Five takeaways for communication in leadership
I don’t know about you, but when I think about communication class, I have some pretty wicked flashbacks to my freshman year of college and the speech class I had to take to get a credit towards the degree I was working on.
Fast forward about 30 years, and here I am, finding myself in a doctoral program, taking a communication in leadership course, not knowing what to expect, and hoping it’s not a repeat of the dreaded public speaking class (even though that is essentially what we’re doing, but it’s in the age of social media, so now we can be on video instead of in front of a bunch of other college freshmen. Also, no offense intended if you’re a college freshman, this video is for you, too!!).
Little did I know what a game-changer this course would be, both in my way of thinking about communication in leadership, and how I’m doing communication in leadership.
We just finished reading Ruben & Gigliotti’s 2019 text, Leadership, Communication, and Social Influence, and it was filled with really great information about communication in leadership.
If you’re thinking, ‘but wait, I’m not a leader’ I hope you will pause right there. This subject of communication in leadership isn’t about titles. It’s about influence. And every single one of us has it.
Besides, you are ALWAYS a leader in my eyes. Yes, you. When I say you, I mean everyone reading this.
I believe that everyone is a self-leader, and self-leaders can be transformational and influential. Titles don’t really matter when you think of it that way.
In everyday conversations, whether we’re at work or home or online, we are influencing how others feel, think, act, and react. That’s leadership. And whether you realize it or not, you’re already communicating with impact. That’s right! Whether you are thinking about it or not, your communication in all its forms is impacting other people all the time.
Let that resonate for a second.
As a big believer in the power of self-leadership, communication is a HUGE aspect of great self-leadership. But really the big takeaway for me after reading this text is that as humans, we cannot avoid communication: it’s what we do. When we’re not sleeping, we’re communicating, so perhaps we should consider whether we’re doing it well.
In reading this text I walked away with five major takeaways that I’m sharing this week in a five-video series, one for each takeaway. Each video in this series is just 3-4 minutes and explores a simple, powerful idea that will help you become more intentional, more authentic, and more effective as a communicator—so you can lead from wherever you are, regardless of your title or position.
The five takeaways are:
1. To be human is to be communicative
2. Communication is not linear
3. Anyone can create influence through communication
4. Communication and leadership are inextricably linked
5. Anyone who chooses to lead through influence can resonate with others
The topic of communication is so much more than I gave it credit for (I’m always considering myself a work in progress), and the learning in this text is well worth your time and effort to consider in your personal growth and self-leadership efforts. So, let’s get started—and discover the power of self-leadership within you.