Stephen Denning's The Secret Language Of Leadership

527 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The importance of effective communication as a leader

The Secret Language of Leadership Stephen Denning is a gifted business communications guru that views things in ways others don’t and has the ability to explain them so that we all can understand. The Secret Language of Leadership is not just a book about how to become a better manager, it’s about how the use of language can inspire managers into becoming inspirational leaders that bring about a lasting transformation to any company or organization. Anyone with a vision, commitment, and set of basic skills can become a transformational leader. The key to a successful transformational leader is the commitment to communicate to the people they aspire to lead. Today’s employees need to be inspired to want to do, rather than be told what to do. They need to be led rather than micro-managed. Denning places a great deal of significance on conversation, which he defines as, “a two –way street, not a one-way alley”. The Secret Language of Leadership is, “A passionate explanation of how good leadership is different from transformational leadership”. This explanation is what he calls narrative communication. Narrative communication is an untraditional approach of persuading people to change their minds through language. It gives people abstract reasons, indirect cues …show more content…

These steps can also provide a flexible structure that can be populated with leadership concepts too. Denning idea of the story telling and story listening was designed to help leaders continue to accelerate enthusiastic implementation and expand their relationships with their followers while at the same time they are able to discuss and address any emerging threats or opportunities occurring in the work environment. If we put reason in the form of stories people will remember

Show More
Related

  • Leadership Process Case Study: Fortuga Vs. Jeffers

    1126 Words  | 3 Pages

    In an evolving culture of dedication and communication, employees know desire up-to-date and precise information. Efficient communication enables employees to adapt because they have the needed information available (Smith & Milligan, 2015). This strategy will be more effectual because companies that can align individual and corporate goals will experience more prosperity. To achieve this aim, Jeffers needs to commit to becoming an exceptional communicator, otherwise leading effectively is unfeasible and he will continue to experience organizational culture

    Read More

  • Kurt Vonnegut's Leadership Analysis

    722 Words  | 2 Pages

    Former president Ronald Reagan summed up leadership by stating that “the greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things” (Daskal, 2015). Effective leaders inspire people. Leaders provide motivation and the direction to achieve goals; large or small. The character, actions and thoughts of leader can permeate an organization. And often, based upon the organizational culture, one can usually tell if the character, action and thoughts were good or bad. Therefore, I agree that arrogance can lead to jumping to conclusions, which can have a negative impact on the success of projects. This is why Kurt Vonnegut’s leadership quote is so poignant-“we are what we pretend

    Read More

  • On leadership Written by John W. Gardner

    1123 Words  | 3 Pages

    ... leaders must, to use a time-worn phrase, “walk the talk” are essential to catalyzing that motivation.

    Read More

  • Strength Based Leadership In The Outlier By Malcolm Gladwell

    1931 Words  | 4 Pages

    When Considering what makes a socially intelligent leader I am reminded of the Trouble Geniuses’ chapter from the “Outlier” written by Malcolm Gladwell, in this chapter meet 2 young men, Chris Lagan who had an IQ of 195, who aced the SAT’s even though he fell asleep in the middle, and was accepted in to Reed College and Robert Oppenhimer who was also brilliant in his own respect and accepted into Harvard. While in college both had struggles, Chris Lagan lost his scholarship after one semester at Reed because his mother forget to fill out financial aid paper work and upon trying again, life showed up for this small town farm boy with little mean and he had to drop out permanently and returned to his small town life; Robert Oppenhimer during his stay at Harvard stole chemicals for the lab and tried to poison his professor, the young man from an affluence home was later acquitted and put on probation at school and would eventually become known as the “Father of the Atom Bomb.” (Gladwell, 2008) So how does arguably the smartest man in the world end up running a small farm in Montana and an attempted murder become a world renown? This is not a story of the rich kid doing better than the poor. Rather, it’s a story about two different kinds of smarts. Our innate analytical abilities and our social

    Read More

  • Leadership Failures in Black Hearts by Jim Frederick

    1483 Words  | 3 Pages

    The book Black Hearts by Jim Frederick is an in-depth narrative about the 1st platoon, Bravo Company 1-502nd Infantry 101st Airborne Division deployed to Iraq in 2005. The leadership failures documented in this book range all the way from the general officer level down to the lowest private. LT general Ricardo Sanchez failed to understand the climate his command group was entering as they were deployed into Iraq. From then on the entire leadership failures continued to compound upon each other with improper time to plan. It is customary to have a six month lead time to have a proper battle hand off when preparing to take over an AO from another unit. To compound this problem, the entire time the 502nd was in pre-deployment training, they were preparing for the rigors of urban combat. In reality, they were given six weeks to recon their new area of responsibility and were going to a countryside crafted by the heavens for guerilla warfare. As Colonel Ebel said in the book, “It is not going to be an easy road. They are not even sure of what they have in the area. It just feels bad. We can expect a real fight.”

    Read More

  • Leadership By Donald Triumph

    1639 Words  | 4 Pages

    What explains the shocking popularity of the Donald Trump's reality series The Apprentice? There are a number of possible reasons. It certainly could be our endless curiosity about the lives of the rich and famous. It may also be explained by our current interest in staring into the fishbowl drama watching real life struggles, humiliations and victories. Perhaps it's the chance to witness, from a safe distance, the scary and possibly all-to-familiar horror of being fired from a desirable position. These are reasonable answers however, there seems to be much more to it than this. The wildly successful show, The Apprentice, has hit on something big. It responds to an ongoing and unresolved fascination with the mysterious, complex and universally meaningful phenomena called LEADERSHIP.

    Read More

  • NHS Change Model Essay

    933 Words  | 2 Pages

    Lashinger et al highlights the need for communication within leadership as effective communication is essential to influence change and motivate others. Emphasising the need for communicating effectively towards all staff members, whilst undergoing change to ensure all staff feel supported and understand the process, allowing implementation to be more successful.

    Read More

  • Warren Bennis's On Becoming A Leader

    882 Words  | 2 Pages

    Warren Bennis’ novel, On Becoming a Leader, is the book I was able to read. Bennis worked years on this novel constructing it off of one of his former creations. Finally, in Cambridge, Ma Bennis published his story by Perseus publishing. Throughout this book he centers around the search to understand exactly how leaders are made. Bennis uses a unique approach to portraying his opinion. This is not an ordinary “how to” book on becoming a leader. Nor is it an autobiography of one’s personal experience. Bennis was a teacher and student all his life, he has never run a country or even a company. Bennis is not directly reciting his own experiences as a leader. This paper outlines Bennis’ basic thoughts, theories, and his contributions to the field

    Read More

  • Critique on the Book The Leadership Challenge

    1035 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Leadership Challenge by Kouzes and Posner (2007) is the result of twenty years of research on the factors that influence and create great leadership. Through studies and stories from leaders with various backgrounds throughout the world, the practices and characteristics that create great leadership are delineated. Leadership is viewed not as a group of inherent characteristics, but as learned behavior that anyone can achieve. The goal of Kouzes and Posner’s book is to inspire and educate leaders through transformational leadership. As such, leadership is about mobilizing others to become and do extraordinary things.

    Read More

  • The Challenges Of Privacy Issues

    1249 Words  | 3 Pages

    Communication strategies pose a direct influence on job performance, degree of job ability, and career development of employees, and thus have a direct association with leadership effectiveness (Argyris, 1962). Several challenges arise from communication deficiency , including the consequences of differences in cultural value, language, and situatedness. SAHC leaders can conquer these difficulties by striving to comprehend the root causes of the difficulties and integrate appropriate communication skills to manage the

    Read More

  • Good Boss, Bad Boss by Robert Sutton PhD

    1410 Words  | 3 Pages

    Good Boss, Bad Boss by Robert Sutton PhD tells what good bosses do and learn what not to do by bad bosses. Dr. Sutton breaks the book down into nine chapters that cater from having the right mindset to it is all about you. The book breaks down situations into common sense thinking.

    Read More

  • “Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail”

    860 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail” is an article written by John P. Kotter in the Harvard Business Review, which outlines eight critical factors to help leaders successfully transform a business. Since leading requires the ability to influence other people to reach a goal, the leadership needs to take steps to cope with a new, more challenging global market environment. Kotter emphasizes the mistakes corporations make when implementing change and why those efforts create failure; therefore, it is essential that leaders learn to apply change effectively in order for it to be beneficial in the long-term (Kotter).

    Read More

  • Leadership Philosophy Paper

    986 Words  | 2 Pages

    Leadership is being able to direct or guide other people by either your own actions or by actually guiding them into the right direction (Acumen). Inspiration to be a leader might come from many different areas like your family, friends, peers, or even teachers. My inspiration didn’t really occur to me until I started attending college in August 2013. In all actuality I never even thought of how to be a leader until I was in Mrs. Moore’s Perspectives class. I now have a desire to be a great leader, and the inspiration has come from Mrs. Moore, and my family. I am the first to attend college out of my family, so in a away I have already started leading my siblings in the right direction. Being a leader means inspiring others to pursue their dreams, and aspirations and helping throughout the journey to success. Being a leader has nothing with authority or being able to tell other what, and how to do things, it’s about having people who look up to you and want to follow your example.

    Read More

  • Transformational Leadership in Healthcare

    849 Words  | 2 Pages

    In this time of transition and uncertainty, research suggests that transformational leadership is highly effective (Straight, 2006). Leadership research has drifted from emphasis on the competence of leaders to “manage change” to the ability to “transform” organizations. Transformational leaders have attributes and behaviors needed to successfully motivate and empower employees. According to Bernard Bass (1990), transformational leadership occurs when a leader transforms, or changes, his or her followers in three important ways that together result in followers trusting the leader, performing behaviors that contribute to the achievement of organizational goals, and being motivated to perform at a high level. Transformational leaders can achieve greater performance by stimulating innovative ways of thinking and transforming follower’s beliefs and aspirations. Maxwell (Maxwell, 2007) articulates that most of the time, influence is more important than formal power or authority. I agree with him. Influence is very important in organizational and co...

    Read More

  • The Motivating Language Theory On Employee Communication

    727 Words  | 2 Pages

    There has been little research done on how the language of those in leadership positions can effect employee communication, but the Motivating Language Theory (MLT) suggests that speech can affect the willingness of the employee and improve communication skills along with employee performance. This theory was tested according to the Motivating Language Scale (MLS) which views three different speech acts: The locutionary language defines and explains the culture, rules, and regulation of an organization in hopes that the employee interprets the new information easily and adapts accordingly. It is the middle ground approach. Perlocutionary language is more forceful and leaves very little room for interpretation and uncertainty. It is most often

    Read More

More about Stephen Denning's The Secret Language Of Leadership

Open Document