Beverley Pitts says a collaborative approach to leadership can be a good thing. But it can’t be the only thing.
Ultimately, leaders need to move with a purpose, particularly when communicating. It’s something Pitts has taken to heart as the president of the University of Indianapolis, which generated $86 million in revenue in fiscal 2008.
You have to project a focused message and give employees a sense that you have a competent grasp of the material you are communicating.
“People want to have a sense that the leader knows what she is doing, and that there is a sense of comfort in someone seeing the big picture,” Pitts says. “Sometimes leaders — women leaders in particular — get attached with being collaborative, which is a good characteristic to have for any leader, but leaders have to project a sense of confidence and directness that you know what you’re talking about.”
Smart Business spoke with Pitts about how you can gain the trust and confidence of your employees with direct, focused communication.
Speak specifically. When you speak, you need to be sure what you’re talking about. I’m a journalism teacher at heart, and that is some of the best training anyone could ever have because you learn to be specific, direct and objective. When you’re projecting confidence, people want to know that you know what you’re talking about. As an example, in the economic situation we’ve all been in over the last many months, many university folks had a feeling of uneasiness. We weren’t sure how many students we’d have. When I talked to the faculty, I told them, ‘This is the budget, this is where we are, this is what we need to do, here are the factors that are affecting us.’ You show them the decision-making process that is being used, so you show everyone that somebody at the helm knows what is happening and how you’re going to handle it.
Don’t talk in platitudes and broad generalities. That’s usually what leaders tend to do, giving everyone the pep talk that we’re all in this together. To an extent, you want to do that. You want to project a sense that this isn’t a unilateral decision, but that’s really a different issue altogether. But you still want to speak in terms of specifics. You want to give people accurate information with a sense of confidence and understanding of the implications of that. That’s perhaps the best thing you can do in the development of your leadership.