The Secret Language of Leadership: How Leaders Inspire Action Through Narrative [Hardcover]

This is probably Steve Denning's best book so far. It's written in an easy style with good illustrations. Denning's comparison of Al Gore in 2000 and Al Gore in 2006 is excellent and helps make the point very forcefully.

The focus of the book is transformational leadership. I was very struck by this sentence: "Managers are appointed by other people. Leaders appoint themselves." (p. 42)

Instead of the traditional, 'Define problem - Analyse problem - Recommend solution' sequence of linear management, Denning recommends 'Get attention - Stimulate desire - Reinforce with reasons'.

This three-part sequence is much more likely to be a trigger for transformational change. As he puts flesh on these bones, Steve Denning elaborates: to get attention a negative story is best, though other things will work as well. To stimulate desire use a story, preferably a 'Springboard' story as described in his first book. To reinforce with reasons it is still good to use stories.

The book gives enough detail and a wide enough range of suggestions to give the reader a good grounding in the practicalities of transformational storytelling.

Overall, a very good read for anyone interested in organisational transformation or leadership.

There are four classical "levels of discourse": Exposition, Description, Narration, and Argumentation (EDNA).

Exposition uses information to explain, reveal, "expose," etc.
Description makes vivid with compelling details and figurative language.
Narrative tells a story with a plot or explains a sequence.
Argumentation convinces with logic and/or evidence.

So what? Actually, a great deal if the objective is to communicate much more effectively. All of the most influential transformational leaders throughout history were great storytellers. They knew when and how to use the elements of EDNA to explain, to inspire, to entertain, and to convince others.

What we have in Stephen Denning's latest and most valuable book is his development in much greater depth of information and insights he previously introduced in The Springboard, Squirrel, Inc., and The Leader's Guide to Storytelling. He also shares his thoughts about other dimensions of transformational leadership because he realized that "narrative wasn't the whole story. The secrets of leadership lay not only in the stories that were being told but also in the way the leadership goals themselves were formulated. Leaders could also use other tools like frames, questions, offers, challenges, metaphors, reasons, and so on."

Denning explains how these and various other communication tools relate to each other, which are best for the given purpose (i.e. explain, inspire, entertain, and/or convince), and how all these tools can be "combined in a seamless leadership message" that can attract and (more importantly) then capture people's attention. In order to become fluent in "the secret language of leadership," Denning suggests, it is necessary to understand how transformational leadership can "communicate complex ideas and spark others into enduringly enthusiastic action," how those who are transformational leaders select and use words "to inspire others to become leaders."

To sum up, Denning asserts that "sustained, enthusiastic change doesn't occur by osmosis or extrasensory perception. If leaders' inner commitment to change is to have any effect, they have to communicate it to the people they aspire to lead. True, the leaders' actions will eventually speak louder than words, but in the short run, it's what leaders say - or don't say - that has the impact. The right words can have a galvanizing effect, generating enthusiasm, energy, momentum, and more, while the wrong words can undermine the best intentions and kill initiative on the spot, stone dead."

As I read this brilliant book, I was reminded of Howard Gardner's research on multiple intelligences. In his latest book, Five Minds for the Future, Gardner suggests that, to thrive in the world during eras to come, there are five cognitive abilities that need to be developed. Gardner refers to them as "minds" but they are really mindsets.

1. The disciplined mind enables us to know how to work steadily over time to improve skill and understanding;

2. The synthesizing mind enables us to take information from disparate sources and make sense of it by understanding and evaluating that information objectively;

3. By building on discipline and synthesis, the creating mind enables us to break new ground;

4. By "recognizing that nowadays one can no longer remain within one's shell or one's home territory," the respectful mind enables us to note and welcome differences between human individuals and between human groups so as to understand them and work effectively with them;

5. and finally, "proceeding on a level more abstract than the respectful mind," the ethical mind to reflect on the nature of one's work and the needs and desires of the society in which one lives.

As Denning would explain, each of these five "minds" or mindsets has a "secret language" of its own. Those who would be leaders must become fluent in one or more languages that are most appropriate to the given objective, be it the creation of an entirely new art form or a coalition of health care organizations. He examines three key steps of language leadership (i.e. getting the audience's urgent attention, eliciting desire for a different future, and reinforcing with reasons) before shifting his attention to six elements ("key enablers") that enable the language of leadership to achieve its maximum effectiveness: articulating a clear and inspiring change idea, committing to the "story" of change, mastering the audience's own "story," cultivating narrative intelligence, a commitment to telling authentically true stories, and finally, deploying the body language of leadership.

The last is a key factor because, as Denning correctly points out, "without the calm assertiveness of the body language of leadership, the verbal language of leadership will have little effect." Although percentages vary from one research study to another, there is no doubt that during face-to-face contact, body language and tone of voice determine 85-90% of the impact.

In his previous books, Denning skillfully explains all of the elements of an effective business narrative, a sub genre of storytelling that is becoming increasingly popular with those who write white papers. Now he has broadened his scope and deepened his analysis to examine how all four of the levels of discourse (including narrative) that can help those whose objective is to explain what needs to be done, to inspire others to become involved, to make the given vision vivid and its mission more compelling, and finally, to make a convincing argument that will guide and inform collaborate initiatives.

Well-done!

"Another parable He put forth to them, saying: 'The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.'" -- Matthew 13:31-32 (NKJV)

If I could only give a leader one book, it would be this one. Why? You can have the best ideas in the world, but if no one is interested, they won't go anywhere.

How do I know? Consider that most of the effective ideas that are broadly applied were first conceived over 400 years ago. Why? No one knew how to explain the ideas using stories in the right way.

Is that a problem in your organization? Sure, it is.

I know people who have built major career successes out of telling one story, over and over again. Yes, I know that sounds silly, but it's true.

When I first started working at the Boston Consulting Group, all my colleagues marveled at the brilliance of the strategy concepts. I was amazed instead by the power of the stories and started memorizing them. Within six months, CEOs of major organizations were hanging onto my words as though I had 20 years of experience even though I was only 24 years old. All I did was master telling those stories.

I have long been convinced that story telling (something you can see done brilliantly in the Bible by Jesus) is the key to effective leadership. Until I found Stephen Denning, however, I never found anyone who could explain the process. I just knew when I had heard a good story . . . and would use the story whenever it was appropriate. Now, as a result of studying Denning's books, I can craft my own stories.

If you have read Stephen Denning's earlier books, such as The Springboard, Squirrel Inc, and The Leader's Guide to Storytelling, I think you'll find this book to be the best of the bunch. If you haven't read any of them, just read The Secret Language of Leadership.

Filled with examples, this book captures the essence of how you overcome the bias not to pay any attention to what people tell you. Denning recounts his now-famous experience in energizing the World Bank to share knowledge and analyzes why it worked to put the lessons in perspective.

Most leaders make lots of mistakes. Denning helps clarify the problem by introducing the ten common communication errors that leaders make. He goes on explain six enablers of communication language (a clear, inspiring goal; a story about the leader's commitment to the goal; mastering the audience's story; developing narrative intelligence; telling truthful stories; and employing powerful body language while telling a story) and the key steps of narrative (get attention; stimulate desire; reinforce with reasons; and continue the conversation). You'll also find templates and exercises in the appendices. If those items don't make sense to you (and they probably don't), read and apply the book.

Why do stories work so well? We find ourselves in the middle of the stories and feel their truth. Having connected in that way, we start to look for an answer. When the story continues to present an answer, we can tell it makes sense. At that point, we want to know how to connect the dots and get the right results. It's now "my" idea. Get it?