Language of Leaders: How Top CEOs Communicate to Inspire, Influence and Achieve Results

240 Pages·2012·2.27 MB·English

by  Kevin Murray

i
The
Language
of Leaders
How top CEOs
communicate to
inspire, influence
and achieve results
Kevin Murray
KoganPage
ii
Publisher’s note
Every possible effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in this book
is accurate at the time of going to press, and the publishers and author cannot accept
responsibility for any errors or omissions, however caused. No responsibility for loss or
damage occasioned to any person acting, or refraining from action, as a result of the mate-
rial in this publication can be accepted by the editor, the publisher or the author.
First published in Great Britain and the United States in 2012 by Kogan Page Limited
Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review,
as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be
reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in
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and licences issued by the CLA. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside these terms should be
sent to the publishers at the undermentioned addresses:
120 Pentonville Road 1518 Walnut Street, Suite 1100 4737/23 Ansari Road
London N1 9JN Philadelphia PA 19102 Daryaganj
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www.koganpage.com India
© Kevin Murray, 2012
The right of Kevin Murray to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in
accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
ISBN 978 0 7494 6396 0
E-ISBN 978 0 7494 6439 4
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Murray, Kevin, 1928-
The language of leaders : how top CEOs communicate to inspire, influence and achieve results
/ Kevin Murray.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-7494-6396-0 – ISBN 978-0-7494-6439-4 1. Leadership. 2. Chief executive
officers. 3. Communication in management. I. Title.
HD57.7.M868 2011
658.4’5–dc23
2011025427
Typeset by Graphicraft Limited, Hong Kong
Print production managed by Jellyfish
Printed and bound by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon, CR0 4YY
iii
To my wife, who inspires our family
iv
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v
ConTenTs
Introduction: communicate to inspire 1
Part One Why you need to be a better
communicator if you want to lead
7
01 napoleon’s leadership legacy 9
The shots that echo through time 9
‘Create leaders everywhere!’ 10
The importance of understanding the commander’s intent 11
Communication is the glue that binds strategy and delivery
together 12
Keep it simple 13
Free people up with a tight framework 14
Stand up for what you believe in 14
Key points from Chapter 1 16
02 Leadership transformed – life in the fishbowl 17
Perpetual communication 17
The questions that really matter 19
The new partnership driving transparency 21
Stories evolve at an incredible pace 23
Internal e-mails can be very public 24
Most leadership communication is not fit for purpose 25
Businesses are like open democracies 26
Leaders must create leaders 26
Radical transparency needs radical thinking 27
Key points from Chapter 2 29
03 The 12 principles of leadership communication 30
Be yourself, better 31
Mission and values 31
Future focus 32
Bring the outside in 32
Engage through conversations 33
vi Contents
Audience centricity 33
Listening 33
Point of view 34
Stories and anecdotes 34
Signals 35
Prepare properly for public platforms 35
Learn, rehearse, review, improve 35
Part twO The fundamentals 37
04 Learn to be yourself, better 39
What followers want from leaders 40
What do leaders want from the leaders they hire? 41
Talking from the heart 42
Be visible, be human and be straight 44
To be seen as a hero, you have to be a hero 46
All-round authenticity 47
Have the confidence to be you 48
Know your strengths to be yourself better 49
How do you go about identifying your values and mission? 50
A springboard to action, a leadership platform 51
The need for emotion in business 52
Key points from Chapter 4 54
05 Provide a framework for leadership and action,
through mission and values 55
Values build trust 58
Why people love a motivating mission 59
Employees want a good mission statement 61
Employees need to feel part of the story 62
The need to raise people’s sights 62
Externally, a purpose wider than profit is needed 63
Be an engine of progress for humankind 64
Involve everyone in your mission 66
Reputations at risk 67
The need for speed and the need to create leaders 68
Three examples of mission and values at work 69
Make sure the values resonate 72
The value of values 73
Key points from Chapter 5 74
Contents vii
06 Communicate the future to drive the present 75
To talk about the future, you have to be very clear about the
future 76
Back to the future, over and over 77
Keep people engaged in the future 78
Your future must embrace all stakeholders 79
Four examples of how leaders bring mission, values, vision and
goals together 79
Bring to life the customer’s experience 84
Key points from Chapter 6 85
07 Bring the outside in and focus on building relationships
and trust 86
Loss of your ‘licence to operate’ 88
Managing the intangible asset of relationships 88
The virtuous circle in relationships 90
The real value of trust 90
Watch out for the reputation gap 91
The three dimensions of trust 92
Why leaders need to inject more character into their
communication 92
The health warning on building trust 93
How to unlock the value in relationships 94
Tuning in to the court of public opinion 95
Get your hands dirty 96
If need be, actually bring the client in 97
The customer experience brings the vision alive 97
How to develop quivering antennae 98
But what do I do with the insights? 98
Key points from Chapter 7 99
08 engage and align through conversations 100
What is an engaged employee? 101
Myth: ‘People are our only asset’ 102
Engagement at the heart of strategy 102
Choice, not change 103
The ingredients of engagement 104
Measure and monitor engagement 105
Input equals buy-in 106
Don’t dominate the conversation 107
If communication is so important, where is the training? 108
Key points from Chapter 8 109
viii Contents
Part three Communicate,
communicate, communicate
111
09 It’s all about them – the need for audience
centricity 113
It’s not what you say; it’s what they hear 114
What do you want them to think, feel and do? 115
Don’t change the message; change the way you deliver it 116
How audience centricity helped to establish Canary Wharf 117
The story of the privy 118
How to think about your audience 119
Key points from Chapter 9 120
10 The inspiring effect of listening leaders 121
Be interested, be respectful and be patient 122
What stops effective listening? 124
Listen with your eyes, ears and heart 124
Listen for solutions 125
Why leaders should be passionate about bad news 126
Leaders can listen in different ways 127
When you listen, you must respond 128
The killer questions leaders should ask 129
Good listening + a bias to action = results 130
Key points from Chapter 10 131
11 stand up to stand out – why you need a point
of view 132
Using a point of view to take a stand 134
Why you need an answer that works instantly 135
The corrosive effect of not taking a stand 136
What makes a good point of view? 136
Key points from Chapter 11 137
12 The power of stories 139
Stories tell us great truths 140
Logic gets to the brain, stories get to the heart 141
The four types of business stories 142
Good stories are easy to find and easy to tell 146
Choosing the right story 147
One simple story can achieve more than a volume of rules 148
Key points from Chapter 12 149
Contents ix
13 Watch out for the undermining signals beyond the
words 151
It’s written on your face 152
People watch your body language too 153
When being visible is the message 155
Model the behaviours you want 156
The meaning between the lines 156
Symbolic acts send lasting messages 157
Speaking off the cuff 157
Key points from Chapter 13 158
14 Prepare properly for public platforms 160
Get the right training and do the right preparation 162
Remember, every word counts 163
Simple messages repeated often 164
Top tips for dealing with the media 165
The essence of good presentations and speeches 166
Communicating in a crisis 168
And what about the web and social media and Twitter
and...? 172
Key points from Chapter 14 173
Part FOur Conclusion 175
15 Learn, rehearse, review, improve; become fluent in the
language of leaders 177
A top-three skill of leadership, yet sadly neglected 179
Strive to be an excellent communicator, and you will improve
results 180
The language of leaders 182
16 If you remember nothing else... 182
Meet the leaders interviewed for this book 187
Thanks 222
Index 223
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