Communication – Conversation at the Core of Leadership

Profile Picture of Post's Author Mark Uhlenberg | Posted May 26, 2021

Most of us take our ability to communicate for granted. Leaders, in particular, tend to assume since they’re leaders they’re good at it. Not necessarily so…

The ability to influence others via words and associated actions is the core skill at the center of all the other core skills. Communication either unites, divides or perhaps worst case, does nothing. Your accurate assessment of your own ability to communicate effectively can make you or break you (and those you lead as well).

“My awareness of myself was vitally important not just for my growth, but the growth of my team.”

I’m going to briefly outline three concepts you may have heard in Communications 101, but you may not have fully realized the critical role each play in your success as a leader.

Perspective

Everybody has one — it’s relative to them, what they do and where they are. The exact same thing looks very different from:

  • Bird’s Eye View – a CEO or high-level manager won’t necessarily be aware of (or give attention to) systemic failures that take place “on the factory floor.”
  • Treetop View – a Plant Supervisor will be aware of a systemic failure, but may not place it at the top of the priority list to be addressed immediately.
  • Ground View – a Line Manager knows his or her employees literally may not be able to get their jobs done when certain systems fail.

Is anyone’s perspective wrong? No. Their perspective, however, is biased – and we can easily see why. Leaders who actively influence must be able to “see” others’ perspectives and consider them prior to taking action. How do they accomplish that?

  • Disciplined focus on making and keeping communication important
  • Effective communication processes (dedicated meetings and established forums for communication to happen)
  • Strategic communication (knowing when and what content needs to be communicated)

All this is about gaining and sharing perspective to solve problems and capture opportunities. Failure to facilitate and manage this area of perspective will significantly limit you as a leader.

Authenticity

Research has shown that the words we say only make up 7-10% of what gets communicated. That really blew my mind when I first read that. Authenticity goes far beyond just the content of our speech. To be more authentic with others you need to be authentic with yourself. It’s really easy to BS ourselves sometimes – to the point where we can actually believe our own “press release.” Don’t let yourself fall into this trap – authenticity is closely related to our physical presence (how you make people feel when you’re around them). If people think you’re for real, trustworthy and you actually listen to them, they’re much more likely to follow your lead. You demonstrate that you are genuinely interested in hearing their perspective. Everyone knows when you are less than truthful by your body language and presence.

Our leadership identity resides in the experiences (and assessments) our employees, colleagues, family, and friends have with us. Indeed, we are not who we think we are, but in reality, we are who everyone else thinks we are. To be authentic we must challenge or at least loosen our grip on our own perspective of ourselves (who we think we are). For example, I’ve done many 360 feedback interviews with key leaders in large and small businesses. It’s not unusual for these successful people to identify themselves as pretty good communicators. When interviewing their direct staff and customers, I find they may not agree with that assessment or it varies amongst the persons interviewed. To really be authentic we must accept and value a clear description of how we really show up outside our own reality. We sometimes tend to make others wrong about their feedback…so we get to be right. We can really sell ourselves short when we do this.

Authenticity is closely related to presence (how you make people feel when you’re around them).

Authentic leadership is essential to communication. And a key component of authenticity is “straight talk” — a communications practice that becomes a learned skill. To do it, you must:

  • First, set up the conversation you need to have
  • Have no hesitation (be timely), and ask for permission
  • Be fully present and competent in speaking clear requests and articulating clear directions
  • Speak in simple, yet meaningful ways – the Why, the How, and the What
  • Understand going in it will involve learning for both parties engaged in the conversation

Ideal leaders move forward with straight talk courageously and without hesitation. They are fully present and the level of skill they’ve achieved makes possible the meaningful dialogue that can change the trajectory of someone’s future. Being authentic as a person, practicing straight talk and embedding it as a “way of being” into your behaviors and organization’s culture is where effective leaders (and organizations) truly set themselves apart. Final words on “straight talk”. If you receive it you can give it — and if you give it you will receive it. Lack of authenticity breaks down this powerful asset in communication as a leader.

Accountability

A conversation about “lack of accountability” takes place frequently with new clients in initial startup for coaching and consulting. I joke about being able to bottle up a potion that makes people instantly accountable with one big swig of the elixir. Take one big gulp and…POOF!…everyone wants to come in early and stay late. They automatically know what is expected of them and they ask for more work to do. In fact, they would work for free it is so awesome here! I would end up being a very rich man.

When I initially start talking with clients about their business and team, we visit about how the work gets done. At this point many express they just do not have a culture of accountability. People do not take responsibility and, as an owner or leader, they feel like the only one who really cares. They spend most of their time double-checking on things getting done. They have no time to lead the business because when they take their eye off the ball it gets dropped.

Accountability has real implications for the success and viability of any business. The great news is you can do something about it. Accountability happens when you communicate it. Accountability exists in the “elixir” of our conversations. Indeed, accountability is a conversation that leaders either avoid or may not have the knowledge, skillset or will to have. A good start in the practice of accountability is to simply ask someone if you can count on them. Literally ask them after each request if they can fulfill on your request. Normally, we do not have that simple conversation up front, and we then spend our time cleaning things up reactively on the back side.

The commitment then forms the basis for building stronger conversations and even allows team members to say they have a full plate already. Lots of new and good things happen when you start talking about what you want done and stop assuming everyone really knows what you want. Communication is not about about fancy platitudes. Great communicators get to the point and make crystal clear requests. Communication becomes a partnership and it becomes organized around proactive work instead of always playing catch up.

Great communicators get to the point and make crystal clear requests.

The nature of leadership is conversational. Your ability to impact results depends on the power and effectiveness of your communications. This is not about eloquent speech. It is about effective conversations that are clear, straight, and relevant. Relevance comes from you, the leader. Things become important to your employees and team members because you make them important. If you do not talk about what is important often and effectively that may be why accountability is a liability within your business instead of an asset. Clear perspective and authentic presence make all this the more powerful.

I see tremendous success in my clients when they cultivate self-awareness and become adept at communicating with skill and purpose. These leaders understand the importance of being cognizant of multiple perspectives, and of maintaining their authenticity. They know very well that the right conversations in the right context at the right time generate alignment, increased clarity and shared agreement. Accountability then becomes a natural outcome in this scenario. It just happens.

How does this all play out for you? Change your conversations and you’ll change your outcomes.

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