Develop your leadership communication skills by learning to articulate strategy well

A leader needs many skills and abilities to be successful, and two essential requirements are to have good ideas and communicate those ideas well.

Articulating strategy well focuses on the second of those two attributes, communication skills.

Leaders and aspiring leaders must invest time and effort to develop leadership communication skills continually. 

As leaders, our communication skills are always on display whether chatting by the water cooler, meeting with people in person, or virtually on the web. How we communicate with people influences how they respond, and influencing the right response is leadership.

It is our job as leaders to simplify our message, avoiding management speak and jargon. People need to ‘get’ what we are saying quickly without thinking too hard or figuring out what certain words or phrases mean.

When trying to explain what our strategy is, that can be a real challenge. Responding to this challenge is what ‘articulating strategy well’ is all about.

If you doubt how important this is, think back to some of the occasions where you have seen other people asked to explain what their strategy is. How well did those conversations, meetings, speeches, and presentations go?

Next, think about the consequences for both the business and the person when things had gone badly. 

Of course, it works the other way too. Look at people who reach the top and stay in those roles. You are probably looking at someone who continually works on their communication skills and understands the value of articulating strategy well.

If you want to know more about articulating strategy well when it matters most, contact us for more information. We would be happy to help.