People often ask what the connection is between leadership and communication. The answer is simple—You cannot be a truly great leader without being an exceptional communicator. The link between the two is undeniable and should be obvious to most, yet, it often gets missed. Sometimes people think being a great leader is about being the smartest person in the room. It isn’t. Great leadership is about connecting with others and creating a sense of confidence and camaraderie with team members. None of this happens without exceptional communication skills, which involves more than giving a great speech.
So much has been written and said about winning Super Bowl coach Tom Coughlin’s dramatic change in his communication and leadership style over the past several months. In fact, Star-Ledger business reporter Joe Perone wrote an article on February 5 entitled; “Tom Coughlin’s Conversion,” which explored Coughlin’s impressive metamorphosis.
Sometimes leadership is hard to clearly define, but very often you know it when you see it. Instead of seeking a generic definition of leadership, it is more useful to ask those who actually lead to describe how they do it and the lessons they’ve learned.
Leaders Must Communicate "Bad News"
Succession planning. It’s easy to talk a good game when it comes to planning for the future of an organization, but practicing it is a different story. Every organization must have a strong plan of succession and a few leaders ready to step up and take charge when and if the current boss steps aside or is forced out for health or other reasons.
Passion is a funny thing. You know it when you see it; you know it when you don’t. Passion is one of the keys to great leadership and persuasive communication. If we don’t believe that someone cares deeply, we get a negative feeling.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell recently stepped up and demonstrated the kind of clear and decisive leadership that is rare in the world of business. Goodell acted and communicated swiftly and with great clarity in responding to a series of embarrassing public relations scandals including the Michael Vick dog fighting fiasco, several Pacman Jones criminal matters and finally “videotape-gate” involving Patriots coach Bill Belichick and his three-time Super Bowl Champions. The New England Patriots were caught red-handed a couple of weeks ago using a videographer to essentially cheat and steal signals from the New York Jets.