WHY CLARITY
AND
CONVICTION
a
m
BEAT
s
ri
a
h
C
by Dan Coughlin
C
2016 Issue 1 |
THE
SCORE
12
ommunication is obviously
essential to being an effective leader. So what makes
for really effective communication? Here are three definitions
plucked from Merriam-Webster’s
dictionary to consider:
• CHARISMA – a special magnetic
charm or appeal.
• CLARITY – the quality of being
expressed, remembered and easily
understood in a very exact way.
• CONVICTION – the feeling of being
sure that what you believe or say is
true.
Two of these three are essential to being a great communicator
and the one that I leave out might
surprise you. Many companies still list
charisma as an essential leadership
competency. I really disagree with
that.
CHARISMA is a personality trait. It
is largely inherent in the individual
and can be nurtured further over
time. Charisma is about how you
look, how you carry yourself, how
you dress, the tone of your voice,
and the ability to change the speed
and volume of your words. It is
not an essential
variable of great
leadership. Some
great leaders had
charisma. Some
great leaders did
not. Some terrible leaders did have
charisma. Some terrible leaders did
not.
CLARITY is the ability to make a
clear and memorable statement that
another person can easily repeat and
explain to other people.
CONVICTION is to believe in what
you’re saying so strongly that you