Powerful Leadership Communication and Influence Management Course

Powerful communication is the key to effective leadership. This is a five-day practical ways for workplace communication in a variety of ways that senior officials should master if they plan to succeed.

Broad Competencies Addressed

• Become more effective leader in communicating the organization’s goals and desired feedback.
• Be more skillful at applying excellent communication competencies on the job.
• Persuade and convince others in ways that obtain agreement or approval on ideas and views.
• Blend well in an environment of cultural diversity.
• Persuasiveness – ability to present ideas, influence and convince others to obtain agreement and approval on ideas negotiated.
• Become most skillful in the use of today’s communication technology tools.
• Use of English Language – ability to read, speak and write excellently in English, the official language for business.

Course Contents

Day One

Defining Powerful Communication

• Communication is a Skill
• Powerful communicators and great leaders in history
• Communication Traits of Powerful Leaders
• Pulling people in with powerful messages
• A balanced use of inquiry and advocacy in communications
• Analysis of your preferred leadership communication style.
• The powerful communication potential in all of us.

The Effectiveness of a Leader’s Communication

• On power and authority
• Effectiveness of a Leaders: character, conviction, personal examples
• Communication that generates organizational loyalty
• Communicating with motivating language
• Communicating requests: descriptive expectations, time frame, etc.
• Communicating Performance Issues: setting goals, agreeing actions, discussing feedback.

Variety of Communication

• Skills for face-to-face
• Use of body-language
• Skills for telephone communication
• Communicating in writing.

Formal and informal communication

• Planned communication- meetings, conferences, presentations
• Casual communication – face-to-face conversation, phone calls, emails.

Communication Structures

• Downward communication
• Upward communication
• Lateral communication.

Day Two

A Model of Powerful Communication

• Sender planning a message
• Sender encoding the message
• Sender transmitting the message
• Receiver receiving the message
• Receiver decoding message
• Receiver responding based on understanding.

Situational Leadership Communication

• Communication that tells/directs
• Communication that sells
• Communication that collaborates
• Communication that delegates
• Communication in situations of crisis
• Intelligent delivery of bad news
• Communication clarity: speaking in specifics, speaking in generalities, speaking in ambiguities.

Questioning and Listening Skills of a Leader

• Effective listening skills to build rapport
• Questioning techniques that aid understanding
• Overcoming the barriers to good listening and feedback
• Masterful conversations with subordinates and superiors
• Conversation and Reasoning – deductive approach and the deductive approach.

Applying Emotional Intelligence for Communication

• Communicating with motivating language
• Use communication to create rapport and build trust
• Credible communications and communicating to be credible
• Caring communication styles
• Communications that motivate.

Day Three

Communication to Create Employee Engagement

• On-going Communications:
  • what the employee gets
  • what the employee gives
  • sense of belonging
  • employee perception of growth and development.

• Communications of a change leader
• Communicating as a team leader
• Discretionary communication
• Plain speaking – delivering exactly the intended message.

Communicating to Bridge Generational Divide

• Care in the choice of colloquial language, analogies, etc.
• Keeping your subordinates informed
• Keeping your superiors informed
• Attention to gender-sensitive expressions.

Writing Competently for Effective Communication

• Planning the writing
• Organising thought before writing
• Researching for facts
• Word usage
• Common errors in our use of English by Nigerians

• Simplicity and conciseness
• Confused words
• Outdated expressions
• Opinion words and expressions.

Public Speaking

• Speaking directly to listeners emotions
• Putting in the energy that enhances your message
• Communicating with precision and accuracy
• How to suspend assumptions and judgement in a conversation
• What to learn from Leaders who talk themselves into trouble.

Today’s communication technology tools

• The internet and intranet
• Email
• Social media.

Day Four

Achieving Organizational Excellence

• The goals of power and influence
• Right action in and around leadership
• Investing in people
• Investing in outstanding workplace tools
• Leadership coaching for high performance
• Excellence in interpersonal communication
• Reinforcement of governance values
• Spirit of fairplay versus self-serving ruthlessness.

Maintenance of Authority

• Producing results
• Transforming power into influence
• Selection of appropriate influence strategy
• Interplay of power and ethics
• Techniques of maintaining assertiveness in action
• Coaching, mentoring, sponsorship.

Day Five

• Leadership in Difficult Times
• Signs of difficult economic times
• Signs of difficult political times
• Leading teams through a period of limited resources
• Radical changes in service delivery
• Issues of morale and productivity
• Opportunities for positive change.

Note: Available as Classroom Training as Well as Online Training