In the third edition of Leading Out Loud, Terry Pearce shows business leaders how to communicate their visions and inspire the commitment of those they lead to making their visions a reality. The book details methods for improving communication skills and finding the most authentic voices that help leaders express themselves confidently and clearly. The key to the process is producing a Personal Leadership Communication Guide (PLCG) that identifies leaders’ values, changes needed, and methods to communicate effectively with others and inspire them to join the process.
The Personal Leadership Communication Guide (PLCG) is key to developing strong leadership skills. It is both a theoretical and practical career roadmap for expressing a vision and inspiring others to join the change process. Writing a PLCG and then turning the concepts into action consists of nine steps:
1. Identify personal values and intentions. The fundamental values of each person derive from personal experiences, and identifying them strengthens conviction and communication with others.
2. Develop emotional intelligence. Discovering personal emotions and learning to recognize and respect the emotions of others is critical to establishing trust.
3. Connect with others. Through the use of images, symbols, metaphors, and narratives, leaders can create limbic resonance or empathic connections with others.
4. Write. By writing everything relevant to communicating with others in the PLCG, leaders will reconnect with their authentic voices.
5. Establish jurisdiction and trust. The willingness to discuss and compromise with those who disagree shows genuine commitment and establishes trust.
6. Create a shared context. Creating a larger context that goes beyond self-interest but expresses common values inspires others to participate in change.
7. Describe the future. Developing a vision of a better future and then communicating it to others is the first step towards change.
8. Commit to action. After documenting an action plan in the PLCG, the leader must express it to others and inspire their commitment.
9. Communicate and lead. Presenting the change plan, fostering commitment and proactive communication, and building trust are leadership actions based on the PLCG.
Leading Out Loud by Terry Pearce is a dense tutorial for people from all walks of life who have a vision for change. It provides a step-by-step guide to creating a written plan for authentic leadership and is applicable to current business leaders as well as those who want to lead. There are prolific examples throughout the book of what the written plan, or Personal Leadership Communication Guide, might look like. Each example appears in a boxed area, making it easy to locate within the text. There are also numerous anecdotes from the author’s own career and from other notable leaders. Because the book contains philosophical, psychological, and ideological concepts, a thorough understanding requires the full engagement of the reader from beginning to end.