Today is the day of the Leader! With so many people being INTRAPRENEURIAL, thinking out of the box within a company, and pursuing their own side or full time businesses, the leadership game is high on everyone’s totem pole. Technology is pushing people further and further apart because the gap of those who do it, and those who don’t, is getting wider.
Generally, the older you are, the less tech savvy, the younger you are, the better the skills. We have young’uns mentoring their bosses and the creative class is finally working and making a living! We all have to agree
, business is changing rapidly, and perhaps a few short cuts are in order to be able to stay cutting edge.
It reminds me of working on Capitol Hill back in the day. I saw the “truth” behind the Senators and Congressmen that were running our political system. The TRUTH is, is that before any of them go to meet with their constituents, they are versed on the topic of discussion, who the players are, what position that “our team” is taking, and what to say and what NOT to say. Before they go on stage, they are given talking points, they are given a script, dolled up and coifed and made into a talking head. The handlers are young 24-25 year old geniuses who spend their weekends reading polls, newspapers, and seek to understand what position every governing body has on every issue that is coming down the pike for the next 6 months. They’re young, their brilliant and they’re focused on information.
Simultaneously, the best politicians are able to assess quickly, keep a level head, and not let others roll over them with dominant personalities that throw intense curve ball questions that shake them off course and off their game. They’re coachable and greatly value the intelligent class of young individuals who surround them.
In THIS day and time, we’re facing the SAME issue in business. We’re facing a very information and tech driven world. The ones who are out front, the leaders, who are doing the speaking, need to sound intelligent, edgy and articulate. They need to be well versed on current events, motivational stories as well as be able to handle technology with breeze. They need to stand powerfully before an audience, move gracefully in front of a camera without freezing when the little red light turns on!
How in the heck can every leader do it all? Especially when they’re in a small business and attempting to keep the sales tunnel full?
Do as they do in Rome! In DC, they have speech writers on staff to create momentum through words and through writing. They have a communications department to craft the story, the response or the position of the department or office.
Young CEOS and executives can now have the same advantage. While they’re busy leading their companies, they also need to have a go to person to help them craft a message, help them to think outside the box, perform on stage, jazz up for the camera or entertain their peers at a local chamber speech, they can now access a coach any time to help them achieve their goals.
Recently I was contacted by someone who is running for the President of the United States. This fellow is a sharp young guy with a motivational message, not unlike Obama at his famous Democratic Convention speech that won him his fan base. This individual found me on Linked In, and set up a meeting. We arranged a retainer fee and before the rallies he was attending, he’d give me a call from wherever he was, and we discussed strategy. The messages changed depending upon the group he was speaking to at the time. We tweaked little things like taking a minute to acknowledge those who showed up at the rally and to challenge them to get their friends to the next one or by tweeting something in unison! Those little alterations supercharged this candidates’ charisma and is still going strong today!
Another client who is on retainer with some of the top CEOS in the nation, to be their communications advisor, ALSO has a communications advisor! I feel thrilled to work with his client, who is advising businesses at a high level, who relies on me and others to feed him new information, new stories, and consider new angles to the issues his clients are facing. The Coaches Coach has a Coach!
The bottom line is that coaching is exploding! We now have coaches for EVERYTHING. I’ve been teaching CHARISMA and being a likeable personality for 20+ years, but now I am working with many individuals on writing their keynote signature speeches, and even on execs leading meetings. The more savvy the exec, the more coaches he/she uses it appears.
Gone is the day where the public leader (or performer) only has one speech or one show. Being able to tame the technology by not allowing any taping or video is growing difficult. At a recent Keven Hart show, they removed anyone from the audience who had a phone out. They continued to spread that word for an hour before the performance and the first 3 comedians that warmed up made this a part of their routine. One comedian showed how every ethnic culture reacts when they get caught, which was hysterically funny!
Who has the time to monitor? You just have to up your skills if you want to play in the sand box now. You have to keep your content fresh and edgy, intelligent and current, simple and profound.
Hire those who can help you think, help you produce, and help you look good. We’re all doing it now. It’s amazing to see the brilliant talent grabbing the spotlight, sizzling and polished.
How about you? When is your day in the sun? Are you ready?
No worries! Give my team a call! We’ll be your YODA behind the scenes to assure that you’re cutting edge, appropriate, calm, and confident and like the cutting edge leader that you’re meant to be, that you’re EXPECTED to be, and that you hope to be. Give us a buzz at (407)504-0451 and we’ll treat you to a coaching session so you can understand just what you’ve been missing!
Sometimes you don’t know what you don’t know. And what you don’t know, is that your competitors have hired a coach. And what you DO know, is that you can too!
Sometimes, we all need a little help from our friends!