SOLUTION: JWI505 Strayer University Leadership Values & Executive Presence Paper

JWI 505: Business Communication and Executive Presence
Academic Submissions and Evaluation
Assignment 1: Your Leadership Values, Executive Presence, and Winning
Due Week 3, Sunday (Weight 10%)
JWMI is the place where leaders are made. You’re here to transform your life, lead teams to success, and grow
your organization. As a leader, speaking your leadership values while being present and authentic will help you
to build connections and establish trust with candor.
For this assignment, you will apply the key concepts from Weeks 1- 3 to deliver a video message on your
leadership values, executive presence, and what winning means to you. The video message will provide an
opportunity for you to practice your executive presence and strategic communication skills. This should be a
video of you. No PowerPoint or other props are needed. Your communication should be clear, main points are
simple and easy to recall, the tone is professional, and reflects your leadership values and passionate purpose.
Instructions:
Create a short video, using Zoom. Your video should last 2 to 3 minutes, but no longer than 3 minutes.
1. Identify 1-3 leadership values that are most important to you. Explain the reasons for their importance,
using the below questions as a guide:
a. Why are these values important to you?
b. As a leader, why are these values essential for effective communication?
c.
How do these values impact/support your executive presence?
2. Discuss a business leader (other than Jack Welch) who exhibits executive presence.
a. In what ways does this leader exhibit executive presence?
b. What aspects of his or her executive presence appeal to you? Why?
c.
How does your leadership style compare to this leader’s?
3. Jack defines winning as, “Growing yourself, your organization, and your teams.” Describe what winning
means for you.
a. What does winning look like for you?
b. Why is it important to you?
c.
How do your leadership values support winning for you?
© Strayer University. All Rights Reserved. This document contains Strayer University confidential and proprietary information and may not be copied,
further distributed, or otherwise disclosed, in whole or in part, without the expressed written permission of Strayer University. This course guide is
subject to change based on the needs of the class.
JWMI 505 – Assignment 1 (1184)
Page 1 of 3
JWI 505: Business Communication and Executive Presence
Academic Submissions and Evaluation
4. Present your video using strategic communication skills and with Executive Presence. See the Best
Practices below to guide you in achieving this.
Executive Presence and Strategic Communication Best Practices:
Remember to focus on utilizing and exhibiting the following:
State your intent and purpose at the onset
Speak confidently, expressively, with passionate purpose and energy
Be authentic and fully present in an engaging manner
Build connection with your audience
Exude your Executive Presence by looking professional (business casual or business attire)
Make sure your background is free from clutter (you do not want to distract your audience)
Make sure your surroundings are quiet (i.e. no children, animals, cars, or other extraneous noise in
the background)
ü Communication is organized, logically flows, uses “beginnings and endings,” and other appropriate
strategies to deliver strong, clear communication
ü
ü
ü
ü
ü
ü
ü
Suggestions:
•
Practice in front of a trusted colleague, friend, or family member, asking for feedback on your vocal
and physical presence, and the effect your message had on them
•
To get the best results with Zoom, please work on a computer rather than a mobile device or iPad
Optional Professor Coaching:
Schedule time with your professor to watch your video together and discuss its elements. You will explore intent
vs. impact and receive growth-focused feedback. You should use this feedback to continue honing your
communication skills and Executive Presence.
© Strayer University. All Rights Reserved. This document contains Strayer University confidential and proprietary information and may not be copied,
further distributed, or otherwise disclosed, in whole or in part, without the expressed written permission of Strayer University. This course guide is
subject to change based on the needs of the class.
JWMI 505 – Assignment 1 (1184)
Page 2 of 3
JWI 505: Business Communication and Executive Presence
Academic Submissions and Evaluation
Assignment 1: Rubric
Weight: 10%
Criteria
1. Identify 1-3
personal
leadership values
and explain the
reasons for their
importance.
Weight: 15%
2. Discuss a
business leader
who exhibits
executive
presence and
compare this
business leader’s
style to your
leadership style.
Weight: 15%
3. Describe what
winning means to
you, and explain
how your
leadership values
support winning
for you.
Weight: 15%
4. The video
message is
delivered using
strategic
communication;
student displays a
strong executive
presence.
Weight: 45%
5. The video
adheres to the 2
to 3 minute time
limit.
Assignment 1: Your Leadership Values, Executive Presence, and Winning
Unsatisfactory
Low Pass
Pass
High Pass
Honors
Student does not
or unsatisfactorily
identifies 1-3
personal
leadership values
and does not
explain the
reasons for their
importance.
Student partially
identifies 1-3
personal
leadership values
or partially
explains the
reasons for their
importance.
Student
identifies 1-3
personal
leadership
values and
satisfactorily
explains the
reasons for their
importance.
Student identifies
1-3 personal
leadership values
and fully explains
the reasons for
their importance.
Student identifies 1-3
personal leadership
values and
exemplarily explains
the reasons for their
importance.
Does not or
unsatisfactorily
explains how the
business leader
exhibits executive
presence, or does
not compare the
business leader’s
style to your
leadership style.
Partially explains
how the business
leader exhibits
executive
presence, or
partially compares
the business
leader’s style to
your leadership
style.
Satisfactorily
explains how the
business leader
exhibits
executive
presence, and
clearly compares
the business
leader’s style to
your leadership
style.
Explains well and
succinctly how the
business leader
exhibits executive
presence, and
provides a good
comparison of the
business leader’s
style and your
leadership style.
Explains in an
exemplary manner
how the business
leader exhibits
executive presence,
and provides an
excellent comparison
of the business
leader’s style and
your leadership style.
Does not describe
what winning
means to you, or
does not explain
how your
leadership values
support winning for
you.
Partially describes
what winning
means to you, or
partially explains
how your
leadership values
support winning
for you.
Satisfactorily
describes what
winning means
to you, and
explains well
how your
leadership
values support
winning for you.
Completely
describes what
winning means to
you, and explains
very well and
succinctly how
your leadership
values support
winning for you.
Describes in an
exemplary manner
what winning means
to you, and explains
excellently how your
leadership values
support winning for
you.
Does not deliver
the message using
strategic
communication, or
with does not
display an
adequate
executive
presence.
Delivers the
message using
limited strategic
communication, or
displays a partially
adequate
executive
presence.
Delivers the
message using
good strategic
communication,
and displays a
fairly strong
executive
presence.
Delivers the
message using
very good
strategic
communication,
and displays a
strong executive
presence.
Delivers the message
using exemplary
strategic
communication, and
displays an excellent
and powerful
executive presence.
The video does is
over the 3-minute
time limit by more
than 2 minutes.
The video is over
the 3- minute time
limit, but by no
more than 2
minutes.
The video is over
the 3-minute
time limit by no
more than 1
minute.
The video is over
the 3-minute time
limit by no more
than 30 seconds.
The video adheres to
the 2-3 minute time
limit.
Weight: 10%
© Strayer University. All Rights Reserved. This document contains Strayer University confidential and proprietary information and may not be copied,
further distributed, or otherwise disclosed, in whole or in part, without the expressed written permission of Strayer University. This course guide is
subject to change based on the needs of the class.
JWMI 505 – Assignment 1 (1184)
Page 3 of 3
JWI 505: Business Communications and Executive Presence
Lecture Notes
WEEK 3: LISTEN AND ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS
Listen and Ask the Right Questions
You come home from work after a long day only to discover that your significant other is upset. You ask
what’s wrong. As you hear the story unfold, you repeatedly offer suggestions as to how your significant other
might solve the problems described. You are caught completely off guard when you end up sleeping on the
couch. What you’ve just experienced is a frequent cause of failure where in-person communication is
concerned. Your spouse was angry because you didn’t listen. You instead assumed you knew what could
make the problem go away.
Effective communication is not just about imparting information. It is about receiving information, too. When
two people with a pair of radio walkie-talkies both hold down the button to talk, neither one of them can hear
the other. They are both too busy sending to receive. To communicate effectively, you must focus most of
your energy on listening when the other person talks. When someone feels heard, they are more receptive
to your own message, more likely to build rapport with you, and more likely to become your active ally in
solving the problems at hand. The result is that all parties to the communication exchange information
effectively, moving toward a collaborative solution.
When was the last time you felt heard? Do your colleagues listen? Do your direct reports listen? Does your
boss listen? Do you?
Listening – and only listening, with no reply needed, no action taken, and no solution suggested – can grow
a relationship. We often believe, incorrectly, that more is better. Attempting to multi-task when you should be
listening is not productive. Worse, it causes us to lose the human connection that we crave for real success
in our business relationships. Most importantly, however, we must not merely listen actively to build these
relationships; we must listen with empathy to achieve a connection with our colleagues.
Listen with Empathy
William Ury, an author and expert in negotiation, explains that there are three important reasons to listen:
1. Listening helps us understand the other side. Negotiation is an exercise in influence, and nothing
helps you influence another person better than understanding them.
2. Listening helps us connect because it builds rapport and trust. When we listen, we demonstrate
empathy because everyone wants to be heard.
3. Listening makes it more likely that the other person will listen to us, which helps us attain their buyin.
© Strayer University. All Rights Reserved. This document contains Strayer University confidential and proprietary information and may not be
copied, further distributed, or otherwise disclosed, in whole or in part, without the expressed written permission of Strayer University.
JWI 505 – Lecture Notes (1194)
Page 1 of 4
JWI 505: Business Communications and Executive Presence
Lecture Notes
What can we learn by listening with empathy? It gives us insight into others’ strengths, values, reasons for
being, and what matters most to them. When we actually hear what is on someone’s mind, rather than
focusing on our own assumptions or beliefs about them, true communication becomes possible.
“Listening may be the cheapest concession we can make in a negotiation,” Ury explains. “It costs us nothing
and brings huge benefits. Listening may be the golden key that opens the door to human relationship.”
Refuse to Assume
One of the most powerful techniques you can use when listening fully and empathetically is refusing to
assume that you know or understand what the other person is saying. Periodically, tell them what it is you
believe they are saying. This will not only demonstrate that you are a committed, active listener, but it will:
•
Give them the opportunity to correct you, if your understanding of what they’ve said is incorrect
•
Give you both an opportunity to achieve a connection
It’s rare that people listen to us with full commitment. When we hear them repeat back to us what they
believe we’ve said, this demonstration of understanding, this illustration of their commitment to be fully
present and hear us, immediately makes us feel valued. When we can say, “Yes! You’ve heard me!” then
we have achieved a connection, which, in turn, strengthens that relationship. This, in turn, leads to better
collaboration and better results.
Try this: listen for two full minutes to someone speak to you about the topic of their choice. Be fully present.
Do not speak. Do not even acknowledge what they are saying for the two minute time period. Instead, listen
without thinking about what you will say in response. When you’ve finished the two minutes, ask the other
person what it felt like to be heard.
Connect as You Listen
The key to listening with empathy is that, when you listen, you should not just listen for information. You
should also be connecting your own emotions and your own values to what you are hearing. What opinions
and positions do you and the other party share? To which parts of what they are saying can you best relate?
Where is your common ground? When you relate what someone says to what is also important to you, you
establish empathy and rapport with that person.
Be careful, however, not to make everything about you. When relating what someone says to your own
values and priorities, this is easy to do. Avoid the temptation to hijack the conversation and put the focus on
your own issues.
© Strayer University. All Rights Reserved. This document contains Strayer University confidential and proprietary information and may not be
copied, further distributed, or otherwise disclosed, in whole or in part, without the expressed written permission of Strayer University.
JWI 505 – Lecture Notes (1194)
Page 2 of 4
JWI 505: Business Communications and Executive Presence
Lecture Notes
Asking the Right Questions
Asking the right questions is a critical skill for leaders. It is closely related to, and intertwined with, listening.
Asking the right questions, questions to which we authentically desire the answers, demonstrates our
interest and curiosity about what others are saying. Asking the right questions is a great complement to
listening with empathy. It allows you to grow while, at the same time, coaching others. This includes
prompting them to self-generate solutions and to achieve, through their own thought processes, their own
aha moments. This doesn’t just make them more effective colleagues. It also more fully enhances their buyin when you work together.
Learning to ask the right questions will also help you to inspire and engage others in working toward the
desired collaborative outcome. When you ask the right questions, the brilliance of everyone in the room can
shine, which is the essence of Jack Welch’s philosophy of getting “every brain in the game” to achieve better
results. Asking the right questions is a productive, positive, creative process that can get us what we want.
We all seem to believe this to be true, yet few of us do it. One of the reasons we don’t is that we haven’t
learned to listen effectively. Good questions must be combined with effective listening to achieve results.
Jack, for example, is a master at asking effective, probing questions. His fully present, active listening and
his intense and targeted questioning help him get to the heart of a matter quickly. But what exactly is he
doing when he asks effective questions? According to Irene Leonard, a master-level certified business
coach, effective questions are powerful, thought-provoking queries that are open-ended.
Don’t ask leading questions that assume a conclusion. You must learn to wait for an answer, not provide the
other person with the answer they think you want to hear. Your goal is to learn what someone knows and
understands about a problem, not simply to inform them what the problem might be.
If you sense the other party becoming defensive, it’s a good idea to accompany why questions with context.
Why questions can seem like blame or judgment. Always follow a why question with the phrase, “I’m trying
to understand _________” Fill in the blank with the context for your question that explains why you’re not
looking to find fault or place blame, but just to understand an issue.
Never make assumptions when asking questions. Don’t tell the other person what you believe they think.
Instead, ask them to provide you with their understanding. Say something like, “What’s your understanding
of this issue?” or “What do you think the problem is?” Don’t say something like, “Why do you think Payroll
refuses to perform month-end duties on time?” for example, when you could instead say something like,
“What’s your understanding of the month-end duties in the Payroll department?”
You must let go of any preconceived notions you may have when using effective questioning to get to the
heart of an issue. It’s not enough to know what someone thinks; you must strive to understand why they
think it. Effective, probing questions can achieve this for you.
© Strayer University. All Rights Reserved. This document contains Strayer University confidential and proprietary information and may not be
copied, further distributed, or otherwise disclosed, in whole or in part, without the expressed written permission of Strayer University.
JWI 505 – Lecture Notes (1194)
Page 3 of 4
JWI 505: Business Communications and Executive Presence
Lecture Notes
Critical Skills for Asking Effective, Powerful Questions
Irene Leonard 1 describes the following listening skills as critical to effective questioning:
•
Articulating: Succinctly describe to the other person what you understand about what they are
telling you. This not only achieves rapport by demonstrating that you are actively listening, but it also
invites them to correct you if your understanding is incomplete.
•
Clarifying: Asking clarifying questions is a lot like articulating, but it helps you fill in the gaps of your
understanding for a more complete picture. It demonstrates that you care enough to make sure you
understand the other person completely.
•
Being Curious: Don’t make assumptions when listening. This can cause you to leap to conclusions
and not truly hear what they are telling you.
•
Silence: Don’t talk, and don’t tell the other person what you think they believe. Instead, wait and
give them time to formulate an answer when you ask them a question. Then, hear them out
completely and repeat the process.
Leaders Ask Powerful Questions
Powerful questions are questions that help you identify an issue. They also help you elicit further
information, while gaining the buy-in of the other person and driving all participants to necessary actions.
Effective business leaders listen with empathy while being fully present, achieving connections with their
colleagues by asking probing questions that drive all parties toward a satisfactory conclusion. This is the
very definition of getting all brains in the game – and of winning through collaborative effort in an
organization.
1
http://www.coachingforchange.com/pub10.html.
© Strayer University. All Rights Reserved. This document contains Strayer University confidential and proprietary information and may not be
copied, further distributed, or otherwise disclosed, in whole or in part, without the expressed written permission of Strayer University.
JWI 505 – Lecture Notes (1194)
Page 4 of 4
JWI 505: Business Communications and Executive Presence
Lecture Notes
WEEK 2: BUSINESS WRITING
Composing, Organizing, and Editing Written Messages
An email sits in your inbox. You reread it several times. The message could have several different
meanings, some of them very bad. Then again, you could be overreacting. It could be nothing. Before you
know it, you’ve wasted several hours worrying about it. Worse, perhaps you’ve written a reply based on one
interpretation of that message, and now, you’ve ended up in a back-and-forth exchange with a colleague
who is offended that you jumped to the wrong conclusion.
There are so many ways emails – or any form of written communication – can go wrong. When they do, lost
productivity, injured feelings, and damaged business relationships result. This is the opposite of effective
communication and works at cross-purposes with your goals. As a leader, you cannot afford to have your
messages be misinterpreted. You also cannot afford to have them ignored. So what do you do?
Sir Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin Group, once said, “Clarity in business writing is not a luxury.”
Business leaders – and professionals in every business organization – do a great deal of their
communication through writing. In emails, in memos, in reports and business cases, and in white papers and
proposals, the written word is an integral component to all business communication. Learning how to
compose, organize, and edit your written messages is a critical skill that you must develop, if you are to
achieve your own goals, as well as the goals of the organization.
The Three Pillars of Effective Business Writing
In the modern, fast-paced business environment, no one has the time or patience to read long, complicated
documents. Your colleagues require written communications that are clear and efficient. But even clear,
concise messages can do more harm than good, if they are not also written with authenticity, positivity, and
an eye toward professional presentation. The three pillars of effective business writing, therefore, are:
1. Keep it simple
Don’t make the reader search for your meaning. Be clear, concise, and efficient in your delivery.
2. Keep it positive:
Be authentic, candid, and diplomatic in your writing. You want to achieve rapport with your
audience, to establish a connection with the other party or parties. You can’t do that if your
messages are negative, pretentious, or fake.
© Strayer University. All Rights Reserved. This document contains Strayer University confidential and proprietary information and may not be
copied, further distributed, or otherwise disclosed, in whole or in part, without the expressed written permission of Strayer University.
JWI 505 – Lecture Notes (1194)
Page 1 of 6
JWI 505: Business Communications and Executive Presence
Lecture Notes
3. Keep it professional:
The mechanics of proper writing still matter, even though modern text messaging and sloppily
written conventions have seemingly become the norm. Your written communication must never
undercut your credibility or your meaning. It must never distract the audience or diminish your
credibility. That means writing to accepted standards of spelling, grammar, punctuation, and
sentence structure, as well as overall presentation.
If you keep these three basic rules in mind, your writing will get your messages heard. It will ensure that they
are well received, and that they facilitate better business relationships.
The Writing Process
Writing is a five-step process that begins with identifying the need to write. If there is a need, the process
continues with setting your goal and strategy, formulating and presenting your message, and then editing
the end result to produce an effective message. The process can be summed up as follows:
1. Should you write? If not, stop. You’re done. If yes, continue.
2. What is the goal, the desired outcome of writing? If you can’t define it, don’t try to write your
message until you can.
3. Do you know what you need to know? If you lack the information necessary to compose your
message, go and perform the necessary research before trying to write.
4. Once you know what you need to know, compose your message.
5. Edit your message, with the goal of making it more concise.
Deciding whether you should write may be as simple as asking yourself if you’re angry, upset, or otherwise
emotionally alarmed. It’s never a good idea to compose a written message when you’re emotionally excited.
Always wait until you’ve had a chance to calm down, so that you can write from a more objective emotional
headspace. You may determine that you do not need to write at all, once that moment passes.
If you do need to write, you must identify your audience. To whom are you writing? Is the message
customer-facing? Is it intended for technically skilled employees? Is it a message to management? Does it
move up or down the hierarchy of the company? Different audiences require different message strategies.
Next, determine what the desired outcomes of your message are. These outcomes will also dictate the
strategy and structure of your message. Are you relating simple, straightforward information that is not
controversial? Are you transmitting a message that is potentially delicate and must be handled with
diplomacy? Are you asking for feedback, for buy-in, or for information you don’t have? The circumstances
and the audience will dictate a different strategy and structure for every message.
© Strayer University. All Rights Reserved. This document contains Strayer University confidential and proprietary information and may not be
copied, further distributed, or otherwise disclosed, in whole or in part, without the expressed written permission of Strayer University.
JWI 505 – Lecture Notes (1194)
Page 2 of 6
JWI 505: Business Communications and Executive Presence
Lecture Notes
Some messages require that you impart information. Others require that you have specific knowledge about
specific subjects, such as a white paper or business proposal. If you do not have the information needed,
you’ll need to perform the necessary research and obtain it. In some forms of written communication, this
means citing your sources to avoid plagiarism.
Once you have identified that you need to write, as well as the audience, the desired outcomes, the
corresponding message strategy, and the information and research requirements for that message, it is time
to compose your message.
Constructing Your Message
Written communications can be a quick email composed on your smartphone, or a lengthy, fully researched
and referenced business proposal or white paper. The basic tenets of effective message construction – the
macro of message design – start with the process we have already described. They continue with these
broad guidelines:
•
Keep it simple and on message
Overcomplicated messages will be ignored because the key points get lost in the length and detail.
Always keep your messages as simple as possible, conveying only necessary information.
•
Construct your messages methodically and logically
A message should flow logically from start to finish. The reader should not have to struggle to
determine its meaning. That meaning should be obvious.
•
Design your messages so they can be quickly skimmed and reviewed
When most people got their news from printed newspapers, those papers were designed to be
easily skimmed. Headlines and subheadings called out the most critical information in every story. It
was possible to visually skim the front page of the newspaper, or the individual sections, to glean
the basic news before drilling down to read individual articles. Your messages should employ the
same strategy, so they may be easily reviewed at a glance before they are read in detail.
•
Avoid text walls and long paragraphs
Thick blocks of text that are not broken by white space are difficult to read and absorb. This will
cause your message to be ignored or dismissed. Always avoid these dense text walls.
•
Employ bullets and lists where appropriate
These are especially useful for action items and critical data, as the bullets draw attention to the
items in the list and emphasize them to the reader. Bulleted lists make it easier to organize
information, so that it may be more easily absorbed and digested by the reader.
© Strayer University. All Rights Reserved. This document contains Strayer University confidential and proprietary information and may not be
copied, further distributed, or otherwise disclosed, in whole or in part, without the expressed written permission of Strayer University.
JWI 505 – Lecture Notes (1194)
Page 3 of 6
JWI 505: Business Communications and Executive Presence
Lecture Notes
When you have drafted your message according to the guidelines we’ve described, you must then edit that
message.
Editing Your Message
Once drafted, a message is not final until it has been edited. This does not mean merely reading through it
to correct errors. It also means improving the message by making it shorter, more effective, and – if needed
– more professional.
It goes without saying that you should spell-check and grammar-check your message whenever possible.
You should also employ global find-and-replace changes to keep your message compliant with any
necessary brand standards and organizational specifications.
Edit your message for brevity, focus, style, and correctness. If identifying the need to write, setting your
goals and strategy, composing your message, and following the three pillars of effective business writing is
the macro of the writing process, then the micro of the process – the nuts and bolts of writing well – is being
mindful of brevity, focus, style, and correctness.
Brevity, Focus, Style, Correctness
Brevity is keeping your message short. Every message you construct should be direct, concise, and to the
point. Brevity shows respect for the reader’s time. It also makes it easier for your audience to understand,
process, and respond to your message. When you edit your message, always do so with an eye toward
making it shorter, not longer. Individual sentences should be short, too. Separate lengthy constructions into
shorter individual sentences.
Focus is not letting your message get bogged down in extraneous details. Don’t include anything that
distracts from your key points or which does not support your objectives. This includes assigning blame.
Blaming doesn’t support your objectives or further the purpose of your message. It also puts your audience
on the defensive and, therefore, works against you when you are trying to communicate effectively.
Style is the manner in which you present your message. Is the message formal? Is it informal? Or is it, as
most of your communications will be, business conversational? Writing in a business conversational style
means writing clear, succinct messages that are presented with professionalism and authenticity. Very
formal messages may seem pretentious and will distract or even offend the reader. Very informal messages
may offend because they are inappropriate or too familiar.
© Strayer University. All Rights Reserved. This document contains Strayer University confidential and proprietary information and may not be
copied, further distributed, or otherwise disclosed, in whole or in part, without the expressed written permission of Strayer University.
JWI 505 – Lecture Notes (1194)
Page 4 of 6
JWI 505: Business Communications and Executive Presence
Lecture Notes
Correctness is the mechanics of writing. Proper grammar, sentence structure, and punctuation are
important, even in the days of streamlined text communications and Internet-driven abbreviations. Failure to
use correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, and sentence structure can work at cross-purposes with your
objectives by undercutting your credibility. It is therefore in your best interests, when you write, to write well.
Writing Well
Writing well means writing correctly. There is no single standard for writing well because what is correct
changes from organization to organization. Standards differ, but there are some basic rules to follow.
Correct writing:
•
Cites its sources to avoid plagiarism
•
Avoids buzzwords and jargon
•
Complies with organizational standards
•
Does not offend; it is gender neutral and inclusive
•
Does not embarrass you or the organization
Always cite sources that you use for references in proposals, white papers, and other lengthy
communications. Brief messages, such as emails, rarely require this type of citation, but this will depend on
the message itself and the context in which it is sent. Remember, just because something is on the Internet
doesn’t mean that it’s free to use without attribution.
Buzzwords and jargon are occupational hazards in most organizations. Avoiding these makes your writing
clearer and more authentic. This does not mean that you must never use terms that are frequently employed
in your industry. If a buzzword or piece of industry jargon is the fastest and most effective way to get your
meaning across, then by all means use it. Just avoid using too many of these references, which can turn
your message into an indecipherable code if the recipient doesn’t know all of your terms.
When being mindful of buzzwords and jargon, you must also avoid bogging down your writing in
unnecessary font changes, italics, or other stylistic flourishes intended for emphasis. This is distracting and
does not actually improve the clarity or impact of your message.
If your organization or industry uses a commonly accepted set of specifications or a style guide for writing,
take the time to familiarize yourself with these standards. Comply with them. This includes, where
applicable, avoiding passivity, weasel words (indirect phrases like “some have said” and “studies have
shown” that deflect responsibility), and exclamation points. Exclamation points are worthy of specific
mention because they are almost never appropriate in business writing. They look accusing or alarming and
may even appear unprofessional in tone.
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JWI 505 – Lecture Notes (1194)
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JWI 505: Business Communications and Executive Presence
Lecture Notes
The choice not to offend has nothing to do with being politically correct. Your messages cannot reach their
audience and be understood if the audience takes offense. Use gender-neutral and inclusive language
where appropriate, such as they or you instead of he. Your goal is to keep the reader engaged. Offending
your audience causes them to disengage.
Finally, never write anything that is potentially embarrassing to you or your organization. This includes, but is
not limited to, poor grammar, sentence fragments, run-ons, and other lazy or sloppy writing that makes you
look unprofessional or uneducated. It also means never writing anything in a message that you wouldn’t
want to be read by every person in the company – assuming the information is not privileged. In other
words, never write something that you know would be deliberately offensive.
Take the Time to Present Yourself Well
Written communication can make or break a leader. Do it poorly and you risk undercutting your own
credibility. Do it well and you will engage your colleagues authentically, gaining buy-in and building
consensus. Using your writing in business to strengthen your relationships better positions both you and
your organization to win.
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JWI 505 – Lecture Notes (1194)
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JWI 505: Business Communications and Executive Presence
Lecture Notes
WEEK 1: EXECUTIVE PRESENCE (Part I)
Your Communication Is Your Credibility
You look out across the conference table at a room full of people who are all looking back at you. As the
silence continues, you realize, perhaps for the first time, that they are looking at you for answers. You begin,
carefully repeating the talking points you have meticulously rehearsed, consulting your notes, and diligently
imparting to the group the facts they need to know to get their work done.
As the meeting continues, you realize something is wrong. You are losing them. Several of them are looking
at their phones. Side conversations are developing, first in hushed tones, then in louder and louder
conversations. Attendees are looking at the time and impatiently shuffling papers. First one, then two more
people stand and tell you they have urgent business elsewhere. Then it dawns on you: you have lost control
of the meeting. You have lost the respect and attention of your coworkers. You will now spend far more time
trying to get feedback and assigning action items through email or individual meetings. Worse, those on your
team may ignore future notices, believing your meetings to be a waste of their time.
In horror, you realize you have gained a reputation as an ineffective leader. Whether you are an experienced
executive or a relatively new career climber, being branded ineffective – having a lack of credibility in the
eyes of your coworkers – will have serious negative effects on your career. What has gone wrong?
Simply put, you have not learned to communicate, and therefore, to lead effectively. In business, your ability
to lead is synonymous with your credibility. These skills do not just come to people magically or naturally;
they must be developed, even in those seen as natural leaders. This is why leadership coaching is more
critical than ever for driving better results and organizational growth. The average business entity is
relatively slow to change. People, too, are reluctant to get work done differently than the way they have
always done. Bureaucracy and poor lines of communication further hinder efforts to change and grow a
business.
Gaining the enthusiastic cooperation of your coworkers, from subordinates to managers, requires that you
engage them and even persuade them. To do that, you must communicate effectively. You must involve
those with whom you communicate, gaining their buy-in, encouraging their collaboration, and building strong
relationships. This will not only help you achieve your goals. It will rocket you forward in the company’s
hierarchy.
The business environment is rapidly changing at all times. It is dynamic, full of technological disruption.
Productivity increases necessarily lag behind these disruptions, which means innovation in the corporate
environment is absolutely critical to the success of your organization. Great communication is the key to
facilitating this innovation. It is also the key to fostering and supporting the type of meritocracy that fully
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JWI 505 – Lecture Notes (1194)
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JWI 505: Business Communications and Executive Presence
Lecture Notes
engages employees, supports risk-taking, and enables all members of the organization to better position the
business to compete in a global environment.
This course will help you develop the critical skill of communication, which in turn will make you a more
effective leader. It will help you grow your leadership shadow, uncovering previously untapped potential,
while adopting more relational, collaborative, and consultative models for leading and influencing. Today’s
businesses are evolving to build coaching cultures that encourage organizational learning and adaptability:
the very flexibility that helps businesses position themselves to win in their markets and their industries.
This is one of the reasons that executive coaching, like that offered by JWMI, is so important. If you master
the skill of effective communication now, your career will have increased acceleration potential. Effective
communicators know how to be themselves. They do not read from notes; they are honest and candid,
recognizing their audiences and adapting to hold others’ attention. They do not plow nervously through
talking points; they are confident and practiced as they present, engaging their audiences in dialogue, while
keeping tabs on nonverbal cues that tell them how well they are doing.
Effective communicators do not lose control of meetings. They do not lose the respect of their peers. They
do not fail to accomplish their goals. Effective communicators understand that effective business
communication is as simple as A and B. The letters represent:
•
Authenticity
•
Being Present
We’ll talk about each one of these in turn. Two other important elements of business communication are
ethical considerations and your online presence. We’ll touch on these topics in this lecture and cover them in
more depth over the breadth of this course.
Authenticity
When you listen to someone speak, what in their speaking inspires confidence? Is it their tone? Is it their
body language? Is it their cadence and their delivery? These are all contributing factors, but it’s none of
these. The quality to which you respond to other people when they communicate effectively with you is their
authenticity. Many would-be business leaders operate within layers of pretense. They don’t say what they
really think; they say what they think others want to hear. This is no way to lead authentically.
Authenticity is how earnest, honest, and genuine you seem to others. It is shedding pretense to be
realistically you when you communicate. It is how you show up to speak. It also entails how you engage
others, and the effect you achieve when you communicate with them. Effective business communication is
authentic. This authenticity, in turn, inspires trust and confidence in the speaker. This is a tremendously
important part of communicating as a business leader.
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JWI 505 – Lecture Notes (1194)
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JWI 505: Business Communications and Executive Presence
Lecture Notes
Consider Gene Krantz, the character played by Ed Harris in the movie Apollo 13. Krantz was the NASA
Flight Director who led the successful efforts by Mission Control to save the crew of the Apollo 13 after part
of the service module exploded. Krantz wrote a memoir, fittingly titled Failure Is Not an Option, in which he
described his NASA career and that fateful mission.
It was Krantz’s job to rally his team, inspire faith and confidence in those team members, and to clearly
declare the mission the team faced: the crew of the Apollo 13 would not die on his watch. Harris’s portrayal
of Krantz exemplifies a strong, effective leader. He assigned tasks as needed, and called on his staff’s best
advice when he was unsure of the optimal course of action. He boosted their morale, directed their efforts,
coordinated their inputs, and defused conflicts when necessary. This is what effective leaders do. This type
of leader has one guiding principle: You always know the answer, even when you don’t.
Now, this doesn’t mean you make up an answer if you’re not sure. It does mean that you do not panic. You
do not show weakness. You delegate responsibility, you assign actions to cover any deficits you may have
yourself, and above all, you are honest. Krantz did not lie to his crew; he told them what he needed, said
exactly what he meant, and held the crew accountable, fairly, and with an even hand. This is all authenticity.
Authenticity, at its heart, is being candid and direct, carrying yourself with dignity and professionalism while
you do so.
Being sincere is more persuasive than pretending. Don’t try to engage people by telling them what you think
they want to hear. Engage them by being forthright with the truth. The power of being genuine is the power
of humility. It shows people that you respect them enough to be honest with them. Respect, when shown, is
generally reciprocated, and this is what makes it effective.
What authenticity is not is copying the mannerisms and conduct of other people you respect. Other leaders
make great role models, but you can’t copy someone else and also be authentic. You must be yourself, and
you must be genuine. This means being honest, telling people what you really think – but with diplomacy,
professionalism, and politeness – and connecting with them.
How do we connect with others? The first part of that connection is the honesty we’ve just discussed. We
trust people who are honest with us. We generally want to establish working relationships with people whom
we believe are genuine. Humans are emotionally hard-wired to respond to that type of honesty, to that type
of respect. The second contributor to connecting with others is being generous with your time.
Be Generous with Your Attention
Imagine the most difficult supervisor or coworker you have ever worked with, someone whom you depended
on for information or resources necessary to do your job. If you and your fellow business leaders compare
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JWI 505 – Lecture Notes (1194)
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JWI 505: Business Communications and Executive Presence
Lecture Notes
notes, you will find one of the qualities most difficult coworkers or managers share is that they are stingy with
their attention. In conversation, they always make you feel as if they are impatient to end the interaction.
When you approach them, they make you feel as if they are angry or, at the very least, inconvenienced by
your query. This impatience, this unwillingness to share their time, doesn’t just make working with them
difficult. It undercuts their ability to communicate, making them less effective leaders.
Any manager who has ever said, “My door is always open,” was acknowledging the need to be generous
with attention. An effective leader, an effective business communicator, will always give you the time you
need. Effective leaders do not make you feel as if you are a bother or an imposition. They will instead
engage you, showing up as their true selves, speaking about what really matters to them. This behavior will
inspire you, and others, to do the same. The result is candid, trusting relationships in which collaborative
creativity better positions the business to win.
Being Present
How well do you multitask? Sorry, that’s a trick question. The answer is… you can’t. Every study on
multitasking proves this, yet somehow we persist in the delusion that we can work on multiple jobs at the
same time. The fact is, you can work on many tasks, but only one task at any one given moment. What we
think of as multitasking is really just time management, seeing to it that everything on your list of multiple
tasks is eventually attended to. In reality, you’re working on one item first, then another, and then another.
The best multitaskers are simply more effective at switching focus from one single item to another single
item.
Even when we are with work colleagues discussing critical issues, we often think we can also mentally
review our to-do list, read a quick text, and worry about our next meeting, all while somehow properly
engaging with those colleagues. We can’t. This is the antithesis of being present, in fact. There is no faster
way to prove you are not present, not attentive, not open to others’ ideas, and not actively engaged with
them, than when you stare down at your phone while they are talking. Yet how many times in a day do you
see someone speaking to another person face-to-face, only to stop, take out their phone, and divert their
attention?
To be present, to engage with others effectively, means you must give them your whole attention. You can
only truly do this to one group or one speaker at a time. Imagine sitting in a job interview with three
interviewers. You can answer their questions one at a time, but if they all start speaking to you at once, you’ll
be overwhelmed. When you engage with others, give them your full attention, as if nothing and no one else
on the planet matters more. This will not only inspire others and build healthy, collaborative relationships. It
will produce fewer misunderstandings, while also marking you as an effective communicator and business
leader. People respond when they are actively listened to by those who are present.
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JWI 505 – Lecture Notes (1194)
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JWI 505: Business Communications and Executive Presence
Lecture Notes
Try being present with someone else for just two minutes. Listen to them actively and intently. Don’t wait to
talk; think about their words. Don’t formulate your answer; hear them out first. Don’t judge what they are
saying to you; leave that for after they have spoken their piece. Give them your full focus. Not only will you
glean more from all of your business conversations when you are present while engaging with others, but
you’ll increase the perception among your colleagues that you are an effective communicator who is being
authentic with them. Your ability to influence and capture others’ attention will soar accordingly.
Ethical Implications
Each week, this course will provide ethical guidelines that align with corporate responsibility. Our goal, in all
business communications and all business, is to act responsibly and ethically, with truth, trust, and integrity.
In other words, we want to say and do what is right, because repeatedly doing so inspires others and is the
most effective way to lead.
This week, being authentic and congruent with your leadership values are notable examples of ethics in the
workplace. Being real and true to who you are is the first step in producing candor and clarity. This is the
basis for building and maintaining trusting relationships. These relationships fuel collaboration, which in turn
accelerates results and positions your business to win.
Communicating Online as a Business Leader
It is not enough to show executive presence in person. In the modern business world, you will do far more of
your communicating through online or remote channels: email, telephone calls, video teleconferencing, text
messaging, and so on. Our business communications circle the globe, crossing national borders as well as
varying cultures. You must be able to project your leadership presence digitally as well as in person. You
must be able to show up professionally, distinctively, and authentically, remotely (through transmitted
communication) and in text (through messaging, memos, and other reporting).
This course will teach you to evolve your executive presence online by providing strategic guidance on how
to update your LinkedIn profile. Do you show up on LinkedIn authentically and distinctively? Do you
communicate in a way that is congruent with your leadership values? You will learn to do so in this course,
and you will receive peer and professor feedback to that end.
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JWI 505: Business Communications and Executive Presence
Lecture Notes
Be Authentic, Be Present, Be Yourself
Business communication should be easy. All you have to do is be yourself, but be yourself in a way that is
professional, diplomatic, and effective. In written, online, and in-person communication, you must be able to
show up distinctively and in a way that supports truth, trust, and integrity. This should be the foundation for
all of your communication as a business leader, despite what you may think about how you should conduct
yourself or how you want others to see you.
As you develop your business communication in this course, you will learn to shed layers of pretense. You
will become your authentic, professional self, the business leader who you truly and distinctly are. That is the
purpose and the goal of this course.
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