I attended a leadership training workshop with my colleagues some time ago. One facilitator made it clear that a person who wants to be a good leader must be a master of words.

As an introvert, I was struck by that statement because I don’t talk a lot so I feared I would not be a good leader. I, therefore, queried his statement.  To allay my fears, he explained that being a master of words is not to be talkative but to know what kind of words work on which people. I probed further. He explained further that the leader should listen carefully to the words a person used and then the leader would know which words to use and when to use them in response in the most effective way.
I needed examples for clarity.

The facilitator said one word can be exciting to one person while the same word can turn off another person. He used two types of persons to explain the statement; an investor and an employee. According to him, the investor always thinks about avoiding financial risk while the employee fears the risk of losing his job in the event of an economic downturn.

With these in mind, the good or effective leader must know the types of people he is leading. If the followers are mere employees or do not hope to enter into any investment activity in future, then the leader should not use words like a risk when addressing them. The leader should hammer on their benefits on retirement to encourage them to work.

Before his concluding remarks, the facilitator pointed out that leadership is the ability to bring out the best in people.
I thought the foregoing were not enough to get the best out of people/ followers so I needed further explanation. The facilitator quickly pointed out that a good leader should have the adequate computer and technical skills necessary to be successful in business. These include skills such as reading financial statements, management, negotiation, marketing, sales, accounting, strategic planning skills and skills in handling staff meetings.

I agreed that these are the necessary ingredients to make a leader efficient. However, if you have a contrary point of view, send me your views on whatsapp number 0247013479