There’s an unseen leadership problem. People become leaders, but nobody’s told them what a leader actually is and does in a practical, meaningful way. I’m talking about a leader in the context of an organisation. In this context, a leader is somebody who makes change and gets things done with, and through people.
Expertise and results matter, but that will only get your career so far. Once you’re in a leadership role you need an additional set of skills. These are often called soft skills, which is ironic because they are hard to master. By contrast, becoming a technical expert is (arguably), relatively easy.
People can be difficult. All the people you manage, your colleagues, stakeholders, suppliers, partners. All difficult at times. And guess what – you’re difficult too. We all are. The people side of life is a complex, dynamic and evolving dance.
If you ask anybody "what’s the big problem in our organisation", the most common answer is likely to be communication (Test it!). Communication happens between people, therefore it's also a people problem!
We need to start seeing the capacity to communicate as the most powerful thing leaders can do. Equally, we need to recognise the inability of leaders to communicate as an organisation's biggest constraint.
In truth there is more to leadership than relating and communicating. You also need capacity for navigating an increasingly complex and complicated world. You need leadership optics for recognising and responding to unconventional environments.
I have been evolving my leadership model for over 10 years and consistently researching common development needs. I think the second unseen leadership problem is effective leadership is underpinned by confidence.
This might sound obvious but it has implications for executive development programs that only focus on what and how. Leaders can know what to say and how to say it, but still won’t necessarily lean into the difficult (and often critical) conversations.
Inside you is the leader you want to be. A leader who is authentically you and leans into difficult conversations with confidence. A leader who is comfortable with change and uncertainty. A leader who has the space to think strategically and solve bigger problems for their organisation. A leader who also has a life and the time to do the things they love. Ultimately a person who makes a difference at work and home. If you belong to a good organisation, they probably want that for you as well.
Leaning in means being confident in your leadership. It means knowing what to say, how to say it, and overcoming what’s getting in the way of saying it. It means knowing how to Relate, Communicate, and Navigate.
When you can do this, you never have to worry about things like...
Delegating
Giving feedback
Upsetting people
Communicating clearly
Speaking at the senior table
Having difficult conversations
Whether you will be listened to
Navigating change, ambiguity and uncertainty
Your career depends on it
Most of all it means raising the quality of your communication. Because as a leader in an organisation, this is how you get results.
Leaders make things happen through, and with other people. That means the way you move value through your organisations is via meetings, messages, emails, phone calls, video calls and conversations. You communicate for a living! This is how you will be judged. Your career depends on it.
I've spent most of my adult life deconstructing what it really takes to learn to communicate well. Again, this is in the context of organisation leadership (which by the way, is a group activity). The Choice Point is where I am currently at with it. This is how you become an asset rather than a constraint for your organisation - accelerator rather than brakes.
Matt helps leaders and teams develop their mindset and resourcefulness so they can relate productively, communicate effectively, and navigate challenge, change and complexity with confidence.
Through coaching and training, he empowers leaders with better choices and more options for progress - building better leadership from the inside out.
Curious what that could look like for you or your organisation? Let’s talk.