Enthusiasm

Articulate in Communication

It appears that articulate communication eludes our modern world. Those who have a grasp of language are often ridiculed or are tuned out. One needs only to examine letters from the last century. Although we may be a more educated and modernized society, our ability to write succinctly, with flair, finesse, etc. seems gone forever.

One area in which this is evident is in speeches. Arguably one of the greatest speech communicators in recent times was Ronald Reagan. Not only was he a very capable speaker, he wrote most of his own speeches.

Accurate in Information

If there is one area that organizations must jealousy guard, it has to be the dissemination of accurate information. We all have recently experienced what influence inaccurate information can have on decision making.

The decision to go to Iraq is a great example of this. In 20/20 hindsight, many are quick to blame President Bush, even though a majority of both Democrat and Republican congress-people supported the invasion at the time. The evidence that most of our leaders believed the intelligence available is seen in the voting. Many of the strongest opponents of this administration made up their own minds, not from partisan information, but from non-partisan intelligence reports. Regardless of what we now believe, the intelligence data is in question, and illustrates the absolute necessity of accuracy. Also, we see everyday that there is an intrinsic link between the validity of info and the credibility of leadership.

Appropriate in Situation

Did you know that only one Airline has actually prospered since 2001? It’s true. Southwest Airlines made some hard decisions and most of those tough calls were made by the CEO, Herb Kellerher. Herb and a buddy founded Southwest in 1971, and the business plan began on a cocktail napkin. It was a premonition, because it was…appropriate. That characterizes Herb’s approach to leadership. All of the top leaders of Southwest are appropriately situational. They have to be. Except for flying planes, everyone at a Chief Operating level does every job once a quarter. Can you imagine YOUR CEO helping you load baggage onto an airplane at 3 a.m.? Or, what about a passenger who gets their ticket from the Chief Information Officer? I would say these folks are extremely interested in what both employees and passengers think. Herb (as he asks all to call him) says the secret to successful leadership is: BE YOURSELF!