A great summary of Kevin Murray’s book: “The Language of Leaders. How Top CEOs Communicate to Inspire, Influence and Achieve Results” in the Sunday Times this weekend.
Headed “Say what you mean and mean what you say” the review describes how Murray, Chairman of a PR company, questioned 60 top business leaders about what they looked for when hiring leaders.
The responses consistently said, in order:
- raw intellect and ability to think clearly & strategically
- the ability to choose the right people & align them to a cause
- the ability to communicate with others and inspire them
- future focus
- a sense of mission
- strong values
- integrity
- authenticity
Murray says authenticity is about understanding your strengths and weaknesses. “Be clear about the beliefs that underpin your strength and figure out your sense of purpose. Articulate all the above. Only then can you talk from the heart”.
He says people who talk from the heart communicate better because their body language is congruent with what they are saying and people pick up on it when it isn’t congruent and then won’t trust them.
Although he doesn’t use the terms he is talking about leaders having emotional intelligence for which having a degree of self-awareness is a good starting point.
Leadership & Management 
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