Page 104 - Great Communication Secrets of Great Leaders

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GREAT COMMUNICATION SECRETS OF GREAT LEADERS
need to transform themselves in the face of crises and when they are try-
ing to capitalize on new opportunities. The fact that people belong to the
organization will make them inclined to respond to the call to action if
they deem it consistent with organizational goals and values.
Social proof involves people’s going with the flow because others are
82 have made to the organization. We see calls to action when organizations
doing it. Cialdini cites the example of canned laughter as a tried-and-
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true method of inducing people to laugh. The leader who asks others to
follow her or his example is employing the concept of social proof. The
challenge for the leader is to follow through, to do what she or he
promised to do. Social proof can be a validator of work/life integration;
the leader who takes time off to participate in a child’s school activity is
leading by example if the same opportunity is afforded to others in the
organization.
Liking simply reflects the fact that people will associate with those
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whom “they know and like.” The leader who is often seen and heard,
and who is perceived as someone that people want to be around, is an
example of liking. However, while it is true that the leader whom every-
one likes will have a better chance of getting others to follow, likability
is not a leadership prerequisite. It may even be a detriment to leader-
ship, because the desire to be liked may cause a leader to put off the
tough decisions. When it comes to leadership, it is more helpful to
think of liking as a form of respect. Respect can emerge from knowing
the leader and liking what he or she stands for.

Authority refers to an individual or a group’s willingness to obey those
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who they assume are in positions of control over them. Cialdini
describes the Milgram experiment, in which “students were willing to
deliver dangerous and severe levels of pain to another person because
they were directed to do so by an authority figure.” People will defer to
power and will do what they are told. It is up to the leader, however, to
use this power judiciously. The recent corporate finance scandals are
examples of situations in which underlings went along with their bosses
because they were told to do so. To speak up or point out the errors
would have been to risk career suicide. Authority in the wrong hands
can be a tool of the devil. Authority in the right hands is an instrument
of judicious leadership.
While authority and leadership are intertwined, position and leader-
ship are not. People can be appointed to positions of authority, but they
must earn their right to lead. People will defer to those in authority, but if
that authority is abused, people will either tune out or comply out of fear.