Exo 4:10 ‘But Moses pleaded with the Lord, “O Lord, I’m just not a good speaker. I never have been, and I’m not now, even after you have spoken to me. I’m clumsy with words” (NLT).
Every great leader who accomplished his vision had to be an effective communicator.
Effective communication is the process of getting people to see what you see and what is required of them. There comes a time when you will have to share your vision with others and it is important that you are able to communicate your vision with clarity and simplicity if you are going to get their support. No one will help a man whose vision is vague and confusing. People need to know where he is heading and how he plans to get there.
Nehemiah, a Biblical leader, had a clear picture of his vision in his mind. He wanted to rebuild Jerusalem’s city walls and was able to effectively communicate his vision to King Artaxerxes, and then the Israelites. His vision was understandable and compelling enough to inspire action. Gilbert Amelio said that if a leader can’t get a message across clearly and motivate others to act on it, then having a message doesn’t even matter.
God gave Moses, another Biblical leader, the vision to go back to Egypt to lead the Israelites out of slavery. Moses complained that he wasn’t an effective communicator so God chose Aaron, Moses’ brother, to be his mouthpiece. But over time as Moses grew in confidence, he took over the responsibility of communicating the vision from Aaron. He realised that his leadership effectiveness was limited if he didn’t personally handle the communication of the vision. This was why God was initially angry with Moses when he refused the divine call to speak the vision. No one can communicate your leadership message better than you.
2 replies on “Effective Leaders aren’t Clumsy with Words”
Thanks Ola.
Hey Prof… the title of this article was so irresistible that I couldn’t postpone reading the article. Nice one.
I definitely agree with the claim here. It is up to the person who receives the message to deliver it as best he/she can. If the messenger is not confident then there are public speaking coaches available, right? I like that you emphasize that, as a true and good leader, there is no getting around learning the art of effective communication.