The Megaphone Effect
When you're in a leadership position, whether it's as a front-line supervisor or the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, your voice becomes amplified. In my teaching and training sessions, I call this the megaphone effect.
When an organization gives you authority, people are just naturally more interested in what you say. What's more, they consider what you say with greater weight. It's one of the "invisible" burdens of leadership that many leaders don't understand. Some even adamantly deny it as if it's some sort of encroachment on their first amendment rights.
Sadly, I've encountered this time and time again, and more unfortunately, I had to learn this first-hand. When I was a captain in the United States Army and in command of a basic training unit, several of us were there late working. We'd finished up and as people tend to do, took a few minutes to unwind and relax, just chatting. For a few minutes, I forgot my role as the commander and considered myself "one of the guys."
Someone told an off-color joke and we all laughed and then I told one. Everyone laughed in the moment, but it offended one of my sergeants. A day later, I was called into the battalion commander's office. He asked me a few quick questions and I acknowledged what happened. In the light of day, it was readily apparent I was out-of-line but the boss made sure I understood it with a written letter of reprimand and directed me to apologize.
I knew I was wrong and rendered an authentic apology but I was also very angry. I was angry at myself because I realized I'd made a mistake and made myself look bad, both in the eyes of my soldiers as well as my battalion commander. I also realized that I'd given the sergeant, who didn't care for me, a stick to hit me.
As a leader, you don’t have the luxury of casual remarks and idle speculation. Your people are always going to be analyzing what you say, how say it, what it means, even what you don't say. They're looking for ways to do what they think you want them to do, where the organization is headed, and ways to excel or avoid trouble.
Here's a great instruction on a key element of leading - i.e. effective and calibrated communication. Thank you Mark!
Good points and I like the megaphone analogy. There is also a positive aspect to this, which I emphasis on our Speaking as a Leader course. You can use this power to put across the good things you want; such as values and behaviours. You can establish your credibility. As Dr Richard Rignall has said, you can show your openness, approachability and most importantly your honesty. The dangers of tweets and other social media are all too apparent these days! In a case this weekend, a leader I know has ridiculed on Facebook some email feedback from an employee. What message does that send to the rest?
Thanks, Mark...there is a fine line between being cautious about content and tone while still being an open and approachable person to whom others may relate. Openness and approachability represent behaviors that attract followers to leaders.
Well done, Sir! Great advice.
Responsible speaking is an art which needs practise as u grow up in corporate ladder... to draw a line between personal and professional conversations is very much needed...hard at times but avoidable!!