A leader has a voice. The voice is what leads the team, the organization or the group to victory. No voice, no victory.
Why must a leader not stay quiet?
Here’s why: People are designed to follow AND people have problems. When people encounter problems, they need leaders to show the way. But, even before people encounter problems, even when there are no problems, humans need other humans to help direct, guide and prepare them for what comes next. A leader is most effective when he or she is preparing their followers for what they can expect or what they will experience.
No matter if you agree or disagree, the truth is humans don’t pop out of eggs. We aren’t born at random times in random places by random circumstances. Every human is brought into the community of other humans as a completely helpless infant: immature, unlearned and unprepared for life. This is why humans have to have leadership, because, we enter life unprepared, immature and unlearned for what comes next.
A quiet leader prepares no one for what comes next.
Until death, something is always coming next. This is why a leader must have vision. This vision is a combination of understanding where you are now and where you will go next. A leader peers into the uncertain, murky unknown of the next and proclaims a direction and a future that prepares people for this next thing. This is leadership at its core. If you aren’t preparing others, then you aren’t leading them. And it’s impossible to prepare people you don’t speak to.
A leader’s lack of speaking is demonstrative of passivity. Going back to the Bible, Adam’s passivity was an abdication of his authority and a forfeiture of his position as a leader. He stood by silently (Larry Crab wrote an insightful book entitled “The Silence of Adam”) instead of speaking up to prevent disaster from striking. A leader’s ability to speak into moments of potential crisis when they are tempted to be passive can completely reverse the direction and outcome of what comes next. Adam let another speak when he should have spoken for himself. Leaders who depend on the counsel of others to speak for themselves are subtly both resigning and rejecting the mantle of leadership responsibility they’ve been given. Passivity always means bigger problems. A leader who doesn’t speak into the problem, is giving the problem permission to grow.
A leader never has a position without problems.
There is no leadership position free from problems. Why then do so many leaders think they will arrive at a higher leadership position and not have bigger problems? Because they’ve bought a lie and observed a failing model of leadership. The lie is simply this: the more elevated a leader becomes, the more isolated and insulated he or she is entitled to. This isolation and insulation are really cover for protection. A leader should be out front protecting their people, not having their people out front protecting them. Leaders need to always lead by voice and speak into any and every situation needed. If they are isolated and insulated their voice will (a) never be heard or (b) they will never be truly aware of the need of their people.
Look no further than Jesus’s example. He sat in no tower. He kept no court. he had no cloistered office. He had no security team (and he was a marked man). He walked, sat and ate with the people, his followers. Yes, he would remove himself at times to recharge and rest, but his primary position was in close proximity to those he was leading. A leader is never as effective from a removed command position as he or she can be from a front-line position.
Four Things Leaders Must do to Have an Effective Leadership Voice
I’ve seen that their are four things that really help developing leaders engage their leadership voice with those that they are attempting to lead:
- Leaders must stay close to their people
- Leaders must speak directly to the problem
- Leaders must develop a strong voice
- Leaders must have a simple message
Leaders must stay close to those they lead. This doesn’t mean you have to stay on top of people, but you better stay on top of problems. It’s hard to be heard if you are too far and too distant from those who you are leading. Leaders make a mistake when they turn their voice over to someone else. Leaders may have subordinate leaders, but they must echo what they primary leader is saying. Leaders who are too far removed from those they lead create a distance gap that lends itself to communication distortion and delay. Leaders must be close enough to their people to keep the delay out of necessary communication. Lag time in communicating kills initiative, motivation and message. A leader must never allow lag time. A communication lag means to fall behind or work behind the pace. Leaders should be setting the pace, not lagging behind it.
Leaders must learn to speak directly to the problem. This means, first of all, a leader must rightly understand the problem. Thorough investigation is thorough understanding. Too many leaders draw no conclusion or the wrong conclusion without first gaining understanding. You can never speak with wisdom, unless you first have understanding. The Bible has a wonderful Proverb (4:7), “The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.” Without understanding, a leader will speak around the problem or miss the problem entirely. This sends the wrong message to those who are having to deal with the consequences of the problem.
Direct Voice vs. Delayed Voice
Sometimes, the mission is the problem and the problem is the mission. But, even when this happens: don’t lose direction. Unexpected things happen all the time. A leader must be ready to speak directly to these things. Followers are much more forgiving if the leader is wrong & direct, than right & delayed. Followers need to know where to go. A direct voice provides security, certainty and direction. A delayed voice kills clarity, fosters insecurity and gives allows those in the organization to choose their own direction.
Leaders must develop a strong voice. A strong voice is a clear voice, a common voice and an unwavering voice. A strong voice means that when the leader speaks, the words matter and they can be trusted. Too many leaders sit silently instead of speaking up or they speak and then reverse course as soon as they get push back. A strong voice withstands pressure and pushes through when push back is giving. A strong voice resonates throughout the organization. This is a leader who makes a memorable impression on all those in the organization, or at least, all those who are actually following.
A strong voice is never developed through lack of use. Developing a strong voice is like developing a strong muscle. It is uncomfortable and often painful at first. But, strength is developed over time, not in one conversation or act of communication. The voice must be common. If followers find the sound of your voice strange, then you are too far and too infrequent with your communication. Your voice must also be common enough to be recognized because the frequency at which you communicate. Finally, your voice must be unwavering. When you speak to something, you must stand for that same thing. An unwavering voice gives those that follow great confidence in the one they are following.
Leaders must keep the message simple. Too many words can complicate things. Yes, leaders must err on the side of over-communication, but regardless of frequency, the message must remain simple. Too many consultants and counselors make messages too complicated. Every great organization started by doing one thing better than any other organization. Every great communicator started by communicating one message better than anyone else. Your leadership voice has to contain a simple message. Why? Because a simple message is easy to remember when pressure, confusion and complexity increase. A complex message in a complex environment is a quick recipe for a quick fail. Your followers are being bombarded by information. Your voice must be clear and your message must be simple. Simple messages are easy to follow.
Remember, not everyone is a leader. Not everyone can or will develop a leadership voice that is worthy of following. But, to be effective as a leader, you must have a voice, because it’s your voice that will lead your team to what’s next, through problems and into victory. People follow people. People have ears. Speak to them.
Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me” (John 10:27). The leader’s voice builds the relationship between the followers and leader. If a leader doesn’t have a strong relationship with their followers, then it is their fault for not having their voice heard enough.
(c) Alex Vann, 2018