As leaders, one of the thing that we are expected to do is to communicate with the teams that we work with all the time. In many cases, our effectiveness as a leader may even depend on our ability to communicate.
We might communicate to inform, inspire or influence. We need different strategies for different objectives.
If we are communicating to inform, we need clarity in our communication.
If we are communicating to inspire, we need our message to have contrast and colour. We need to be able to paint a picture of what is possible.
If we are communicating to influence, we need to deliver the communication in a way such that the message is remarkable and will be remembered.
Communicating important messages is an art by itself. While the message itself is important, the way it is communicated is at times more important. This is a reason why almost all good leaders are good copy writers or at least know a good copy when they see one.
When we are communicating to influence, the way the message is delivered needs to be remarkably funny, cynical, emotional or hard-hitting.
I thought that this communication about sexual harassment at the workplace captured this really well.
“When it crosses the line, call the line”.
It is easy to remember, and calls out what action needs to be done and when.
In conclusion:
In conclusion, I would say that as leaders, we need to practice and get good at communication. We need to know what are we trying to achieve by our communication and wrap the message accordingly. We would do well to learn more about copy writing and to identify good copy vs bad copy and only use good copy.
A message that doesn’t do its job well is wasted time, energy, effort and an opportunity to lead.
