Being a leader of people starts with clear communication

“Never bet on someone who cannot articulate what he or she is thinking in a compelling and engaging way.”  These were the words of Indra Nooyi, Chairman of PepsiCo to the executives at the company.

Leadership is a tough job. In addition to running the business, leaders need to “mobilise the troops”, create an inspiring culture, articulate a vision and align their employees to it.

That’s why mastering communication is such an invaluable skill for any leader.

Describing communication as a 2-way dialogue is passé.  Communication is not only about connecting, it’s about engaging and inspiring others.

So what does it take to communicate in a way that inspires? In my opinion, there are seven elements of inspiring leadership communication.

Listen and seek first to understand.

Communication starts with listening. Many leaders spend enormous amount of time crafting their messages to ensure that it is clear and concise.

In other words, seeking to be understood rather than seek to understand.

However, for leaders to communicate well, it’s better to reverse the approach.

When leaders do this, they put the audience at the centre of the communication wheel.

Communicate with passion.

Passion can turbo-charge how a leader communicates.

The thing about passion is – it’s infectious, and it can have a profound flow-on effect on people that energises them.

Just look at how Tony Fernandes is igniting passion in the way he communicates to his employees.

The passion that he has instilled in the All Stars (nickname for AirAsia employees) has seen them coming up with so many creative innovations from developing the world’s first SMS ticket booking system to running the first hackathon in the airline industry.

Be authentic. 

Authentic communication is what people want in today’s work environment, especially when trust is at an all-time low.

When leaders are authentic, they are drawn to “real,” down-to-earth, and honest people, which in turn, draws people to them because these leaders embrace people for who they are.

Be a great storyteller.

“Data tells, but stories sell”. Stories are powerful because they emotionally connect and influence how people feel through the emotions that are transmitted by them.

Our brains are a story processor, not a logic processor. As the saying goes; “A picture is worth a thousand words. But a story is worth a thousand pictures.”

This was why Steve Jobs once said “the most important person in the world is the storyteller.”

Encourage feed forwarding.

The art of feed forwarding is about getting feedback about the future and not about the past. Feed forwarding is a coaching technique that was developed by Marshall Goldsmith.

Unlike feedback, which is typically a 1:1 exercise, feed forwarding is a group exercise where individuals solicit suggestions about what they could do in the future.

Leverage non-verbal communication.

Our non-verbal behaviours that include tone and body language account for 93% of our communication.

Non-verbal behaviour can have a lot of significance – behaviour like a smile, a head tilt or even a gentle touch can mean a lot to people.

Such behaviour is comforting and reassuring, and can sometimes heal a bad experience.

Leaders who want to inspire and motivate their employees need to spend time building and nurturing social relationships.

Be personal.

As human beings, we’re all wired to connect. Not only does our social environment shape us, our well-being is highly dependent on our connections with other people.

Leaders who want to inspire and motivate their employees need to spend time building and nurturing social relationships.

Contrary to what we might think or believe, to communicate in a personal way is not difficult to do.

Gestures like writing a personal thank you note, giving employees a pat on the shoulder or simply making time for people to reach out can mean so much more to employees than any formal communication.