 2/28/09, 7/7/09, 9/9/09, 9/15/09, 10/26/09, 12/5/09, 1/6/10, 3/29/10

Setting the Example: Also see posts 12/12/08, 1/13/09, 3/16/09, 5/1/09, 5/17/09, 7/7/09, 8/17/09, 2/24/10