“The successful company is not the one with the most brains, but the most brains acting in concert.” Musing on that thought from Peter Drucker, I wondered: if a successful company, business or organization is like a great concert, then how is the role of the leader of the organization like that of an orchestral concert conductor or a choirmaster? Here are some parallels that I saw.
The leader prompts and cues his players and directs execution and delivery of the performance.
The leader keeps time. You set the pace for your leadership team and for the organization as a whole. They will follow your lead. It’s your responsibility to adjust speed when needed as the performance progresses.
The leader maintains harmony between all the parts of the team.
The leader molds a team out of individual performers.
The leader follows the score. The analog of a score for a business is its vision, mission and strategic objectives. As leader, you are responsible for keeping the big picture in mind always, hearing the whole work and delivering the plan.
The leader delivers a quality product to the audience (your customers). You set the standard of quality for your group.
The leader listens to the individual performers on his team and monitors the harmony that they create together. The leader is visible to all the performers. The members of your team need to be able to see you and get their cues from you.
The leader gives the audience something to look at. In a classical performance, the orchestra conductor is the one who is usually doing the most moving. But whatever the context, the leader is usually the name, the face and the voice that the public sees and associates with the team. As leader, people are watching you and your actions count; remember this.
As
a communications practitioner and a member of both Toastmasters International
and the International Association of Business Communicators, I am passionate
about achieving and promoting excellence in both oral and written communication,
in all spheres of life. This post is the first in an occasional series where I’ll
share examples of great communication that I’ve found and techniques that
anyone can use to improve their own speaking and writing.
[Alex Dunne/Flickr]
Padmasree Warrior is a Senior Vice
President of Engineering and the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Cisco, the
company that builds the hardware and software that make up the heart, bones and
nerves of the global internet.
She
is a respected leader in her company—responsible for driving innovation and
strategy and overseeing the efforts of 24,000 engineers—as well as in her
industry. She has been named one of the 100 most creative people in business
and in 2009 was on President Obama’s shortlist of candidates to become the first
CTO of the US federal government.
Here
is the video of a keynote speech that Padmasree gave at the 2009 Women of
Vision Awards ceremony honouring outstanding women in the field of technology. In
it, she talks about leadership and managing
personal change.I think it is a great example of excellence in public
speaking. Padmasree delivers herself in a way that is engaging, authentic and memorable
and she does so with great skill.
Regardless
of whether your next speaking assignment is a talk before a social group, a
business presentation or a dinnertime keynote address, here are five things you can learn and apply from this talk to improve
your next speech.
1.Speak from your personal
experience. Padmasree
devotes the biggest part of her talk here to sharing the story of her own personal
and professional growth, beginning as a teenager in southern India and later traveling
to the USA to further study and begin her career as an engineer. In talking
about her life, she could relate to her audience—and them to her—since she was
speaking to current and future women leaders working in Silicon Valley, like
herself.
If you are invited to speak to a group, remember that it’s because they think you have something they want to hear. In
deciding what to say, bear in mind that speaking out of your own experience or
personal conviction will enable you to be most authentic and more engaging. Look
into your own life for the experiences, insights or lessons that are most
meaningful to you and that reflect your chosen subject; then share them in a
way that will relate to and benefit your audience.
2.Add a little laughter.
Right
at the beginning of her remarks, Padmasree is able to share in a natural, humorous
way the conflicting advice that her friends gave her while she was preparing to
deliver this very speech. Laughter puts everyone at ease—the speaker as well as
the audience—and lets the audience know that, hey, this is someone I could listen
to for the next 15 or 20 minutes. Never try to force jokes into your speech—especially
if you’re terrible at telling them!—but it’s always good to start with
something that will make everyone laugh a little and relax.
3.Tell ‘em what you’re
gonna tell ‘em. The
speaker here starts the core of her talk by listing the five life lessons that
she wants to share and then goes on to elaborate each point. This is a classic
technique speakers use to build a talk: first, outline your main points, then develop
each one in turn and, finally, recap and close. The audience knows exactly
where you are going at any point and can follow along.
It’s best to make no more than three key points in a short speech—and never
more than 5 or 6 even in a longer one. Outlining and reiterating your key points
gives your audience a mental “frame” they can use to hang your words on and helps
them to better recall your message after you’ve left.
4.Smile. Padmasree’s smile is
broad and warm all the way through her talk. A genuine smile while you speak
helps gives your voice a warm and pleasant tone, shows that you’re relaxed (even
if you don’t quite feel that way) and
puts your audience at ease. So smile early and often whenever you have to speak
in public.
5.Practice. I’m sure that this masterful
presentation by Padmasree didn’t happen by accident. From her choice of words, speech
structure, poise and body language, you can clearly see that a good deal of preparation
must have gone into delivering the final result. No matter whether your own
speaking commitment is a major keynote address or just a few minutes of
remarks, practice and rehearsal beforehand will always pay dividends on the
day. You will get to hear and improve your voice, to fine-tune the words of
your script and to really see how effectively the whole speech comes together.
Practice saying the words—out loud—and if you can, do so in front of another
person(s) and get their honest feedback. When you take time to prepare in
advance, it shows respect for your audience and allows you to deliver at your
best.
Every
businessperson and professional—man or woman—can take something valuable away
from this excellent talk by Padmasree Warrior in which she also shares the five skills women need to be effective
leaders today and in the future.
The
video is in three short segments, you can begin watching the first part here.
Enjoy.
BONUS: Early in her career as an executive, Padmasree Warrior sought out help to strengthen her personal communication skills. Feedback from her colleagues at the time indicated that she was seen as a brilliant and talented rising star. However, her peers thought that she was too soft-spoken and not assertive enough as a communicator and leader. I think you’ll agree that her years of work and practice in this area have really paid off! Padmasree sought out an executive coach but if you’re looking for a proven, inexpensive way to improve your own communication skills, consider looking into Toastmasters.
In their cover feature that appeared in Fortune in June 1999, management consultant Ram Charan and senior editor Geoffrey Colvin looked at many of the big-name CEO’s of major American corporations who fell from grace or were fired from their positions during the 1990’s (and there were plenty).
The authors estimated that, most of the time, the fatal issue was not that the chief didn't have a compelling strategic vision for their business, or wasn't capable or hard-working enough. The problem was simply bad execution on their part.
“Not getting things done, being indecisive, not delivering on commitments,”— this was the undoing of many a brilliant career.
Apart from their own weakness on this score, these CEO’s very often failed to deal decisively with their poorly performing managers. Even though they may have recognized the problem, for reasons such as personal loyalty or the particular manager's influence or popularity, the CEO failed to act — and the organization ultimately failed to deliver.
In contrast, the most effective CEO’s focus the organization on a few, key initiatives that are clear and specific. They keep track of assignments and follow-up on them. They don't launch a new business initiative until those in progress are embedded in the company's DNA. Commitments are everything.
We believe that Charan and Colvin’s insights are applicable not just to corporate CEO’s but to leaders in every sphere— of small enterprises as well as big businesses, of social organizations, in politics. Performance matters more than promises.
The leader has a responsibility to maintain and communicate focus, to set high standards for his/her subordinates and model them, and to be prepared to “call out” members of their team who don't deliver. Focus and follow-through on what you say you’ll do is the difference between mere nice-sounding strategy and achieving actual success.
Charan and Colvin argued that getting execution right would become one of the leader’s most important tasks in the 21st century economy. We think that they were right on the money.
