THE MOST IMPORTANT CHARACTERISTIC FOR LEADERS RIGHT NOW
Photo by TETrebbien on Unsplash
Recent behaviour by leaders in the public eye reminds me of an experience back when I was a TV reporter in an industrial city. We would often cover stories about pollution from the nearby steelworks.
From our TV station perched high on a hill, we had the perfect vantage point to record the dark pall that would regularly rise from the steel plant before settling in a vile-looking cloud over parts of the city.
We'd contact the steelworks operator and the terse response would come back, "It's just steam. No further comment - and no, you can't come onto the plant to do a story."
This went on for years. The relationship between our newsroom and the steelworks went from bad to worse.
One day, after we'd recorded a particularly dramatic-looking emission from the plant, I rang the operator expecting the usual brush-off. I was already imagining the negative story I would write.
But something was different. A new manager, Jerry Ellis, had taken over the steelworks' operation. Amazingly, I was put through to the secretary of the new boss.
"Mr Ellis would be happy to be interviewed," she said. "What time would suit you?"
A camera crew and I high-tailed it to the site and set up for the interview. I was expecting this new guy to be as brash and uncooperative as his predecessors.
He came out to greet us and was warm and personable. That threw me.
Once the interview started, I expected him to deny, blame or at least deflect. But he didn't. He jumped straight in, describing the incident and the specific plant failure that had led to the ugly dark cloud.
He went on to say that this was an unacceptable failure on the part of the steelworks and apologised to the community for the pollution it had created. He outlined what his company was doing about it and what we could expect in the future.
My negative story evaporated.
Not only did my report completely change, our relationship with the steelworks transformed over the following months. We suspected this was a one-off, but we were wrong. Jerry Ellis had set a new communication standard that framed our interactions from that time forward.
If you're a leader, what characteristics do your teams, clients or community most admire?
In research conducted across six continents over more than two decades, respondents consistently name the top four most desired leadership qualities as:
Honesty
Forward-looking
Competent
Inspiring
Of those four, honesty won by a long shot.
Sometimes, leaders struggle with 100% honesty – especially during times of change and turmoil when they mightn’t know all the facts or the truth is hard for people to hear.
When I'm called in to help senior leaders facing negative issues – often in the public domain – I observe that many of the problems have snowballed because of communication that's been less than honest.
In some cases, people in the business have known there’s a problem but have tried to cover it up. In others, the whole truth hasn't been disclosed while the issue is under investigation. That just prolongs the pain.
The world now sees deeply into any organisation. Spin is dead; transparency is key. Take a leaf out of Jerry Ellis's book.
Being an outstanding leader and communicator means being honest with yourself and others. Sometimes the truth hurts a lot. Avoiding it can cost even more.
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Book me as a speaker at your conference, leadership retreat or event via this link: https://www.neryleast.com/contact-neryl
Dr Neryl East is a professional speaker and executive coach who shows leaders how to be heard, stand out and command influence. Connect with Neryl on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neryleast/
