The Hindu Business Line : Master the micromessages

You could have the most impressive title, an enviably cushy corner office, ultimate power to direct others, and even the perfect wardrobe. But those only dub you with authority, says Stephen Young in Micro Messaging ( www.tatamcgrawhill.com). “In reality, labels of authority have nothing to do with whether others consider you a leader or whether they’d be motivated to follow you.”

So, you may wonder what the most crucial leadership skills are and how you can acquire them. “Having a wealth of knowledge merely makes you a database,” the author notes. “Knowing how to get things done only means you are connected. And having the power to make others do your bidding makes you little more than a dictator.”

The heart and soul of effective leadership, according to Young, is “the means by which we motivate, inspire, and drive others to live up to their full potential. Moreover, the only way that inspiration, motivation, and drive are communicated is by the way the appropriate messages are sent.”

Micromessages are all about how the other person ends up hearing or inferring, rather than about the message itself. Which is why it is important to know how we shape words, gestures, tone, inflection and so many other aspects of the ways messages are transmitted, reasons Young.

“Micromessages reveal what is behind our masks, including hidden assumptions that connect underachievement in the workplace with race, gender, nationality, religious preference, class, and appearance.”

These messages work both ways, viz. positive and negative. However, you can never determine whether a message is a microinequity or a microadvantage in a vacuum, the author guides.

“It must be balanced against the way similar messages are delivered to others.”

An example he gives is of how a punch on the arm can put you squarely in the inner circle, while customary politeness may place you on the outer fringes.

Fabulous read.

D. Murali

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