Outlaw Leadership™: It's About the Other People
I learned early on that leadership communications is less about the leader than it is about who they are talking to. Yes of course, a leader needs to know who they are and what’s important to them in order to always show up with a firm foundation for their leadership presence. But it always surprises me how many leaders when planning to present or communicate an important message forget to start with their audience’s needs to organize their content and how they present, instead of starting with what they want from their audience.
Actors get that the most important person in the theater isn’t them it’s the other actors and the audience. I once had the most transcendent theater experience with another actor. We were performing a two-hander, a complicated scene, that grew more dramatic and heightened by the minute. If we weren’t paying complete attention to each other it could go very badly. Instead we focused completely on the other person and had what I can only call an out of body experience of being so fully present that it created a moment of perfect connection to each other and then ultimately, the audience.
It was completely transformative and made me realize from that moment on – acting is never ever about you, it’s about everyone else in the equation.
The same can be said for leadership.
Consider these simple questions before you start developing any leadership communications:
Who is my audience?
What do they need from me?
What do I want them to think, feel and do when I’m done?
Remember do the foundational work on knowing your “character” and take the time to focus on your audience.
By paying attention to them and their needs, you’ll get them to not only pay attention to you - but will create the greatest fans who will ultimately follow you to the greatest heights.
Outlaw Leaders™ know it’s not about them - it’s about the audience.
I’m an Outlaw Leader™ with an EDGE: Explore, Dream, Grow & Excite™ are you?
