Leadership visibility is not everything

Leadership visibility is often at the top of the list in communication plans. But I believe that visibility is not the end point, in fact it is only the start.

“I need to improve my visibility” said the VP,
I wondered if this was coming from some feedback she had received from her leaders and stakeholders, something that she had learned was important, and of course it is! I wondered why this was the first topic of conversation for our session.

“What for?” I asked, she seemed a little taken by surprise, she was talking to a communication ‘expert’, a coach, this is my job to help her fix, right?
She had started her job a few months earlier and ago and was spending her time now putting together her vision for the next few years. It was obvious that she needed to improve her visibility, right?

Leadership visibility is incredibly important, the leader who never meets their teams and stakeholders is barely a leader at all.

However, leading is less about the decisions you make behind closed doors and much more about how you are able to involve, inspire and ignite action from the people who play a role in your business success. Leader isn’t a leader if she has no followers.

Connection is more important than visibility

Leaders are a signal for what is important.
Leaders role the values of the organisation.
Leaders give depth to the organisational purpose
Leaders give meaning to the values

….We need leaders to be visible to us but when we see them; we need to feel seen.

• Human leaders understand that leadership is about deep understanding and respect for the impact they have on others.

• Human Leadership is about how other humans feel when they are around you…. more specifically…

• Human Leadership is about how others feel about themselves when they are with you. Do they feel MORE inspire and energised, MORE capable and confident, MORE a part of something meaningful?

Think about a leader who made an impression on you
Make a list of three emotions that come up for you when you think of that leader
What did your interactions feel like, was it the frequency or the quality that you remember

Often the quality of the relationship and the connection we have with someone is impactful and memorable. We remember stories better than data because stories stir our emotions, we have multiple sensory experiences that feel good. And that is what we remember.

“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
- Maya Angelou

The VP replied, “Well, I need people to see me and hear the vision for the journey ahead.”

“Why?” this question seemed to have the same effect as the earlier question. A few more irritating questions later we started to explore that, the perspective of the people she was leading was important to understand first before putting the rubber stamp on a vision.

“What is frustrating to me is that I can’t read people. I tell people about the vision I have and I can’t tell what they really think”

We explored that she needed to get to know them and improve her connection to the team.

This did mean she needed to get in front of them, but instead of standing at the front of the room talking, she was at the same table listening.

Reflection:

I invite future thinkers, coaches and communicators, growers and leaders to come together and learn and problem solve together.

If you have something to contribute to the need for human leadership and human communication, come and join this collective. Human leadership collective is a global community that shares and learns together, one that is richer with diverse thoughts and ideas.