Today’s leaders are repeatedly faced with new challenges at every level to take their organizations into uncharted territories. Challenges of this magnitude, in fact, present leadership opportunities to everyone. That means today’s leaders must not only function at the top, but throughout every layer of the organization. 

Maximizing talented people is more essential for organizational success than ever. Leaders continually need to effectively persuade and support a wide range of valuable knowledge workers to generate new ideas, develop new products, and create new pathways to achieve goals. 

“The old bases of managerial authority are eroding, and new tools of leadership are taking their place… The new managerial work… involves communication and collaboration across functions, across divisions, and across companies whose activities and resources overlap. Thus rank, title, or official charter will be less important factors to success in the new managerial work than having the knowledge, skills, and sensitivity to mobilize people and motivate them to do their best.”

Rosabeth Moss Kanter “The New Managerial Work”

Influencing others to collaborate effectively in reaching goals is a major requirement for today’s leaders. One way leaders can exert favorable influence is through communicating to individuals in ways that are personally meaningful and acceptable to them. Appropriate communication prompts motivation in people to take action and produce outstanding results. 

“Any time you try to influence the behavior of someone else in an organizational setting, you are engaging in an act of leadership. In a general sense, leadership is an influence process of working with and through people to accomplish their goals and the goals of the organization.”

Expanding your ability to influence begins with examining your own natural communication style and the powerful motivators you project to others (but that you may not be aware of) through that style. Communication skills can be learned and perfected with practice. The end results include improved leadership capabilities and organizational effectiveness, which are well worth the investment. 

Following is a brief example of how communication styles differ. If someone’s communication style is naturally DIRECT and focused on TASK and UTIITY, it may come across to others in this way: 

He or she will be less effective in influencing people who prefer an INDIRECT style with a focus on PEOPLE and KNOWLEDGE, who may communicate this way:

Both styles of communication can be effective – but the key is knowing when to use one rather than the other. You will no doubt have a preference, and that style will influence you more favorably. What is your natural/preferred style?

When you are aware of your own and others’ communication styles, then you can begin to assess and adjust your scope of effectiveness in influencing and leading others. Without this personal examination and an investment in learning about communication styles, a leader’s “voice” is frozen on “one sound track.” Their influence will largely be confined to individuals who relate favorably to that particular style of communication, but others may not be listening. 

Understanding one’s personal communications styles and applying this skill to interface more effectively with other individuals and groups can significantly expand your organization’s LEADERSHIP EFFECTIVENESS.