Howard Dean's tenure as chairman of the Democratic National Committee will be fleeting unless he avoids a common leadership trap.
(PRWEB) February 17, 2005 -- Howard Dean's tenure as chairman of the Democratic National Committee will be fleeting unless he avoids a common leadership trap, asserts Brent Filson, founder and president of The Filson Leadership Group, Inc.
Filson who has worked with more than two thousand leaders worldwide during the past 21 years calls the trap the "Leader's Fallacy".
Filson says that leaders adhere to the Leader's Fallacy when they believe their enthusiasm for a particular leadership challenge is automatically reciprocated by the people they lead.
"In leadership, automatic reciprocity is an illusion," says Filson. "Howard Dean is a case in point. He certainly was motivated when he uttered the ‘Dean Screech' after his defeat in last year's Iowa Caucuses. But that display of motivation turned off a lot of people and caused his candidacy to fizzle."
Filson says the Leader's Fallacy looms large as Dean leads the DNC. "Sure, he's motivated to extend the Democrats reach into the grassroots of our nation's electorate and turn red states into blue. But his motivation isn't really the issue. It's a given. After all, if he's not motivated, he shouldn't be leading the DNC. Here's the real issue, and I wonder if Dean and his lieutenants at the DNC get it: ‘Can he transfer his motivation to large segments of American voters, especially turned-off Democrats and even some Republicans, so they become as motivated as he is about Democratic values?'"
Filson asserts there is a simple, powerful antidote for the Leader's Fallacy. He's been teaching it to leaders of all ranks and functions worldwide. It's the Leadership Talk.
"Many leaders fall into the clutches of the Leader's Fallacy when they give speeches and presentations. Speeches and presentations simply communicate information. There's another, far more effective means of leadership communication. That's the Leadership Talk. Unlike speeches and presentations, the Leadership Talk helps the leader forge deep, human, emotional connections with audiences. Establishing such connections with grassroots voters is absolutely necessary for Democrats' success.
(Read Brent's article analyzing the communication skills of the Democratic candidates in last year's primaries.
http://www.actionleadership.com/media_room/pdf/democratic_candidates.pdf)
"To give a Leadership Talk, a leader must first answer "yes" to three simple questions: "Do you know what the audience needs? Can you transfer your deep belief to others so they believe as strongly as you do about the challenges you face? And can you have that audience take ardent action that gets results?" If a leader says "no" to any one of those questions, he/she can't give a Leadership Talk.
(Read Brent's 1900 word article on The Leadership Talk:
http://www.actionleadership.com/articles/0018.html)
"If Dean and the Democrats want to reverse the Republican tide and reach voters' hearts and minds in America's heartland, they must trash their speeches and presentations and start giving Leadership Talks. They must have the Leadership Talk be a cornerstone of the DNC communications strategies. They must get thousands of Democratic cause leaders out in the hinterland constantly giving Leadership Talks. Otherwise, they'll be victims of the Leader's Fallacy -- confused about how come they personally are so pumped up, so motivated on one hand, and yet are failing so miserably on the other."
- books, Brent Filson's latest books are THE LEADERSHIP TALK: THE GREATEST LEADERSHIP TOOL and 101 WAYS TO GIVE GREAT LEADERSHIP TALKS.
To obtain downloadable review copies of Brent Filson's latest books, click on these links and enter the code 394064.
The Leadership Talk (http://www.theleadershiptalk.com/downloads/LeadershipTalk.pdf)
101 Ways To Give Great Leadership Talks (http://www.theleadershiptalk.com/downloads/101Ways.pdf)
Order hard cover review copies from Brent Filson.
Filson first learned about leadership as a Marine Corps rifle platoon commander. For the past 20 years, as a civilian, he has helped thousands of leaders in major companies worldwide achieve sizable and continual increases in results. He has published many books and hundreds of articles on leadership, developed motivational leadership strategies and created and instituted leadership educational and training programs. He has lectured at Columbia University, M.I.T., Wake Forest, Villanova and many other universities. Recently, he has conducted more than 125 radio interviews dealing with the Leadership Talk.
"Brent Filson is one of the most talented communicators in the world. If you want to learn to motivate two, two hundred, or two thousand people, his lectures and seminars are a must!"- Joseph Mancuso, CEO, Center for Entrepreneurial Management.
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