Leadership Voice and Style

Abstract

This technical note is employed in MBA, executive education, and undergraduate courses that cover the art of persuasion. It is used in the core Management Communication course at Darden. Employing the canons of rhetoric devised by Aristotle and his classical contemporaries, the objective of the note is to provide students with a clear and usable map to guide them as they seek to understand the dynamics involved in persuading others. Persuasion is a critical management skill that must be mastered at all levels of the organization, but it is especially important for those at the leadership level. Most managerial communication goes beyond the sharing of information and involves elements of persuasion. Along with the five canons—invention, arrangement, memory, style, and delivery—this note also outlines the three primary modes of persuasion: ethos (an appeal to values), pathos (an emotional appeal), and logos (a logic-based appeal). This note often is used in conjunction with the technical note, Leadership Voice and Style. Excerpt UVA-BC-0265 Mar. 16, 2018 Leadership Voice and Style Managing and Directing Energy Leadership is about managing and directing energy—both your own energy and the energy of others. Mental and emotional energy is created, managed, and directed through communications. Wise leaders are perpetually developing a keener understanding of what energizes them through internal dialogue or self-reflection. By taking the time to understand their own intrinsic motivators, these leaders become more capable of using these resources when engaging team members. Their interactions help to uncover and foster the energy and capabilities of others, while guiding them in unison toward a common goal. This is what it means to have a leadership voice. Every person is unique, not only with respect to our genetic makeup, but also with regard to our personalities, cultural backgrounds, experiences, and understandings of the world. These points of differentiation are expressed or signified in part by how we communicate and interact with others. The same is true for exceptional leaders. It is the highly skilled employment of these leaders' unique voices that marks them as outstanding communicators. . . .