ACG Speech #5 - Speaking to Inform
The Abstract Concept
18th November 2011
Introduction
Good evening to all the
LIONS assembled in this hall. Assembling here on a Friday evening shows your
commitment, and passion towards fellowship and service. LION is the leader of
jungle, but YOU are the real leaders of our society. According to me, Lions are
Leaders
who Inspire by Offering Notable Service.
(Also read: Leadership lessons - What works when you are a leader?)
Rabbit in front of a LION
To be honest, I am feeling
like a rabbit to stand in front of YOU … the LIONS … to talk about LEADERSHIP. Today,
I’m going to share with you some wisdom that I gained by serving as the
Division Governor of Toastmasters International, an organization that helps
people to improve their public speaking and leadership skills.
Setting the stage
Civil rights leader Martin Luther King … Father of our
nation, Mohandoss Karamchand Gandhi …
Social activist Anna Hazare …
How do these individuals
inspire people to work for a common cause?
How do these individuals mobilize support of a large number of people?
1.
They are not the
Presidents or Prime Ministers of the nation
2.
They are not CEOs of
a large corporation or associated with any political organizations
3.
They were not born
into a family of leaders
4.
They neither had
large sums of money nor a formal authority over people
So, what are the tricks that
these leaders used to attract people and influence them for their cause? How
were they able to LEAD WITHOUT A TITLE? Friends, they know how to effectively CONNECT, COLLOBORATE AND CONGRATULATE.
(Also read: 3Ps of leadership by Prof. Debhasis Chatterjee)
Connect
I read a quote from your Lions
International website “Whenever Lions gets together, problems get smaller. And
communities get better”. What an interesting quote. It highlights the
importance of team work in serving people. Our leadership skill is put to the
best use, when we “Connect” with people and work together as a team.
So, how do you connect with
your team, when you are a leader?
When you are in a gathering,
take the first step to introduce yourself to others. Always, greet people with
a warm and pleasant SMILE.
·
Make them feel SPECIAL
·
Make them feel IMPORTANT
·
Make them feel you
CARE
Say, you are in a Lions club
meeting and you see a fellow LION member entering the hall.
“Good morning Sir. Welcome!”
“Hello Mohan Sir! How are
you? It is a pleasure to see you today. Welcome to the meeting. We were missing
you so much” (or)
Staying connected with people
is like farming. In farming you plough the land, sow seeds, water the field,
remove weeds, and add fertilizer at the right time.
Similarly, you’ve to invest
your time in maintaining the relationship and staying connected with people –
- by appreciating their
accomplishments,
- by listening to their
needs, and
- by re-enforcing their
belief that they are important
Even simple things like
wishing them on their birthday or wedding anniversary or on their daughter’s
graduation go a long way.
COLLABORATE
“Leadership
is not about the Leader” said Wing-Kun Tam, International President of
Lion. It is very true.
Verbal – “I/You” ratio.
When we collaborate with a
team, we tend to create an impression that we are dominating, self-centered and
egoistic. How do we avoid that impression?
There is a simple technique
called I/You ratio in communication.
The most powerful
communication combines both intellectual and emotional connections.
·
Intellectual means
appealing to educated self-interest with data and reasoned arguments. We are
good at that.
·
Emotion comes from
engaging the listener and answering their unspoken question – “What is in it
for me”? … by frequently using words such as "you" and “we”.
For example, don't say, “I met the Zone Chairman last week. I was
asked to organize a blood donation camp. I have to form a team. I’m looking for
people. If any of you are interested to join the organizing team, let me know”.
Instead, you can say “We have a tremendous opportunity to serve
our community. Our Zone Chairman has given US the task of organizing a blood
donation camp. We need volunteers. Each one of you is qualified to join this
noble cause. Will you be able to join me in this mission to serve our society?”
Look at the impact that it
creates.
Leading by example
What I just shared with you
is a verbal communication technique to inspire and influence your team.
Knowingly or unknowingly, we
are doing much more communication non-verbally than verbally. How do you
inspire people to follow your cause, without verbal communication – “leading by
example”.
Let me give you an example. Joe
Girhard is a Guinness record holder. Joe worked for General Motors and he holds
a Guinness record for selling the most number of cars, not just one year, not
just two years but continuously for 15 years in a row. In one of the interviews, he was asked “Joe!
How were you able to sell more cars, when your colleagues in the dealership had
exactly the same opportunity as you?” Well! It was simple. He said, people
watch what you do … much more than listening to what you say. Many of my
colleagues were selling Chevrolet, but there were driving a Honda, Toyota or a
Volkswagen car themselves. But, I was
selling a Chevvy and also owned a Chevvy. When my prospects see that I believe
in the product that I sell, they tend to buy it from me. I just walk my talk
and that made the difference.”
What an excellent example of
leadership? Leaders just don’t preach the world to act; they “lead by example”.
When you do it, others will get inspired and automatically follow you.
Congratulate
Genuinely appreciating the
performance of your members!!
I read a book called “How to
teach so that kids can listen”. The book talks about “How to motivate kids to get
repeatable behaviors?”. The author says “Don’t just compliment your kid, but
compliment them for a specific reason”.
For example, instead of just
saying “Son! You did a fantastic job”, you should say “Son! I like the way you
are keeping your room neat and clean. You are saving a lot of time for dad and
mom. Great job”. When you communicate the specific reason for which you are
appreciating them, they remember it better. They feel “I’m getting this
appreciation because I kept the room neat and clean”.
You can use the same
technique for adults also. After all, we were also kids once upon a time.
For example, instead of
saying “Ramesh! You did a great job of conducting an eye camp”, you can say
“Ramesh! You displayed extraordinary commitment, team work and service
mentality by organizing the eye camp. You were able to make it happen despite
the challenges you had in mobilizing funds. You are trustworthy and I can rely
on you every time. Great job”.
At times, folks
will come to you and ask for feedback on their performance. “How did I perform
Sir? What can I improve?” Our, natural tendency is to either say “You did a
great job” or to start listing a long list of mistakes they did. The specialty of LIONS is “You are serving not only with your money, but also with your energy and
your time”. So, never hurt volunteers, because each one of them is trying
to do their best.
When giving feedback to your
team or team members,
- highlight the areas
they did well
- highlight the areas
they could’ve done better
- end it with
appreciation of their good work
The LAST impression is the
LASTING impression. When giving feedback, always END WITH A HIGH NOTE.
Leaders can be MADE
How many of you think that
you should be BORN with leadership skills to be a LEADER? How many of you think
that you can acquire skills to be a LEADER? I strongly believe that leadership
is something that can be learned. Leaders don’t have to be BORN.
Leaders
can be made – all we need to have is the determination to be leader. If
there is one magic pill that we can swallow before going to the bed and wake up
the next morning as a GREAT LEADER, everybody will be leaders today. But Leadership requires constant
practice with persistence, patience and passion, you can be great leader too.
(Also read: 3 types of people taking leadership roles)
Conclusion
I want all of you to do an exercise. Close your
eyes. Imagine, it is 2013 and it is your LIONS international convention. There
are 100s and 1000s of people in the audience. The hall is filled with
enthusiasm and energy. You are called to the stage – for your best performance
as the LEADER WITHOUT AUTHORITY. Everyone in the audience are applauding you,
when you walk to the stage. You get the award from your international
president. Your dream will come true, when you follow these simple techniques
to effectively CONNECT, COLLABORATE AND CONGRATULATE PEOPLE.
