Leaders shape the world through the conversations they initiate and engage in. The amazing thing is how often we forget the power of conversation in shaping how we see the world. Organisations consist of conversations, conversations with teams, employees and customers. Conversation affects how we think, which in turn affects how we act.
“…its through language that we create the world, because it is nothing until we describe it. And when we describe it, we create distinctions that govern our actions. To put it another way, we do not describe the world we see, but we see the world we describe. – Joseph Jaworski, Synchronicity: the Inner Path of Leadership
Organisations consist of human beings, not only structures, processes, systems and resources. As such, they require open, honest and effective communication to become successful. This means that communication is an important leadership practice. Unless people are aware of what’s going on around them they’re unable to engage in driving the organisations’ strategy.
Given the powerful role that conversations play in guiding and directing an organisation, it’s amazing how often conversation is overlooked as a leadership tool. Successful leaders recognize the importance of shaping an organisation’s conversation.
“A leader’s job is to engineer epiphanies one conversation at a time.” – Susan Scott
The purpose of strategic conversation is to focus and inspire a team and an organisation. When leaders talk about the right issues, in the right way - extraordinary things begin to happen. But if you get the conversation wrong, people become passive, unmotivated, negative and cynical.
“What gets talked about in a company and how it gets talked about determines what will happen. Or won’t happen. Conversations provide clarity or confusion. Invite cross-boundary collaboration and cooperation or add concertina wire to the walls between well-defended fiefdoms. Inspire us to tackle our toughest challenges or stop us dead in our tracks wondering why we bothered to get out of bed this morning.” – Susan Scott
Conversation is the begining of change…. It’s through conversation that our thinking begins to change, and changed thinking results in changed behaviour. Conversation, when carefully crafted and managed is a powerful means of influencing the heart and minds of others……. as in the end only people can change.
- Groups don’t change……
- Teams don’t change……
- Organisations don’t change………
Organisations change, when people change…. and … people change one conversation at a time…..
It’s the role of leadership to focus an organisation’s conversation…
- How conscious have your been in shaping your “system of conversation”?
- Do you have a straegic agenda describing the critical concversations you need to be hosting?
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Bravo! What a refreshing article. I might just add that all conversation come from a sincere desire to honestly engage the workforce and not to coerce or manipulate it. Today’s employees have already been through enough of that. Having been burnt before by the psychological gimmickry of consultants and past attempts at manipulation, they are now savvy enough to spot a huckster a mile away!
Interestingly, many so-called conversations are really two or more people having monologues, albeit, in a group setting.
First and foremost, conversations, really dialogues, must take place between and among people, not among “objects” or “functions” to be meaningful, honest and sincere.
Until and unless folks are willing to be “conscious” in their interactions, willing to relate to “people”, to be open, honest, vulnerable, and accepting of differences, varying perspectives, and others’ emotions and feelings, true and meaningful dialogue can never take place.
Rumi says, “Out beyond right-doing and wrong-doing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there.”
How many folks are really, really willing to meet others in that field…without bringing along their biases, prejudcies, assumptions, pre-conceived notions and stories they have made up about the others with whom they want to have a conversation?
Conversation is the beginning of change…only when one has an honest and self-responsible conversation with one’s self about how s/he proposes to “be” in a conversation with another.
Great post with excellent insights on the importance of communication within an organization! My favorite quote is “Organisations change, when people change…. and … people change one conversation at a time…..” and I believe it to be quite true. Effective communication is an essential leadership quality and it’s nice to find a well written post that makes the case! This one will definitely be shared!
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