Leaders Are Great "Conversationalists"

A very commonly held belief is that "everything rises and falls on leadership." If that is true, it begs the question, "What does leadership rise and fall on?"

My belief, along with others I work with, is that leadership rises and falls on the leader's ability to effectively communicate with their followers in the regular, mundane conversations of everyday life. You can be great at formulating vision, creating strategy, planning for execution or closing the big deals. But, if you cannot effectively communicate the vision, the strategy or the plan in the ordinary conversations with those you are leading, your overall effectiveness as a leader will fall very short. In addition, if you are not drawing them into the conversation so that it is a meaningful, two-way communication, you will encounter the same problems in achieving results.

How well do you do at making your followers feel like an active part of the conversation? Do they feel heard? Are you drawing out their best everyday? Are you getting them fully engaged in the battle? They are your key to success in the end.