Presenting with Power

Putting leadership on parade does not come naturally to some leaders, particularly those who have led primarily by issuing directives. But presenting with power is a skill easily learned. Once learned, it becomes a habit and each presentation becomes increasingly effective. In any meeting, large or small, the effective leader captures the listeners' attention immediately, holds it for the duration of the presentation, and creates the kind of energy that generates action. The leader should organize the message so it is clear and compelling. He appeals to both the heart and head. He tells stories that involve the audience --and reveal his humanity, which is essential for establishing trust. The stories paint word pictures, with characters, settings and action. The leader makes deliberate use of wording, voice, posture, movement and timing. And his most powerful communications tools are his eyes. Steady, warm eye contact conveys credibility. Failure to make eye contact can signal unease, defensiveness or perhaps lack of candor. When talking with one person, the leader looks at the other's eyes, then moves away to avoid causing discomfort. With a large group, he makes everyone feel included by making eye contact with one person in the audience for as long as it takes to express a thought, and then moves his eyes to someone else in a different part of the room. When a leader is able to zero in with eye contact toward one audience member, surrounding audience members benefit too; studies have shown that all the audience members in the area around the person being addressed feel they’re being spoken to directly. Using the eyes this way also alleviates whatever anxiety the presenter may be feeling because speaking one-to-one to an individual comes naturally. In contrast, nervous speakers scan the audience, never finding one focal point, which increases their anxiety because the brain has too much information to process. Using the eyes appropriately is the single most important factor for communicating effectively, it has been shown in an academic study conducted by faculty at the University of Akron's School of Communication. The study evaluated the relative importance of 10 different presentation skills factors in presentations made by participants in Communispond's presentations training course.

Make it Loud

The leader must make his case loudly, clearly and consistently. He should seize every opportunity to speak from the heart in personal engagements with the employees. Doing this lets the leader express his message with absolute clarity and address any concerns the employees may have about it. There is an additional payoff: The workforce's views about other company issues will come through unfiltered. (Reporting of bad news at these meetings should be encouraged because it can be dealt with on the spot and not spiral out of control.)

Personal interactions with the workforce can take many different forms. The leader can make presentations before large groups in auditoriums. There can be smaller, more informal departmental or function-focused meetings, where participants will feel freer to ask questions or present problems. When the leader appears at these meetings without the usual retinue of direct reports it signals that he is approachable and welcomes interaction.

The leader also can meet with a cross-section of employees in skip-level meetings, conduct spontaneous walkabouts to fill in the time between planned events, have lunch in the organization's cafeteria, and drop in on the back office, the factory floor or a remote office where employees may never have seen the leader and will be particularly impressed. When a leader presents employee awards at presentation ceremonies the awards become particularly special. Praise from an employee's direct supervisor is a strong motivator; from the organization’s leader it is even stronger. Effective leaders are generous with their praise whenever it is deserved.

Communicating with power

Many of the defining characteristics needed for effective leadership -- like having a vision, integrity, commitment and resilience – are innate. Happily, another quality, as essential for success as the others, can be learned. It is the ability to mobilize a fire-in-the-belly effort among employees to help the leader realize ambitious goals. This quality can be acquired by observing the behaviors of leaders who deploy these skills, by being coached or incrementally with "stretch” efforts by the leader to generate the needed employee commitment.

The power of the leader’s position alone cannot command enthusiasm and dedication from today's workforce. Instead, employees must be convinced that the leader’s objectives are achievable, understand that meeting the goals will provide a personal payoff and be inspired to make their own full force contribution. To generate the needed support from everyone in the organization, the leader has to put his leadership on parade: He must be visible, crystal clear about his message and take every opportunity to demonstrate, live and in person, his passion for his goals. Unless he shows how deeply he cares, few others will care and his plan may be seen as another flavor of the month.

Some leaders believe it is sufficient to communicate their goals to the workforce through the organization's internal media: employee publications, intranet, videoconferencing, etc. -- the more sophisticated the technology the better. Many have become enamored with blogging because it makes possible instant communications with large numbers of employees, assuming they make the effort to log on.

All this is useful because it allows for repetition of the leader's message, which is essential for making an impact. But using media is not a substitute for interacting with employees face to face. Media cannot convey the intensity of feeling the leader has for his plan nearly as well as human contact does. The very fact that the leader is there, that he has left the comfort of the office to communicate with employees, gives the message importance.

The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader. D.

16. Responsibility: If You Won’t
Carry the Ball, You Can’t Lead the Team
“ Success on any major scale requires you to
accept responsibility. . .
In the final analysis, the one quality that all
successful people have is the ability to take on
responsibility.” ~Michael Korda, Editor-in-chief of Simon & Schuster
Are You On Target When It Comes To Responsibility?
“When an archer misses the mark he turns
and looks for fault within himself. Failure
to hit the bull’s-eye is never the fault of the
target. To improve your aim, improve
yourself.” ~ Gilbert Arland

17. Security: Competence Never Compensates For Insecurity
“No man will make a great leader who wants to do
it all himself or get all the credit for doing it.” ~ Andrew Carnegie, Industrialist
Margaret Thatcher, world leader
n. “You don’t follow the crowd, you make up your
own mind.” ~Words of encouragement from her father
n. She stood for conviction in leadership.
n. The “Iron Lady” was elected three consecutive terms as prime minister.
n. The ONLY British leader of modern era to achieve that great honor.

18. Self-Discipline: The First Person You Lead Is You
“A man without a decision of character can
never be said to belong to himself. . .
He belongs to whatever can make captive of
him.” ~John Foster, author
“Don’t quit, because once you in that mode
of quitting, then you feel like it’s okay.” ~Jerry Rice, Best Ever Wide Receiver

19. Servanthood: To Get Ahead, Put Others First
“I don’t know what your destiny will be, but
one thing I know: The ones among you
who will be really happy are those who
have sought and found how to serve.”
~ Albert Schweitzer, Philosopher & Humanitarian
“The true leader serves. Serves people.
Serves their best interests, and in so doing will
not always be popular, may not always
impress.
But because true leaders are motivated by
loving concern rather than a desire for
personal glory, they are willing to pay the
price.” ~Eugene B. Habecker, Author

20. Teachability: To Keep Leading, Keep Learning
“It’s what you learn after you know it all that
counts.” ~John Wooden, Hall of Fame Basketball Coach
Why Should You Keep Growing?
n. Your growth determines who you are.
n. Who you are determines who you attract.
n. Who you attract determines the success of your organization.
n. If you want your organization to grow, you have to remain teachable.

21. Vision: You Can Seize
Only What You Can See
“A great leader’s courage to fulfill his vision
comes from passion, not position.” ~ John C. Maxwell
Vision is everything for a leader.
n. It leads the leader.
n It paints the target.
n. It sparks and fuels the fire within, and
draws him forward.
n. It is also the fire lighter for others who
follow that leader.

Remember
“If you can dream it, you can do it.”
~Walt Disney

The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader. C.

10. Initiative: You Won’t Leave
Home Without It

“Success seems to be connected with action.
Successful people keep moving.
They make mistakes, but they don’t quit.”
~Conrad Hilton, Hotel Executive
Qualities Leaders Posses To Make
Things Happen
n. They Know What They Want
n. They Push Themselves to Act
n. They Take More Risks
n. They Make More Mistakes

11. Listening: To Connect With
Their Hearts, Use Your Ears
n. You have to be silent to listen.
n. Both words are formed from the same letters.
n. S-i-l-e-n-t
n. L-i-s-t-e-n
“The ear of the leader must ring with the
voices of the people.” ~ Woodrow Wilson, American President
“A good leader encourages followers to tell
him what he needs to know, not what he
wants to hear.” ~John C. Maxwell

12. Passion: Take This Life
and Love It
“Concentrate on what you do well, and do it
better than anybody else.” ~ John Schnatter, founder of Papa John’s Pizza
What makes it possible for people who
might seem ordinary to achieve great things?
n. Fact: More than 50% of all CEOs of Fortune 500
companies had C or C- averages in college
n. Fact: Nearly 75% of all U.S. Presidents were in the
bottom half of their school classes
n. Fact: More than 50% of all millionaires
entrepreneurs never finished college
n. They All Had Passion, It Makes A Difference!

13. Positive Attitude:
If You Believe You Can, You Can
n. Your Attitude Is a Choice
n. Your Attitude Determines Your Actions
n. Your People Are a Mirror of Your Attitude
n. Maintaining a Good Attitude Is Easier Than Regaining One
Words of Wisdom ~Thomas Edison
n. “Genius is 99% perspiration and 1%
inspiration.”
n. “If we did all the things we were capable of
doing, we would literally astound
ourselves.”
n. “Many of life’s failures are people who did
not realize how close they were to success
when the gave up.”

14. Problem Solving: You Can’t Let
Your Problems Be A Problem
“You can measure a leader by the
problems he tackles. He always looks for
ones his own size.” ~John C. Maxwell
Leaders With Good Problems Solving
Abilities Demonstrate Five Qualities
n. They Anticipate Problems
n. They Accept the Truth
n. They See the Big Picture
n. They Handle One Thing At a Time
n. They Don’t Give Up On a Major Goal When They’re Down

15. Relationships: If You Get Along, They’ll Get Along
“The most important single ingredient in the
formula of success is knowing how to get along
with people.”
~Theodore Roosevelt, American President
All people have some things in common
n. They like to feel special, so sincerely compliment them.
n. They want a better tomorrow, so show them
hope.
n. They desire direction, so navigate for them.
n. They are selfish, so speak to their needs first.
n. They get low emotionally, so encourage them.
n. They want success, so help them win.

The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader. B.

5. Competence: If you build it,
they will come
“Competence goes beyond words. It’s
the leader’s ability to say it, plan it, and
do it in such a way that others know
that you know how- and know that they
want to follow you.”
~ John. C. Maxwell
Keys to Cultivate High Competence
n. Show up Every Day & Come Ready to
Work
n. Keep Learning, Growing, and Improving
n. Follow Through with Excellence
n. Accomplish More than Expected
n. Inspire and Motivate Others

6. Courage: One Person with
Courage is a Majority
“Courage is fear that has said its prayers.”
~Karl Barth, Swiss Theologian
“Courage is doing what you’re afraid to do.
There can be no courage unless you’re
scared.” ~Eddie Rickenbacker
“You gain strength, courage, and confidence
by every experience in which you really
stop to look fear in the face.
You are able to say to yourself, ‘I lived
through this horror.
I can take the next thing that comes along.’
You must do the thing you cannot do.” ~Eleanor Roosevelt.
7. Discernment: Put an End to
Unsolved Mysteries
“Smart leaders believe only half of what they
hear. Discerning leaders know which have
to believe.” ~ John. C. Maxwell
n. Effective leaders need discernment, although
even good leaders don’t display it all the time.
Examples of Famous last words:
n. “I think there is a world market for about five
computers.” Thomas J. Watson, chairman of IBM
.(1943)
n. “I don’t need bodyguards.”
Jimmy Hoffa, one month before disappearance (1975)

8. Focus: The Sharper It Is;
The Sharper You Are
n. The Keys are Priorities and Concentration
n. A leader who knows what his priorities are but
lacks concentration knows what to do but never
gets it done.
n. If he has concentration but no priorities, he has
excellence without progress.
n. But when he harnesses both, he has potential to
achieve great things.
How should you focus
your time and energy?
n. Focus 70 Percent on Strengths
n. Develop them to their fullest potential
n. Focus 25 Percent on New Things
n. Growth = Change
n. Focus 5 Percent on Areas of Weakness
n. Minimize weaknesses as much as possible, delegate

9. Generosity: Your Candle Loses
Nothing When It Lights Another
“No person was ever honored for what he
received. Honor has been the reward for
what he gave.”
~ Calvin Coolidge, American President
“All that is not given is lost.” ~ Rabinranath Tagore, Indian Poet
Cultivate the Quality of Generosity
in Your Life
n. Be Grateful For What You Have
n. Put People First
n. Don’t Allow the Desire for Possessions to Control You
n. Regard Money as a Resource
n. Develop the Habit of Giving

Believe in Yourself

Believe in Yourself

Management guru Jim Collins uses the phrase “level 5 leadership” to describe the characteristic of the best leaders, those who build great companies. Out of all the existing leadership qualities, the most fascinating and distinguishing characteristic of level 5 is an often misunderstood trait: humility.
As it happens, humility doesn’t actually mean being humble. People who are crazy enough to launch businesses as the economy is falling apart and then fight Goliath-size adversaries,
are not exactly humble. Humility simply means you have a “burning, driving, relentless ambition to serve and to win,” Collins told me, “without the arrogance to delude yourself into believing that you are all knowing or always right.”
As a level 5 leader, you don’t believe you are perfect. You must, however, believe in yourself, and be convinced that you have what it takes to succeed and that you can get better. You are always looking for new ways to develop your leadership qualities and take your game to the next level.