Facebook

Google

Twitter

Linkedin

Email

Story by Judith Humphrey

The goal for any leader is to build strong and productive relationships with their team and other stakeholders. And the best way to do this is by inspiring their audience every time they speak. This means creating believers with every set of remarks, whether they’re having a brief hallway conversation or delivering a keynote speech.

1. ADOPT AN INSPIRATIONAL MINDSET

The starting point for becoming an inspiring leader is developing the right mindset—one that is focused not on informing but on inspiring. Information, even when it’s up-to-date and accurate, lacks the power to move others. Avoid content-rich presentations or conversations full of too many facts. Instead, always be in “inspire” mode.

Inspire mode keeps you away from delivering content-heavy slides or numbing statistics, and instead gets you to engage your audience with your belief or idea. Bring your listeners to the realm of possibilities.

2. LISTEN INTENTLY

To inspire others, you need to listen intently. Leaders who fail to listen will not understand their audience’s mindset and they won’t be able to focus their message so it has maximum impact.

There are three ways to listen. First, listen with your body. Face your audience and align your body with the person (or people) to whom you are speaking. Stand or sit up straight. Keep a receptive expression on your face and make strong eye contact. Keep your arms open. This body language will send a message that you care about your audience.

Second, listen with your mind. You need to listen for the points the other person is making, and you also need to show that you’ve heard what they’ve said. You might interject phrases like “Oh, that’s so true” or “Yes, that’s a good point” or “I agree” or “Tell me more about that.” Such responses show that your mind is engaged and responsive.

Third, listen with your heart. When you listen with your heart, you show that you are emotionally engaged. Heartfelt responses include being polite, being sensitive, and using expressions like “I share your feelings” and “That must have been difficult.” (For a full discussion of these three ways to listen, consult the chapter “Listen, Listen, Listen” in my book Speaking as a Leader.)

3. SPEAK WITH A MESSAGE

If you want to inspire, you need to speak with a message. Without a big, central idea, you can’t expect people to follow you.

Your message should be stated at the beginning of your remarks and elaborated on by everything else you say. So, after opening your conversation or speech with a bridge or a grabber, get to your point. If you’re giving formal remarks, you might say “My message to you is . . .” If it’s a less formal situation, you might say, “I believe that . . .” Own your message and present it clearly at the beginning.

4. USE STRONG WORDS

Inspiring leaders use compelling language. They know that every word testifies to their credibility.

A leader’s language is confident. They own what they are saying with expressions like “I believe,” “I see,” “I know,” and “I care.”

They avoid tentative language like “I’m not sure,” “I don’t know,” and “I can’t.” They also avoid filler expressions like “um” and “ah.”

5. END WITH ACTION

Whether you are giving a formal presentation or offering a comment at a meeting, be sure to end your remarks with a call to action.

After a job interview, you might say to the candidate, “This has been a great meeting. We’ll be in touch with you shortly.” You might conclude a more formal presentation with “If we take the steps I have outlined, we will be a much stronger company. I look forward to your support for these initiatives.”

By ending with a call to action, you’ll move your audience from the present to the future you envision. You’ll inspire your listeners by taking them from “what is” to “what can be.”

This post originally appeared at fastcompany.com

Facebook

Google

Twitter

Linkedin

Email

Story by Bruce Eckfeldt

A strategy that remains clear only to leadership is a strategy that will fail in execution, no matter how brilliant it might be on paper.

In my work with scaling companies across various industries, I’ve consistently found that the difference between organizations that execute effectively and those that struggle isn’t the sophistication of their strategy—it’s the clarity and simplicity with which that strategy is understood throughout the organization.

Having facilitated hundreds of strategic planning sessions, I’ve seen firsthand how executives often mistake complexity for depth, creating strategies that sound impressive in the boardroom but collapse in implementation. The most successful companies invest as much in strategic clarity as they do in strategic development.

Democratize your strategy

A strategy that only your leadership team understands isn’t enough. For a company to execute effectively, everyone—from middle managers to frontline employees—needs to clearly understand what the business is focused on, whom it’s serving, and how it wins. When your strategy is too complex or your positioning is unclear, people waste time, duplicate efforts, and make decisions that pull the business in the wrong direction.

A simple, well-defined strategy benefits more than just your internal teams. It helps suppliers, partners, and vendors understand how to support your goals. It gives customers clarity about what you offer and what you don’t. It makes referrals easier because your network knows exactly whom you serve. And inside your business, it streamlines decision-making, capability-building, and long-term planning. Simplicity isn’t just a communication tool—it’s a strategic advantage.

The simplicity stress test

Most leadership teams overestimate how well their strategy is understood throughout the organization. To assess real strategic clarity, I often conduct a simple exercise with clients: Ask people at different levels of the company to write down in one or two sentences what the company does, whom it serves, and how it differentiates. The inconsistency of responses is typically eye-opening.

This exercise reveals not just communication gaps but strategy gaps. When frontline employees can’t articulate your core positioning, it’s not simply a messaging problem—it reflects fundamental uncertainty about where the business is heading and why. This uncertainty manifests in misaligned priorities, decision paralysis, and wasted resources.

The most effective companies I’ve worked with can pass this clarity test at every level. Their strategies aren’t necessarily simple in development, but they’re simple in articulation—clear enough that anyone can understand and apply them to daily decision-making. (more…)

Facebook

Google

Twitter

Linkedin

Email

Story by Voyo Popovic

It ensures you’re staying close to the vision, identifying areas for improvement, and driving faster, more informed decisions.

When I started Piece of Cake Moving in 2018, we had three employees. As the founder, I was involved in building every department. Although we’ve grown significantly since then, I still believe in being across every part of the company. As a founder, staying involved ensures you’re staying true to the vision. It also builds a deeper understanding of how every department operates, helps identify areas for improvement, and leads to faster, more informed decisions.

Balancing micromanaging and managing by absence

Managing by absence leaves tremendous room for error. This happens because you’re setting a general direction then allowing the team to follow their own course. Working closely with your team can help employees in the early stages of a new role or project succeed. It ensures that your team will understand what needs to be done and will be better equipped to achieve it.

At Piece of Cake, when there’s a new manager, they submit a report at the end of each day. The report details what they worked on, what they accomplished, and their feedback and ideas. The manager can use the report to share their ideas daily. This tool also empowers founders to see how a senior team member is spending their time and how they think.

As they grow into that role, I slowly step away. However, I still check in with direct reports once a week. I always leave time for them to bring up ideas. The more open communication there is, the more likely the team is to share feedback and their thoughts on ways to improve the business.

Course correct and make improvements faster

When you’re not across every department, it makes it difficult to fix issues and make improvements. If you stay close to the product, customer service, and sales team, especially early on, then there’s a tremendous opportunity to identify issues as they arise. You are also able to make the experience better constantly. If you’re so far removed, it takes a significant amount of time to learn about issues and what caused them. It also delays the process of coming up with a solution. Moreover, the solution might be wrong because you don’t have proper context with your team. It almost makes things worse than being involved from the beginning.

For example, during our early years, the company had an issue with the call abandonment rate, which was increasing by 10 percent, and the customer wait time, which was increasing by 125 percent. I hadn’t checked in with the customer service team leaders for months because I had fully delegated the work.

Once the issue arose, I realized I needed to work with the team much more closely to find a solution. I decided we needed to hire more people. However, if I had been more involved with the team, I would have known the core of the issue was that client calls were being transferred between departments, causing inefficiency and extending the get-to-solution time. My team implemented a solution. The lesson was you can let your team do what they do best, but still be involved and act as a resource to troubleshoot when needed.

Staying true to the company’s vision

The founder knows the company’s vision best. After you set the vision, there’s accountability in ensuring the business and teams continue to be aligned with that vision. If you’re not involved in every department, it is very difficult to communicate it. It is also easy for team leaders to unintentionally move away from it. The vision is key to how the team engages with customers. So it’s critical to make sure it’s clear across the company.

Piece of Cake’s vision is to excel at customer service, build future leaders, and care for our employees’ well-being. During periods of rapid growth, the team unintentionally moved away from two of these pillars to keep the pace. When that happened, I realized I was not involved enough with certain departments or that I was unintentionally managing by absence. It’s a great reminder to never be too hands off. Every opportunity is a reminder of not only your company goals for growth and revenue, but of its core vision and principles.

This post originally appeared at inc.com.

Facebook

Google

Twitter

Linkedin

Email

by Diego Pérez Morales

Integrating new employees into a company is a delicate process that requires careful planning and execution. A well-structured onboarding program can make a significant difference in how quickly and effectively new hires adapt to their roles. By implementing a comprehensive approach that includes checklists, the assignment of ‘buddies’, and clearly defined goals for the first 30, 60, and 90 days, companies can ensure a smooth transition that benefits both the employee and the organization.

Checklists are an essential tool in the onboarding process. They provide a clear roadmap for new employees, outlining the tasks and responsibilities they need to complete during their initial days. This not only helps them stay organized but also reduces the feeling of being overwhelmed. A well-crafted checklist should cover everything from administrative tasks to introductions with key team members, ensuring that no important step is overlooked.

Assigning a ‘buddy’ to new employees is another effective strategy. A buddy is an experienced colleague who can offer guidance, answer questions, and provide support during the initial phase of employment. This relationship helps new hires feel more comfortable and connected within the company, fostering a sense of belonging. The buddy system also encourages knowledge sharing and helps new employees understand the company culture more quickly.

Setting specific goals for the first 30, 60, and 90 days is crucial for measuring progress and ensuring alignment with company objectives. These goals should be realistic and achievable, providing new employees with a sense of accomplishment as they meet each milestone. Regular check-ins with managers can help track progress and address any challenges that may arise, ensuring that new hires remain on the right path.

Communication is key throughout the onboarding process. Regular feedback and open lines of communication help new employees feel valued and supported. Encouraging them to share their thoughts and experiences can provide valuable insights for improving the onboarding process. Additionally, celebrating small wins and acknowledging their contributions can boost morale and motivation.

Ultimately, a successful onboarding process is about creating a welcoming and supportive environment that empowers new employees to thrive. By focusing on clear communication, structured guidance, and achievable goals, companies can ensure that their new hires are well-equipped to contribute to the organization’s success. As the saying goes, “A good start is half the battle,” and a smart onboarding process is the first step towards building a strong and cohesive team.