Rhetoric

Good leader for good people. Most people want a good leader to lead them, most leaders want to lead good people. So which comes first? I don't know. This is not what I will elaborate on in this post but a good leader is certainly made up of many qualities. 

Effective leadership comes in many styles but there are common values we observe of inspiring ones and as someone I know, who is a reputable CEO puts it, one of them is;  

rhetoric

defined as:

1. the ability to use language effectively

2. the art of making persuasive speeches

3. the art of influencing the thought and conduct of an audience

4. the undue use of exaggeration or display

And looking around, I agree. When you are leading a team, your task is to deliver an outcome through a combination of individual acts, and to get everyone on board, you have to influence, clarify and sometimes even dramatize.

Use of analogies are also powerful. I 'grew up' in my career around a boss who was particularly good at this. Whilst I get the message much much more easily, I am also entertained by the humorous side of it.

Then you say, well not everyone can be a good speaker, communicator, whatever. Unfortunately, I find very few leadership roles where one can be 'minimumly' effective without the ability to be rhetorical. Maybe in specific task-based roles aka 'mandur' but in most cases, you will have to be able to communicate more than just 'do this, do that' to influence and motivate. 

The good news is, this is a skill that can be developed. Nobody is born with it.

"I have a dream"

Picture credits to kids.nationalgeographic.com