“How much about my personal life is it appropriate to share in a professional context?”
“Is it helpful to bring a bit of the person into the professional equation?”
These are the kind of questions a group of senior leaders explored with me in a workshop last week. The importance and value of leadership communication is well established. In his research on the topic, Prof. Ian Woodward from INSEAD identifies three clear ways in which strong communication skills empower leaders.
Firstly, a leader can become a better change agent if they are effective communicators. Second, when a leader listens, they can seek out different views and perspectives from others, improving the quality of decision-making. Thirdly, a leader who communicates well can motivate and inspire people to align them with their vision and strategy.
This was the easy part of the workshop. People did not debate the value of enhancing their leadership voice. The point that got the people in the room going in an animated discussion was around the intersection between the person(al) and the professional.
A simple exercise that brings this sharply into focus is to answer two questions: “Who am I?” and “What makes me unique/different?” While the exercise may sound simple, finding an answer that defines and differentiates me is not so easy.
On one side of the debate some voices said, “How is it relevant to my work audiences what my hobbies are and who I am as a person?” and then there was an equally compelling other voice that said, “If I don’t dare to show a bit of who I really am and what I care about as a person, how will my audience relate to me?”
There is no right or wrong answer to these questions, but over the two days, as we engaged with each other and explored these and many more questions, one thing I can say for sure is that the people in the room came alive to me. The human beings, behind the human doings, showed themselves.
In the midst of high-powered designations and experts from various domains, the people slowly emerged. Day 1 began on a very proper note; by the end of day 2, we had made friends, we laughed, we exchanged numbers and connected on LinkedIn.
The mothers and fathers in the room found common ground, the poets and actors connected, the fitness and yoga enthusiasts found a connection, and just like that, the person(al) entered a very professional workshop. I would like to think we all left richer from the experience and no less of a professional than when we walked in.
The way I summed it up for the group was: ” It’s a journey from real-life to reel-life”. The real me must show up first, and then the reels will follow.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The views and opinions published here belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the publisher.
