Leadership: Inspiring Change

What does it take to transmit bold new ideas to people who don’t want to hear them? How can the language you use facilitate enthusiastic, energetic implementation?
Transformational leaders:
•Generate enduring enthusiasm for a common cause
•Present innovative solutions to solve significant problems
•Catalyze shifts in people’s values and ideologies
•Demonstrate a willingness to sacrifice personal interests for the greater good
•Help others get through crisis moments
•Inspire people to want to change, creating a positive energy that sustains the change
•Generate followers who will ultimately become leaders
The what of transformational leadership is reasonably clear. It’s the how that’s usually obscure.
*How do leaders communicate complex ideas and spark others into enduringly enthusiastic action?
*What words do they use to inspire others to become new leaders?
*Why are some leaders able to accomplish the feat while others fail miserably?
Stephen Denning, a senior scholar at the University of Maryland’s Burns Academy of Leadership, makes the case for transformational communications in his book The Secret Language of Leadership (Jossey-Bass, 2007). More than anything, it’s what leaders say — and the way they say it — that generates sustained energy and exponential results.