Page 22 - The Voice of Authority

Executives and boards of directors hire consultants to
have similar conversations.

The Herd Mentality
Bad models—leaders, documents, presentations, speeches,
meeting agendas, facilitators—exist everywhere. People
feel safer if they communicate “like everyone else.” Differ-
ent draws attention. Same is secure.

Your Golden Career Opportunity:
Clear Up the Communication Clutter

According to the late Peter Drucker, writing in the Har-
vard Business Review, summarizing his 65-year consulting
career with CEOs, one of the eight key tenets of effective
executives is taking responsibility for communication.
Leaders lead; they take responsibility for the communica-
tion culture. Managers maintain; they go with the status
quo.
Leaders become the face or human connection of an or-
ganization. They “connect” with other people—cowork-
ers, clients, partners, each other—to get things done.
Specifically, they communicate values. They act consis-
tently with those values. They communicate respect and
concern. They tell the truth.
What’s the payoff to the organization?
The latest annual Watson Wyatt Communication ROI
Study substantiates that companies with effective com-
munication practices have a 19 percent higher market pre-
mium and a 57 percent higher shareholder return over five
years than companies with ineffective communication
practices. That potential payoff is too promising to ig-
nore.

10 The Voice of Authority