March 6, 2023

A simple key to leadership

Simple shiny golden key on a white background

Where are you a leader? Your team, your family, your friends, a whole organisation?

People will do things when they know WHY, from their perspective, those things are important.

Great leaders know this. They talk about WHY, not HOW.

And they talk about WHY in relation to what’s important for their current audience.

The WHY is what provides the motivational energy to do the HOW, so keep communicating the WHY.

The “E” in CEO could stand for Chief “Explaining” Officer, as one of the key success factors of their role is to explain the WHY, consistently, and often.

Consider this… The people who only know HOW will always be led by the people who know WHY.

Here’s another thought… The power of leadership is manifested in all those micro-moments and touch points more than in some big theatre speech.

Each day, take a moment to reflect on micro-moments when you interacted with others and had a chance to explain WHY.

How did you do?

My best wishes, Paul

Paul Matthews

CEO and Founder of People Alchemy

share this article:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

related posts

finger print in blue and green tones

Your emotional fingerprint

People talk about you behind your back. What do they say? When you pick up a glass, you leave a ...
Read More
Leading People podcast cover image

How to turn Learning into Performance

What really drives performance at work? It’s a question many leaders and learning professionals wrestle with, and one that Paul ...
Read More

Rethinking the Role of Learning Technology as a Behavior Engine

Much workplace learning is still designed and delivered as a process of knowledge consumption. Courses, modules, videos and digital resources ...
Read More

OEB 2025: Humanity in the Intelligent Age

OEB 2025 takes place from 3-5 December in Berlin and we’re really pleased that Paul Matthews is on the conference ...
Read More

search blog

Get your free weekly tip

You agree that we can keep a record of your details, and send you other occasional offers. See our Privacy Policy