HOW TO BE A MORE INSPIRING LEADERKevin Murray, Chairman, The Good Relations Group

inspireLine breaks: in|spirePronunciation: /ɪnˈspʌɪə /

Definition: Encourage, stimulate

Synonyms: Affect, animate, be responsible for, cause, elateembolden, enkindle, enliven, excite,

exhilarate, fire up,galvanize, give impetus, give one an

idea, give rise to,hearten, imbue, impress, infect,

inflame, influence, infuse, instill, invigorate, motivate,

provoke, quicken, set up, spark, spur, start off, stir, strike,

sway, touch, trigger, urge, work up

Antonyms: discourage, dissuade

40 years a communicatorCrime ReporterNews EditorManaging EditorHead of Communications, BayerDirector Corporate Affairs, UK Atomic Energy AuthorityDirector of Communications, British AirwaysChairman, Bell Pottinger Chairman, Good RelationsAuthor, two best selling books on leadership

WHO AM I?

© Kevin Murray

MY OBJECTIVE

Language is a system of communication

There is a Language of Leaders (a system) we should all be fluent in

It’s not about inspiring speeches

It’s all about leaving people feeling inspired

I want to leave you feeling inspired to behave differently

And I want you to be a more inspiring and more effective leader

WHY BOTHER TO BE MORE INSPIRING?When your employees are more inspired, they are more engaged. And greater engagement has a powerful, positive effect on:

Productivity & PerformanceCompanies in the top quartile averaged 18% higher level of productivity

Customer SatisfactionImproved engagement saw a NPS 24% higher than those where engagement had declined

Innovation59% of engaged employees say their jobs bring out their most creative ideas vs only 3% of disengaged

Absenteeism/well-beingEngaged employees take an average of 2.69 sick days / annum vs. 6.19 days for the disengaged

RetentionCompanies with high levels of engagement show turnover rates 40% lower

Health & SafetyOrganisations with engagement in the bottom quartile average 63% more accidents

Income GrowthHighly engaged workforces saw a 13.7% improvement in net income growth vs. a decline of 3.8%

ProfitabilityEngaged companies have margins 4x higher

Source: www.engageforsuccess.org

WHAT ARE THE DRIVERS OF ENGAGEMENT?

Productivity & Performance

Customer Satisfaction

Innovation

Absenteeism/well-being

Retention

Health & Safety

Income Growth

Profitability

Source: www.engageforsuccess.org

Organisational Integrity

Engaging Managers

Employee Voice

Visibly Inspiring Leadership

MY VIEW

80 Leaders (2,000 years of experience) interviewed

350 Managers researched

4,000 Workers researched

Dozens of clients

Leading organisations myself, for 20 years

40 years communicating

We need to behave in new ways…

IN SEARCH OF INSIGHTS INTO INSPIRING LEADERS… …I interviewed the CEO’S of all these organisations…

… and wrote about what they told me

…to establish the ‘12 principles of inspiring leaders’© Kevin Murray

THE 12 PRINCIPLES EXPLAINED1. Draw on your passion to inspire others. Others will only change their

behaviours if you change the way they feel. You have to learn how to convey your feelings, so that others are inspired by the depth of your passion.

2. Have a strong sense of purpose and a clear set of values. Leaders know exactly what they feel is right. This makes for speedier decision making as well as ensuring statements are authentic.

3. Be focused on the future. Leaders have a clear understanding of where the business is going. They use this future knowledge to manage the present.

4. Get outside. Put yourself in other people’s shoes and always keep the outside world in mind. How does it feel to be a client? How does it feel to receive your service? Use this in decision-making.

5. Engage. Engagement is the Holy Grail of top leaders. However, you can only engage people if you’re in constant conversation with them.

6. Be audience-centric. What is on the minds of the people you’re speaking to? Show people you really value them, both your employees and your customers.

7. Listen. When you listen first, and react with appropriate actions, you create enormous goodwill. Learn to give people a damn good listening to!

8. Have the courage of your convictions. You need to have strong views if you want to influence people. Ideally, these views bring together your purpose and values and show why it is to everyone’s benefit if they do things your way.

9. Use stories. Use the power of emotive storytelling to communicate. Often it’s hard to explain your thoughts in a rational way, but stories have a way of getting to the nub of a problem and showing how it can be solved.

10. Give out the right signals. Inadvertent signals, like looking grumpy, can say more than a thousand words. Make sure you use positive body language. Look at people directly, don’t be distracted when you are in meetings with them. Make sure you take a stance on issues such as bullying in the organisation.

11. Prepare, prepare, prepare. Never try to wing it, it won’t work. Some audiences (journalists for example!) like to pour over every word you utter.

12. Never be satisfied. Even the most experienced and successful leaders constantly strive to improve their ability to connect and communicate with people.

Average Mark63.9%

HOW 350 LEADERS RATED THEMSELVES (OUT OF 10) ON THE 12 PRINCIPLES

Prepare Properly for Public Platforms 5.75Purpose & Values 5.79Future Focus

5.85Engage through Conversations 6.05Bringing the Outside In 6.22CI

6.25Stories

6.51Signals

6.53Authentic

6.72Audience-Centricity 6.77Point of View

7.04Listening

7.16

BUT WHEN I ASKED 4,000 WORKERS HOWINSPRIRING THEIR BOSSES WERE…

They said… 1. They would give their bosses < 5/10 for being inspiring 2. Only 1 in 5 of their bosses was inspiring3. Only 1 in 20 was truly inspiring

HOW DID INDUSTRY SECTORS RATE FOR INSPIRING BOSSES?

1. Media, Marketing, Advertising, PR and Sales (31%)2. IT and Telecommunications (28%)3. Hospitality and Leisure (25%)4. Utilities (21%)5. Financial Services (21%)6. Government (20%)7. Manufacturing (17%)8. Retail Services (16%)9. Travel, Transport and Distribution (15%)

“A leader is best when people barely know he exists; when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves”

Lao TsuChinese Philosopher

Kevin MurrayWannabe Philosopher

“Don’t train them to be inspiring. Train them to leave people feeling inspired”

MY KEY FINDINGS…

IT IS ALL ABOUT ENGAGEMENT But that requires engaging leaders who

follow the 12 principles

THE 12 PRINCIPLES… ENABLE THE 4 DRIVERS… WHICH DELIVER THESE BENEFITS…

Productivity & Performance

Customer Satisfaction

Innovation

Absenteeism/well-being

Retention

Health & Safety

Income Growth

Profitability

Organisational Integrity

Engaging Managers

Employee Voice

Visibly Inspiring Leadership

A manual for aspiring leaders and for those who

advise them…

…how to be more inspiring

AFTER ALL THIS RESEARCH, I WROTE A SECOND BOOK

10 steps to more authentic leadership

7 ingredients of a compelling vision

8 ways to bring the outside in

7 habits to enable more powerful conversations

10 steps for more persuasive communications

7 techniques used by great listeners

6 killer questions for high quality feedback

8 signals that kill inspiration

7 rules for purposeful stories

4 ingredients of a powerful point of view

7 tips for public platforms

6 reasons leaders should use social media

12 questions to test your ‘Inspiration Quotient’

IT CONTAINS ALL OF THESE INSPIRATION LESSONS

™

HOW IS YOUR INSPIRATION QUOTIENT?Ask yourself these questions…rate yourself out of 10

™

1. Can you say that you and your leadership team genuinely inspire your people? 2. Are you confident that everyone has a clear view of your purpose and values so decisions are aligned? 3. Do your people understand what each of them needs to do to achieve your vision, and are they inspired by it? 4. Is everyone committed to improving your key relationships – with each other, your suppliers, partners, stakeholders and importantly, your customers? 5. Are you having enough conversations with your people so they feel engaged, motivated and committed, and in so doing are you recognising good work? 6. Do you truly understand what is important to your people so that you can talk about issues that are key for them? 7. Are you a good listener? Do you get input and respond to concerns? And do you make it easy for people to bring bad news? 8. Would your people say you speak out strongly and clearly on the issues that are important to you? 9. Are you known as a leader who engages through the stories you tell, or are you better known for charts full of facts and figures? 10. Are you confident that the way you act, and the signals you send, conveys the right messages? 11. Are you - and your leadership team - properly prepared and trained for speaking publicly, ensuring every word counts? 12. Is communication a fundamental leadership priority, developing all of your leaders to become inspiring communicators?

OR DO THE ONLINE TEST ATwww.leadershipcommunication.co.uk

Then compare yourself with the points on slide 13 and get tips for how to improve weak areas

FOR MORE INSIGHT OR HELP

Leadership Communication Test

The Good Relations Group

The Language of Leaders on Amazon UK

The Language of Leaders on Amazon Global

Communicate To Inspire on Amazon UK

Communicate To Inspire On Amazon Global

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