August 2012: Don’t underestimate the power of intuition.

Each of us is born with an amazing gift: intuition. It’s our internal navigation system; a source of knowledge from within.  It is constantly sending us messages that tell us whether we’re making the right decisions or moving in the right direction.  These messages come in the form of a hunch, a sense about something; a “gut feel.”

Many of us fail to realize the full power of our intuition because we’re either too frenetic to hear it or we don’t trust it enough to act.  We discount it. We worry that it’s wrong.  We second-guess ourselves.   And in the end, we allow our heads to overrule it – often to the detriment of ourselves and our organizations.

Today, take a moment to write down all the times you have had an intuitive hunch. Note where you listened to your gut. What happened? Note where you didn't listen to your gut. What happened?

What does this tell you about your own intuitive power?  Your intuition is there to serve you.  So let it!

July 2012: What's in it for them?

Whether you're in an informal or formal role as a business leader, thought leader or opinion leader, your job is to bring others along...to influence and inspire people to buy into, commit and act on a goal or mission.

Leaders often overlook the importance of making their messages relevant and meaningful to their audiences. Whether it's an employee, customer, peer, partner, investor, social media follower or other stakeholder, they're asking one central question: what's in it for me? When you frame your communication to address this essential question, you help people personally connect with your messages which increases the likelihood that they'll buy into, commit and act on them.

Before you communicate, ask yourself, "what does this audience really care about?" Different groups of people care about different things, and if you customize your messages to address their particular questions and concerns, your communication will rise to a new level of effectiveness. It takes a little more work to tailor your communication in this fashion, but it's well worth the extra effort.

April 2012: Find Your Own Voice

As leaders, it’s easy to fall into the trap of trying to sound like someone else. We ask speechwriters to make us sound good.  We have ghost-writers pen communications that might be eloquent but fail to reflect our natural speech patterns and language.  Or maybe we do our own communicating but we work diligently to project the expected (and dreaded) “corporate voice” instead of our own.  Remember that your style of communicating – your unique voice -- is a vital element of your authentic leadership.

Even more important than style is substance.  To find your leadership voice, you must also pinpoint the issues and aspirations that mean the most to you and ensure that those messages become an integral, consistent part of your communications platform. 

Remember that when it comes to communications, authenticity trumps eloquence every time.  This is particularly true in the context of building trust, which is the cornerstone of effective leadership.  It’s fine to have other people assist with your communications.  Just be sure they’re capturing the real you.