The language of leaders, wherefore leadership?
Posted By
Dr Wilson Wong
24 January 2012
On Thursday evening (19 January 2012) I had the pleasure of welcoming Kevin Murray, Chairman of the Bell Pottinger Group, to a conversation about his new book, The Language of Leaders: How top CEOs communicate to inspire, influence and achieve results.
In the same week, Save the Children and Oxfam launched a damning report, A Dangerous Delay , which highlighted the human cost of poor leadership when governments and donor agencies demand proof of a humanitarian disaster before committing life-changing resources. One Government department estimated that as a consequence of such delays between 50,000 to 100,000 people died between April to August 2011, more than half of those were children below the age of five. A mental note for ‘wannabe leaders’ – waiting for demonstrable proof before acting can cost not less than everything.
So how can the language of leaders avert such dangers? On initial inspection, Murray’s book demonstrates the importance of effective communications for promoting leaders and their vision for the organisations they lead. To quote Murray, “The difference between competent communications and inspiring communication can be the difference between poor performance and outstanding results”. But Murray’s book is more than that. It is a distillation of 60 engaging interviews into a schema that reflects his understanding of the demands on a leader as a communicator, underpinned by more fundamental issues of what it means to be in a position of leadership. As ever, the seduction is that we might occasionally catch a glimpse of what makes these leaders tick.
The Moral Compass
At the heart of Murray’s communications schema for effective leadership is “Be Yourself, Better”, but it is never clear what happens if that leader marches to a more Machiavellian beat. The presumption is that the ‘moral compass’ of leaders is at worst benign. Understandably, Murray’s synthesis of the interviews doesn’t dwell on the darker side of climbing the corporate ladder. Now that would be telling.
The issue of the ‘moral compass’ is a recurring theme in many of the interviews. Words like “authenticity”, “sincerity”, “honesty” and “openness” reflect their awareness of that dimension to being a leader. Prof Warren G Bennis, the psychologist who pioneered Leadership Studies, defined leaders as people who do the right thing, and not merely for the firm. It means standing by values even when these prove costly. This has particular resonance with the loss of trust in CEOs, politicians, investment bankers, even institutions like the Central Banks, regulators, the judiciary, police, rating agencies, etc. The simmering resentment over the spectacular rise and rise of executive pay across the land, and the ever widening gulf between executive rewards and the rest, is merely the visible tip of our vanishing confidence in those entrusted to protect the nation’s interests. Wherefore leadership?
Generational perspectives to leadership
A member of the audience, Dame Mary Marsh, Director of the Clore Social Leadership programme, wondered if Murray missed a trick in not interviewing a less mature sample of leaders; the presumption being that the Gen Ys and Millennials are more adept in responding to a globalised marketplace in constant flux. Such a view implies that that our values and priorities may have shifted. In my own investigations into generational differences, these stereotypes are largely overplayed. Murray did share with the audience that, generally, the mature leaders seemed more attentive to the City while their younger counterparts seemed to foreground social issues. One wonders if the focus on the City played a role in the careers of Tony Hayward of BP and Fred Goodwin of RBS...
Much of what is on offer in the book is familiar, having been close to The Work Foundation’s Outstanding Leadership research programme which collected three years of 360 degree interview data on 77 people recognised as good leaders in BAE Systems, EDF Energy, Guardian Media Group, Serco, Tesco and Unilever. From that emerged fairly stable broad dimensions to leadership which have since evolved into a leadership development programme.
That said it’s not surprising that The Language of Leaders is a bestseller. It’s a well-written book that offers a thoughtful distillation for a leader who wants to know what other leaders are thinking and doing and is an opportunity for others to ‘up their game’ as communicators. There are many lessons and tips that I shall certainly try to use for the benefit of my organisation. The stories in Murray’s book also encouraged me to reflect deeper on the demands placed on the contemporary leader. Are we expecting the impossible when shareholders and the City assess leader effectiveness primarily on growth and profits, while regulators define and constrain what is possible in the role of a CEO? Is the risk aversion of the donors to Somalia’s plight symptomatic of a world wedded to the celebrity of leaders but not leadership?
As Murray points out developing as a leader is a journey, and I am certain his book will inspire its readers to reflect on the meaning and purpose of leadership beyond the instrumental.
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