Leading from the Front: Communications

If contemporary leadership involves leading from the front - then mastering all aspects of modern communications that aid with being at the front - must surely rank as one of the key capabilities of today’s accomplished leader. Let’s start with strategy: it isn’t just about developing or designing a strategy for your organisation. It’s much more about having the strategic foresight to see what’s over the horizon, while thinking and planning strategically … and then communicating that vision to those you lead, and to those you seek to influence.

That innate ability to communicate should ripple through everything you do: from leading meetings, to writing briefs and policy and appearing at committees, to creating speeches that have impact. Along the way, you should master the communication techniques needed to negotiate and influence as well as master the art of having those difficult conversations – with staff or clients -  that are bound to come up from time to time.

Our courses and programs are specifically designed to help you reach expert level not only in these more obvious forms of communication, but to  also become highly proficient in more tacit, non-verbal forms of communication, such as championing acceptable behaviour and conveying that to those around you.

The attributes of Leadership

There are many types of leader; however, if you were to put leadership under the magnifying glass for a few minutes and to ask what the most common traits of successful leadership were – the ones that define a superb leader – then several key attributes are going to continually show up. First, the accomplished leader is highly organised: he or she can lead and manage not only the bigger picture,  but monitor progress down to the granular level through superb project management capabilities. The second attribute of the accomplished leader is ‘political nous’: the ability to read a situation, to read others and to capitalise on opportunities as they arise while navigating the complexities of the environment - the contextual backdrop - that they move in. Third, the ability to lead change is inherent, change being an inevitable part of the business dynamic. Leading others to understand change and direct them, efficiently and with minimal disruption, through it, is a defining characteristic of the skilful leader. The fourth key attribute of the successful leader is greater than normal resilience: the seasoned leader works at pace, effectively and efficiently and without letting things disturb or interrupt them or put them off course.

Some would say these traits are acquired through (prolonged) experience. We respectfully disagree. While that’s partially true, attributes – of whatever type – can be learnt, if the program and the trainer are correctly prepared. Our leadership courses and workshops are designed to accomplish exactly this: to instil the attributes of today’s leader, in a learning context, thus shortening the time it takes to acquire them, while providing a supportive and collaborative atmosphere in which to forge the capabilities of effective leaders.