Take Aways-Leading With Impact Podcast

 Introduction: 

    Communication occurs in variety of ways. We communicate verbally, in writing, with our facial expressions, gestures, intentionally, and unintentionally. Since we are constantly communicating, there is a high need for us to be aware of what we are communicating and how it is interpreted by others. A group of leaders that I follow and am a frequent guest on is Leading With Impact. This podcast features leadership practices, processes, narratives, tools, theories, and offers book studies with questions and answers segments to discuss with leadership experts. 

    The book that Leading With Impact is reviewing is Leadership, Communication, and Social Influence by Ruben and Gigliotti. The leadership experts are discussing the take aways from the book along with some questions from the audience regarding the text. 

Take it away:

    The five take aways from Leading With Impact podcast are leadership, resonance, activation, cultivation, and Presence. The podcast gave thorough explanation of these take aways, however, I would like to reiterate areas of emphasis as well as provide my perspective on other take aways that were addressed by other leaders participating in the podcast. 

Leadership: 

    Vanessa did a great job of defining leadership and provided narrative on her experience with leadership in the podcast. One of the leadership styles that I would like to elaborate further on is servant leadership. This is important as leadership is a foundation to the other take aways listed above. In my personal experience, an authentic approach to servant leadership is the starting point to establishing a team and making connections. When I approached my team as a leader that cared about what mattered to the individuals of my team, both professionally and personally, a connection was established. An understanding that informed my team that they were important to me beyond their role developed. The flip side of that coin was that I also allowed the team to get to know me and what I cared about, professionally and personally. This may sound like an easy task, however, it was not without challenges. I had a difficult time lowering my barriers as it seemed counterintuitive considering other styles of leadership I had experienced from previous leaders where walls were in place to prevent closeness with those not in leadership. It wasn't until I experienced servant leadership that I began to adopt it. If servant leadership is not your style of leadership, I encourage you to try it to see if you have an increase in the implementation of your vision. 

Reviewing Resonance: 

    Resonance, according to Leadership, Communication, and Social Influence by Ruben and Gigliotti is about the "communicative connections" leaders make with followers. Resonance also includes intentional and unintentional communication that occurs whether or not we are aware of it. In the podcast, one aspect that I wanted to elaborate on is how resistance to resonance is not always a bad thing. As leaders, we need to listen to our team member's opinions when they are resistance to our mission. A seasoned employee may offer a historical perspective of the company that we may not be aware of. Finally, resistance could be due to triggering and in those instances should be resolved with the leader and team member that is triggered to determine what is causing the discord and how to come to a resolve so that the team can move forward to activation. Resonance and the comfort to disagree with and have professional conversations are by products of effective leadership. The structure of servant leadership encourages communication between leaders and team members and is therefore an effective method of communicative connections. 

Activation (Buy-In): 

    The activation process or buy-in describes the team's willingness to engage and accept or reject messages according to our text Leadership, Communication, and Social Influence by Ruben and Gigliotti. In this stage, the buy-in of each team member is a crucial part of implementation of your mission or initiatives. When you do not have buy-in from your team, you will not progress in your mission. Ways to address rejection of your mission can include affirmation of your team member's individualized skills as they pertain to the mission or task at hand, providing reasoning for why this mission is being implemented, and listening to reasons the team members are not buying into the mission or requested task. 

Cultivation: 

    Refers to the process of creating an environment of growth, where team member's input is heard and addressed. This ideal environment adapts to the needs of the team members and reestablishes the Activation potential. It also is an inviting environment that other potential team members want to join which grows your team.     

 Presence:

    In this part of the podcast, Tamara discusses the components of presence which are competency and efficacy. Presence or positional competency refer to the type of skills needed for the condition or situation the leader is in. It is specific to the type of business you operate. Efficacy refers to knowing when it is appropriate to use these skills. There are five competencies and they are: Positional, analytic (self- awareness, and awareness of other's behaviors), personal competencies which are the character and standards of an individual, communication which includes effective interactions across individuals and groups, and organizational which includes the administrative capabilities (Leadership, Communication, and Social Influence by Ruben and Gigliotti), all which play an important role in the implementation of a leader's mission. 

Podcast Reflection:

    None of our group had previously hosted a podcast prior to this one. We all had life events occurring the week of our recording. As inexperienced podcasters, we met three times to prepare for the recording. The meetings helped us organize and plan our approach to the podcast. Social outputs are an important part of communication and are the current way we communicate and self-promote, so it is a necessary skill to hone. An unexpected outcome was the natural flow we experienced as the podcast progressed. We were able to rely on each other and experienced a comfort as the recording progressed. It is always tough to go first and Vanessa introduced everyone so well and as each person discussed their topics, we became more and more comfortable. There were some behind the scenes errors and omissions that I made, upon self reflection, however, being able add content to the blog allowed me to address them. I enjoyed working in a group for the podcast and feel more confident and less nervous for the next podcast. 

References:

Ruben, B. D., & Gigliotti, R. A. (2019). Leadership, communication, and social influence: A theory of resonance, activation, and cultivation. Emerald Publishing Limited. 

Ted Talk Analysis

 Why this Ted Talk?:

  The Ted Talk I chose was of an area of interest for me, as a seasoned educator that enjoys working with special populations. There are several challenges that accompany an exceptional individual, and one of those is learning how to present themselves and their needs to others in and out of the education environment. Another challenge is building the confidence to do so along with the understanding of what accommodations do and do not work for them to be successful in completing tasks. This lack of post high school preparedness and how to address it is of great interest to me and why I chose the following Ted Talk by Kate Kahle as the focus for my assignment submission for an analysis, TedTalk-Kate Kahle.

Introduction:

    Introductions are opportunities to grab the audiences attention and to signal that a new topic or idea is being introduced. When giving a speech, introductions help the audience to get to know you, your topic, and to re-focus in case they have drifted off. During an introduction, an attention getter should be given to gain the attention of the audience and to build a connection with them (Vrooman, 2015). 

Attention Getter:

    Ms. Kahle (Ted Talk Kate Kahle 2021) began her speech by informing us of an accolade she received. She went on to describe how her focus was not on the award but on fabric that was distracting her attention to the point of not being able to appreciate her accomplishment. Her attention getter was the use of a narrative that evoked an unexpected response to highlight her undiagnosed symptoms of autism. 

Delivery:

    The overall delivery of this TedTalk was well done. In using the speaking rubric from Dr. Vrooman's book, (Vrooman, 2015), Ms. Kahle did not opt to utilize index cards. As an avid index card user, it was impressive to see Ms. Kahle give a meaningful, organized, and controlled speech without them. To address nerves, Ms. Kahle utilized slow, audible breaths that were helpful as a refocusing tool. These breaths were not in excess in length or frequency to be a distraction from the message or to the audience attention.   Furthermore, Ms. Kahle informed the audience of her diagnosis of a neurodivergent individual with autism. This is an important factor to mention as there are social components associated with autism that complicate social interactions, which include speaking in front of groups of people. In this scenario, I believe that there should be an alternative rubric to incorporate these challenges. For this analysis, it is a consideration, however, the current rubric is being applied. 

Connections:

    Making connections with your audience help to keep them engaged (Vrooman, 2015). Planning your speech with connections throughout it will afford more opportunities for engagement and re-engagement of your audience. 

    Ms. Kahle made her connections with the audience through narratives, providing a historical progression of autism which gained audience empathy, along with the inclusion of the inequitable treatment of women and other minorities in research and in society. 

Support:

    When making a speech, especially one where you are asking the audience to agree with you or your point of view, it is helpful to utilize facts or numerical data (Vrooman, 2015). Ms. Kahle used narratives, as an actual individual experiencing symptoms of autism, which added to her credibility. Visual aids were also used in the form a PowerPoint slides. There was an appropriate amount of slides, however, a suggestion for the addition of two slides would have aided in audience connection. One slide to be added would be one that encompassed the autism historical timeline mentioned in the speech. Another helpful slide would include a comprehensive list of the organizations that help individuals with autism and support research and their donation information would have been helpful for the audience. 

    Numerical data and research findings were utilized in the slides in a digestible manner. The use of pie charts fostered a familiarity before numerical data was reviewed. It reduced the potential intimidation of numerical data for audience members that may have an aversion of math or numerical data. Percentages were used to demonstrate data which is also a familiar form of data which aids in maintaining audience attention and in increasing the speaker's credibility (Vrooman, 2015). 

    

Argument:

    There were three arguments being presented which included that "autism is not a disease just a different way the brain works, more psychological research is needed for females and other minorities, and that gender mattes in autism" (Kahle, 2021). One point to emphasize is that her arguments were introduced in an organized manner during the speech and were reiterated in the conclusion of the speech. 

I'll Leave you with:

    In concluding a speech, the main points should be reiterated for the audience to remember. One way that TedTalks do this well is through their use of take aways. These are points that the audience leave the speech with. They are the most meaningful parts or sound bytes the speaker wants the audience to remember and potentially act on. 

    Persuasive and argumentative speeches can seem intimidating when you are asked to present to the public in attendance and those that will access that speech online, worldwide. Following the speaking rubric provided below can aid in preparing you for a meaningful speech. If you are a person that struggles with pubic speaking, the rubric and recording yourself giving the speech, are good tools to help you identify areas that need improvement prior to the speech. As uncomfortable as this may seem at first, I encourage you to try these tools so that you can see improvement in your speech making and giving skills. 

  

Speaking Critique Rubric:

The Zombie Guide to Public Speaking 2nd "Dead"ition by S.Vrooman

References:

Kahle, K. (2021, September). Kate Kahle: Why autism is often missed in women and girls. TED. https://www.ted.com/talks/kate_kahle_why_autism_is_often_missed_in_women_and_girls?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare

 Vrooman, S.S. (2015). The zombie guide to public speaking 2nd ed.). A MoreBrainz Project.

    

WELCOME!

Hello all and thank you for visiting the Sentiment blog! This is a place for viewing and sharing thoughts and perspectives in a respectful, thoughtful manner. Please feel free to share ideas for future topics in the comments!