Column: Strategic Communication & Influence
[Column written by Jessica Lightbourne, which is Part 3 of a five part series]
Part 3: Strategic Communication & Influence
In the age of the hybrid workplace, employee activism and the millennial and Gen Z workforce, the most effective leaders use a coaching style which is truly compelling, engaging and transformational. As a leadership coach specialising in career development for Black male executives, in my experience, you will have the most influence when you communicate strategically and with intention.
Know Your Audience. Masterful influencers and experts in persuasion do not ‘wing it’. They strategically communicate. The first step to speaking powerfully and effectively, to achieve your desired outcomes in the boardroom [and everywhere] is to know who is in the room, what their position is, and what will be the most effective way to achieve your goals. Even if you do not trust some of them, you can trust that you know them and can predict their next move. Knowledge is power and knowing who’s who and what makes them tick will allow you to show up and play the game of chess with ease. You are a king, after all.
Listen. Even if you are the best listener you know, listen more. Listen more intently. Listen to hear what people are not saying. “Listen” to body language. Listen for “fixed beliefs” in others. Listen for their motivations, worries, stressors, agendas. Listen more. Talk less. Be known for asking the best questions in the room, and then zip it and listen again. This practice alone is a game changer. When we think of communication, this is the last place we look. It should be the first. It is a superpower.
Understand their stressors. You already know, your counterparts around the table are human beings with their own flaws and fears. Knowing their stressors will allow you to leverage them, kindly. When you understand what matters to them, whether it is winning, keeping the team together, getting it right or just having a good time, you can craft your messaging to ensure every single person in the room is addressed, and taken care of, if you so choose.
Understand their motivators. Connect with your colleagues and get to know them as intimately as you can. What do they value? What is their “ultimate why”? Once you understand them, you can craft your communication to assure them that their needs will be met and their values and concerns taken care of.
Reinforce What’s In It For Them. This is really restating the last two points. The way to communicate powerfully is to give your audience what they want and what they need. They have to know that whatever you are providing will help them further their agenda and make their life easier. This is a fundamental change management principle. If your colleagues, or subordinates for that matter, do not see the benefit to them, you will be fighting an up-hill battle on a daily basis. Ultimately, and unlike any game of chess I’ve seen, the goal is to all come out winning. Creating wins for the whole team is a measure of a great leader inside and outside the boardroom.
Be Authentic. The most impactful leaders are authentic. Your peers, and frankly everyone on your team, will be able to sniff out if you are not keeping it real. You will not gain followership if you are seen as inauthentic. Quite the contrary; you will lose credibility.
Understanding the art and science of communication will set you apart from the rest, in any room. Paying attention to your audience will provide you with the power to achieve any goals you set. The key to this style of leadership is actively listening, knowing your team, gathering data about each of them, being compassionate and empathetic, involving them all in developing the solutions and providing support while empowering them to take responsibility, ownership and accountability. It might sound like a lot at first, yet once you start to practice communicating strategically and with intention, you’ll find you already have many of the skills you need.
- Jessica Lightbourne PCC, is a co-founder of International Coaching & Leadership Institute [ICLI], specialising in coaching BIPOC leaders to aspire to and achieve exponential career advancement. Questions? Email her at jessica@iclitraining.com.
