March - April 2008
Published by Geoff Kelly, Kelly Strategic Influence

Wisdom to lead minds:

“The words with which you communicate determine the quality of your life.”

Your Words Define Your Impact

How many times have you heard someone say “It’s just words”?

If they really meant it, they were missing a profound truth. All great leaders make meaning for people by carefully choosing the words that get others excited and acting on their ideas. Both choosing powerful words and ordering them in powerful sequences are the leadership keys to unlocking attention, conviction and action in others.

This has always been true of historical leaders from Hannibal to Napoleon to Churchill. Perhaps it is even truer today with the chaotic chatter of thousands of messages a day forcing everyone to protect themselves from increasing and mostly unwelcome intrusions. As people batten down advertisers and other would-be persuaders shout louder and more often – and it just seems to get worse.

The leader’s skill with language is much more than being able to cut through this clutter. It also is about their ability to think clearly. The better a leader can express his or her thoughts in clear evocative words, the more clearly he or she actually thinks. Perhaps George Orwell said it best: “…the slovenliness of our language makes it easier for us to have foolish thoughts.”

For example, examine the following paragraph from a CEO’s letter in the report of a major global financial group:

“Our care and support for our people remains an important priority. It is their relationships and expertise that will ensure our business continues to grow while we help customers during this period of relative economic uncertainty.”

This looks ordinary and unremarkable because it is typical of most business and government language today. At one level it seems a blinding flash of the obvious, but is it really? Is it clear what “care and support or our people constitutes”? Or how their relationships and expertise will continue to grow the business, or help their customers? This is the language of abstraction – so general as to be almost devoid of meaning. And if Orwell is right, perhaps also of meaningful thought itself.

Ask yourself these questions of this passage and of others like it that wash into your inbox, in tray and mail box:

• What pictures does it create in your mind?
• What feelings does it evoke?
• What actions would you consider upon reading it?
• What kind of leader would write it?

Noted linguist Richard Lederer calls concrete language the language of control because it enables the leader to control the message rather than cede it to the prospective follower. Abstractions require others to work harder to assign meanings, and make it more likely they will differ from the original intent.

So leadership language needs to be concrete to lead others to action. The endless abstractions and woolly language of most of today’s business and government language is both dull and uninspiring. Much of it also is almost devoid of useful meaning and equates to the mindless chatter characteristic of most day-time talk-back radio programs.

While on one level we can argue that cutting through is difficult given the competition of so many channels and messages. However, on another we can see the opportunity created by the fact that so much of it is devoid of meaning, emotion and audience focus.

Therefore those leaders who want to lead only have to take their ideas seriously enough to package them in the language of leadership. They will not only stand out, they also will think and act more clearly, and people starving for real leadership will follow.

So how do they adopt this language of leadership? Start by thinking, speaking and writing in concrete language – the simple words and phrases that put interesting picture in our minds. And avoid the safe abstractions and complications that have crept in to cripple the business-speak of so many failing leaders of today.

More next month...

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Geoff Kelly works with leaders who are frustrated that others don't fully support their ideas and strategies. He mainly works with corporate leaders around the world, but also leaders in Government and Not for Profit. He is also a popular speaker on this and related subjects. See www.kellystrategicinfluence.com.au, email [email protected] or call +613 9678 9218 for more information

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© 2006-2008 Geoff Kelly All rights reserved.
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