A Leadership Lesson: Two Guys With Guns

PERMISSION TO REPUBLISH: This article may be republished in newsletters and on web sites provided attribution is provided to the author, and it appears with the included copyright, resource box and live web site link. Email notice of intent to publish is appreciated but not required: mail to: brent@actionleadership.com

Word count: 768

A Leadership Lesson: Two Guys With Guns by Brent Filson

Raymond Chandler author of the famous Philip Marlowe detective stories advised writers suffering from writers' block: "Whenever you get stuck, have two guys walk through the door with guns."

Leadership has its own "leader's block." All leaders now and then get a good dose of it. You're sailing along in your job getting the results you want when, for whatever reason or for no reason you can discern, you come to a screeching halt and can't go any farther. You get stuck on getting the same results. You get stuck on motivating people. You're stuck on motivating yourself.

Being stuck, take advice from Raymond Chandler: Have two guys walk through the door with guns!

Chandler was talking about shaking things up in the writer's head and on the written page.

Here's the way you can have the leadership equivalent of Chandler's advice: shake things up in your job and career simply by giving Leadership Talks.

My experience working with thousands of leaders world wide for the past two decades teaches me that most leaders are screwing up their careers.

On a daily basis, these leaders are getting the wrong results or the right results in the wrong ways.

Interestingly, they themselves are choosing to fail. They're actively sabotaging their own careers.

Leaders commit this sabotage for a simple reason: They make the fatal mistake of choosing to communicate with presentations and speeches -- not Leadership Talks.

In terms of boosting one's career, the difference between the two methods of leadership communication is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug.

Look at it this way: There's a hierarchy of verbal persuasion. The lowest parts (least effective) are presentations and speeches. Primarily, they communicate information.

But the highest part of the hierarchy of verbal persuasion, the most effective way to communicate as a leader, is through the Leadership Talk.

The Leadership Talk not only communicates information. It does something much more important than what speeches/presentations do.

Now here's the key: The Leadership Talk has you, the leader, establish a deep, human, emotional connection with people ? so important in motivating them to achieve results.

Why is this connection important in shaking things up? Simply, it's better to motivate people to get a job done than to order them.

Once you understand the Leadership Talk, you'll find it's indispensable to your leadership. You'll never go back to giving presentations/speeches again; for no other single tool can make that motivation happen as effectively and quickly and have long lasting impact than the Leadership Talk.

The Leadership Talk is the greatest results-generator of all. That's because it works in relationships. That's what great leadership is about. Relationships. Relationships. Relationships.

Having people be so motivated by your leadership that they become your cause leader(s) in achieving more results faster, continually.

Leadership Talks can be formal ways of communicating but mostly they are informal. Unlike a speech, they are usually interactive. They can be delivered anywhere: at a conference table, over lunch, at a water cooler, across a desk.

(One of the best Leadership Talks I have witnessed was given by a plant supervisor to one of his team members at a company picnic while they sat on the back of a truck, sipping beers.)

And in many cases, an effective Leadership Talk can be given when roles are reversed, when the audience speaks to the speaker.

Here are a few:

When Churchill said, "We will fight on the beaches ... " That was a leadership talk.

When Kennedy said, "Ask not what your country can do for you ... " that was a leadership talk.

When Reagan said, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" That was a leadership talk.

You can come up with a lot of examples too. Go back to those moments when the words of a leader inspired people to take ardent action, and you've probably put your finger on an authentic leadership talk.

Mind you, I'm not just talking about great leaders of history. I'm also talking about the leaders in your organizations. After all, leaders speak 15 to 20 times a day: everything from formal speeches to informal chats. When those interactions are leadership talks, not just speeches or presentations, the effectiveness of those leaders is dramatically increased.

Throughout your career, you'll now and then get stuck in your job. When you do, remember Raymond Chandler. Then remember the Leadership Talk: the Leadership Talk is the organizational equivalent of having two guys walk through the door with guns. But don't just use Leadership Talks only when you're stuck. Use it many times daily throughout your career, and you'll find that leader's block is a thing of the past.

2005 © The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

The author of 23 books, Brent Filson's recent books are, THE LEADERSHIP TALK: THE GREATEST LEADERSHIP TOOL and 101 WAYS TO GIVE GREAT LEADERSHIP TALKS. He is founder and president of The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. ? and for more than 20 years has been helping leaders of top companies worldwide get audacious results. Sign up for his free leadership e-zine and get a free white paper: "49 Ways To Turn Action Into Results," at http://www.actionleadership.com

---

Communicating with Case Studies

A few weeks ago, a couple of colleagues and I... Read More

How Businesses Can Stop Wallowing in Bad Debt and Prevent It in the Future

"Become the Squeaky Wheel", a new book just published, explains... Read More

Towards Intercultural Understanding

An individual's ability to forge effective relationships across cultures is... Read More

Reprimanding Marginal Employees

THE MARGINAL PERFORMER: Every manager must, from time to time,... Read More

Rapid Culture Change is Possible

Purpose: Show how immersion leadership training makes strategic initiative success... Read More

Employee Retention: Keeping the People Who Keep You in Business

The retention of highly skilled knowledge workers is one of... Read More

A Comprehensive Sarbanes Oxley Act Summary

Individual and corporate security stand in the center of the... Read More

Steps to Build ISO 9001 Compliant Program

Implementing an ISO 9001 system represents a major effort. However,... Read More

Nonprofit Performance: Outcome Measurement Can Be A Good Thing

Does the idea of program evaluation make your stomach churn?... Read More

3 Keys to Being a Fearless Executive

In my work with business executives, I have come to... Read More

Internal Prisons: The Thief of Productivity and Quality in our Workforce

As a professional speaker, one of my biggest challenges is... Read More

Write Winning Proposals For Venture Capitalists

You need to secure money for your project. You visit... Read More

What Every HR Manager Should Know About Hiring Productive Employees

The characteristics of job applicants have a strong influence on... Read More

The Ins and Outs of Internal and External Relations

INTERNAL PUBLIC RELATIONS: Never overlook an opportunity to do internal... Read More

How Invisible Communication Barriers Kill Productivity

Many kinds of interferences or disturbances can confuse a message.... Read More

The Power of the Contract in Performance Management

An essential step in managing the performance of salespeople is... Read More

Finding the Right Way to Motivate Your Employees

Fear, Incentives and GrowthZig Ziglar says that there are three... Read More

No Time to Focus on the Big Picture? Try Focus Management

E-mail, voicemail, "got a minute?" interruptions, multiple projects... Read More

The Top 10 Requirements for Your Business to Become and Remain Profitable

We live in a relentlessly competitive world. The daily pressure... Read More

Inspirational Power ( Part 1 )

The Fundamentals of Strategic Marketing, Some Key Traits for Greater... Read More

3 Innovation Keys - Do Your Innovative Efforts Need More Power?

Recently, I attended a webinar with nearly 400 other Chief... Read More

Turbo Charge Your Career With The Most Powerful Leadership Tool Of All: The Leadership Talk: Part 1

Leaders speak 15 to 20 times daily. You speak at... Read More

Einstein - Definition of Insanity

Insanity in the Sign & Graphics IndustryEinstein's DefinitionAlbert Einstein once... Read More

Its All About The Customers, Baby

If you want to ensure a steady stream of customers... Read More

Help Your Employees Prepare for a Performance Appraisal

PREPARING EMPLOYEES FOR THE PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL INTERVIEWS: Remind employees to... Read More

6 Simple Steps to Dealing with Difficult Managers

The challenge of managing difficult managers can be rather daunting,... Read More

Boost Your Leadership Skills Simply By Answering The Question, What Does Our Organization Really...

The difference between leaders is ears. Good leaders not only... Read More

Executive Performance -- Whos to Blame for Incompetent Managers?

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal raised the... Read More

Objects in the Mirror are Further Than They Appear

Definition From http://www.merriamwebster.com -- "Virtual: - being such in essence... Read More

The Gift of Gratitude

Gratitude might seem like a soft or even an obvious... Read More

13 Comments on Bad Meetings

Bad meetings are a cultural malady that senior executives pass... Read More

Efficiency Around The Office

Nearly every office, be it commercial or home-based, may have... Read More

The Challenges of Human Resource Management

IntroductionThe role of the Human Resource Manager is evolving with... Read More