Last week I was in lovely Stockholm. At a Leadership Meeting.
At the meeting, we had our Chief Executive share a short presentation – well, in fact, he didn’t have any slides… he just spoke.
There were a few things he said, that really resonated with me, and some phrases he shared that I wrote down.
You could be thinking – Well Bal… Leaders are meant to say things and share things that should resonate and folk write down. That’s why they are leaders.
True. But I’ve seen leaders previously… to whom, i’d listen to. But wouldn’t have the urge to write anything down.
This then got me thinking. In general. About Leaders…. Leadership behaviours, Leadership traits, etc… How should a Leader be?
There’s lots of traits a leader should have… Let’s take Mr Steve Jobs. One of the most well known leaders of recent times… what were the components of his leadership?
That last one… Effective Communication! – That’s the key one in my opinion. One of the most important ones.
I appreciate leaders have a lot going on. Emails, calls, meetings, presentations, etc… then there’s the day job! But what is important is having the ability to communicate.
But it’s not just communicate, but effectively communicate.
For example, I’ve heard one of our leaders previously say…. “that people are important in an organisation“. Yes – agreed, they’re important. He then went on to say, “how we have to value them and treat them fairly. ” Agree. We should. goes without saying, right?… he then shared, “sometimes, you have to make decisions which impact people” – that is true, maybe moving people around the organisation, changing roles, reduced hours, etc… change can happen. “and it’s when looking and making these decisions, we have to ensure, people are treated fairly“.
It’s not always about telling a story, but being clear and concise on the message. Allowing the audience to take away the key take away’s without you having to say, here’s the key take away’s!
And a good leader does this by example.
If he’s treating people fairly, the people below him will treat their people fairly, and so on… If the leaders are doing what they are saying, then the element of trust can build.
You probably know how I like to link sports to business.
In sports, and i’ll focus on football… you have some great leaders. Either on or off the pitch.
On the pitch, they can be visible. With their behaviours. Their attitude. Their style. But most importantly, with their communication.
Don’t forget, communication can be both, verbal and non-verbal.
Actions speak louder than words.
So if you are a leader, or aspiring to be a leader… firstly, take note of the above components – embed them into your day to day activities and long term goals… (you might be wondering, Bal… how do I learn how to communicate… well… there’s courses… and these days, you could probably do what I do, and jump onto YouTube and watch some of Steve Jobs presentations… or watch a video of people sharing top tips on how to communicate) – but remember, it’s also about non-verbal as well. Secondly… watch the video below of Carlos Puyol. His leadership behaviours are a great example to follow…