Communicating Vision Clearly

Many amazing presenters fall into the trap of believing their data will speak for itself. But it never does… Our brains aren't spreadsheets, they're story processors. You may understand the importance of your data, but don't assume others do too. The truth is, data alone doesn't persuade…but the impact it has on your audience's lives does. Your job is to tell that story in your presentation. Here are a few steps to help transform your data into a story: 1. Formulate your Data Point of View. Your "DataPOV" is the big idea that all your data supports. It's not a finding; it's a clear recommendation based on what the data is telling you. Instead of "Our turnover rate increased 15% this quarter," your DataPOV might be "We need to invest $200K in management training because exit interviews show poor leadership is causing $1.2M in turnover costs." This becomes the north star for every slide, chart, and talking point. 2. Turn your DataPOV into a narrative arc. Build a complete story structure that moves from "what is" to "what could be." Open with current reality (supported by your data), build tension by showing what's at stake if nothing changes, then resolve with your recommended action. Every data point should advance this narrative, not just exist as isolated information. 3. Know your audience's decision-making role. Tailor your story based on whether your audience is a decision-maker, influencer, or implementer. Executives want clear implications and next steps. Match your storytelling pattern to their role and what you need from them. 4. Humanize your data. Behind every data point is a person with hopes, challenges, and aspirations. Instead of saying "60% of users requested this feature," share how specific individuals are struggling without it. The difference between being heard and being remembered comes down to this simple shift from stats to stories. Next time you're preparing to present data, ask yourself: "Is this just a data dump, or am I guiding my audience toward a new way of thinking?" #DataStorytelling #LeadershipCommunication #CommunicationSkills

Imagine this: You, the visionary founder, see the big picture— Because it comes from you. It probably originated from a deep personal conviction. To you, it’s clear as day. But there’s just one problem: This vision, as vibrant as it is in your mind, isn’t understood by everyone in your organization. Not yet, anyway— It feels like you’re pointing at a giant cloud saying, “Do you see it? It’s there.” And your people don’t. Why? Because the vision can’t only live in you. Your challenge and opportunity is to embed the vision into the very fabric of the company. From the C-suite to the front lines. And that’s way harder than it sounds. I call it “vision adoption.” It's a big part of what we do for organizations. We lead the inception of your vision to its fullest understanding, acceptance, and integration into your operations, culture, and brand. It’s necessary for turning aspirations into reality. So what do you do? 1️⃣ Consistently Vision-Cast Clear, consistent messaging from you ensures that the vision is not only understood at all levels, but embraced too. Articulate the vision's relevance to each department and role. Make it part of your daily conversations. 2️⃣ Cultural Integration Work your vision into company culture through intention — it has to echo daily through your core values, behaviors, and rituals. The vision must be more than a dream. Employees have to experience it through your SOPs, decisions, and strategies down to the tiniest detail. It guides everything you do. 3️⃣ Leadership Engagement The only acceptable leadership style for a visionary company is leading by example — nothing else will ensure buy-in from your workforce. Every vision decision a CEO or executive team makes that isn't aligned with the vision will reflect 10x more intensely in the diminishing commitment of the regular employee. 4️⃣ Empowerment and Ownership Every team member — regardless of title — must see themselves as indispensable to the success of the vision. This is empowerment. That empowerment leads to innovation. And that innovation translates to proactive, self-initiated problem-solving aligned with the vision. And that’s pure vision adoption in action. It’s the difference between a vision only you can see... …and a vision that your whole company actively participates in realizing. Motto® 🏴

One of the biggest challenges in customer experience (CX) initiatives isn't just getting buy-in—it's making sure communication flows seamlessly across different teams to drive meaningful progress. It's not enough to have passionate people involved; it's about aligning everyone around a shared purpose and ensuring that action follows. I see it all the time—CX councils or teams that meet to discuss customer feedback, but the conversation doesn't always translate into real change. It's critical to go beyond just reviewing the numbers. We need to collaborate, co-create, and drive real impact for our customers. So how do we ensure communication within cross-functional teams leads to action? ▶️Structure your meetings to drive progress. If you have cross-functional buy-in, it's essential to manage those meetings effectively. Make sure that everyone understands their role, the goals, and what success looks like. It's not enough to simply review metrics—what are the actions you'll take based on those insights? ▶️Unify efforts across the organization. In many organizations, different teams—like those working on journey mapping and those focused on customer insights—work in silos. We need to bring those efforts together around your customer experience mission, ensuring that all teams are aligned with a shared definition of success. ▶️Be proactive and resourceful. Don't wait for things to fall through the cracks. Be a resource to your team members, follow up, and offer support where needed. This could mean helping a colleague facilitate a journey mapping session or providing customer feedback to help illustrate a challenge. Communication is key, but proactive support is what drives progress forward. When working cross-functionally, the responsibility doesn't end with the meeting. We need to be deliberate about setting expectations, following up on actions, and ensuring everyone understands how their efforts contribute to the larger customer experience mission. Great communication can turn fragmented efforts into unified progress. Let's make sure we're not just talking about customer experience, but working together to make it happen. How do you ensure effective communication across teams in your organization? Drop your process below! #CustomerExperience #CX #CrossFunctionalTeams #Collaboration #Leadership #Communication #CXStrategy #CustomerJourney

Underrated executive skill: Simplify complex ideas (instead of using fancy jargon) "Sounding" smart may make you feel good. But if your team and stakeholders can't follow your message... Your ideas won't come to fruition Your team will be confused You'll be seen as a talker I used to be impressed with eloquent speakers with flashy slides. But often after they spoke I would be left wondering, what did they actually say? If you want to avoid getting lost in translation, steal my 5 tips to simplify complex ideas: (1) Break a big idea into key components. → Use the rule of three (2) Compare complex topics to familiar ideas. → "Our product is like a chess grandmaster that can analyze multiple moves ahead" (3) Explain it from their perspective → Understand why it matters to them (4) Start and end with your goal and CTA → Use BLUF (bottom line up front) (5) Connect the dots for them → How each idea is part of the big picture Stop worrying about sounding smart. Focus on making it easy for others. ✍️ Any tips to add? ♻️ Reshare if you found it helpful ___ Follow me to learn how to become executive ready in months, not years.

I learned this one the hard way: leadership starts with clear communication. I remember a project where the problem started with me. I wasn’t clear enough upfront, and it led to confusion, misaligned expectations, and frustration. It didn’t stop there—it spiraled into extra emails, more meetings, and way too much time trying to sort it all out. Worst of all, it damaged relationships within the team. That experience was a wake-up call. I realized my communication needed structure, so I started using the “Why, What, How” framework to turn things around: 1️⃣ Why: Explain the purpose behind the project and why it matters. 2️⃣ What: Be clear about expectations and deliverables. 3️⃣ How: Give actionable steps and clarify roles. The shift was immediate. With clear communication, the team felt aligned, work flowed smoothly, and we rebuilt trust. Leadership communication isn’t just about saying the right things—it’s about giving your team the clarity they need to move forward confidently. How do you keep your communication clear and effective as a leader? #Leadership #Communication #TeamAlignment #IntentionalLeadership

Your team(s) can be the heroes of your company story. With only 33% average employee engagement in today’s workplace, and facing the Era of AI and Authenticity vs. Artificiality... we need to build leadership practices that make the business journey about our customers, but also about our EMPLOYEES. Success begins internally. The best companies and leaders I know right now are diligently working to make their employees a core part of the company story. And that means... If you're getting up on stage about to present to a large group of your organization, consider whether you're putting their feelings, experiences, and ... FIRST. My guess? Your top line to-do list in any presentation, pitch, email, or meeting is about your company. Where it’s been. Where it's going. If you're like many of my clients in tech right now, you're leading with exciting news of novel AI infrastructure and innovative incoming products. How... exciting! Yes. On a company level. To shareholders. But to your employees maybe that news might be ... overwhelming. Indicative of new learning, projects, programs, and infrastructure heading THEIR way.  Your teams might be excited. They might also be intimidated. Or exhausted. Or... tuning you out, checking their inbox, and replying to the urgent need someone just sent their way. Here’s a reality check: When you're presenting exciting news like novel AI infrastructure, it might thrill shareholders, but for your team, it could spell uncertainty and added workload. Engagement starts with #empathy. Make empathy your top priority. Build your presentations, speeches, conferences, agendas from these simple foundational questions: - What does my team need from this presentation? - How can I make my team the heroes of this corporate narrative? - How does this align with our broader goals in a way that excites and involves everyone? Then, listen. Engage WITH your teams. Be invested in THEIR stories. Their success. Their experiences. Model the buy-in you want to create. And then do it all over again. Have a good example of empathetic engagement from your company's leadership? I want to hear it. Send me a note or drop it in the comments. #Leadership #CorporateCulture #EmployeeEngagement #StrategicCommunication #AuthenticLeadership #AIinBusiness Gallup 2023 Engagement Study: https://lnkd.in/guaFCps6

How do you prevent mayhem when crises occur that affect you and your team? Bridges collapse. Criminals mow down innocent victims. CEOs have heart attacks. Contagious diseases spread. Layoffs happen. Such crises create havoc as misinformation and fear run rampant through an organization or team. So what’s your part in calming the hysteria among your team? Communication. Communication that’s current, consistent, and complete. When I’ve consulted on handling crisis communication previously, I often get this question from bosses: “But how can I tell people what’s going on when we haven’t yet investigated and don’t have the facts?” That’s never an excuse for delayed communication. Be mindful that when people don’t have the facts, they tend to make them up. In a communication void, people pass on what they think, fear, or imagine. Noise. Keep these communication tips in mind to be part of the solution, not the noise: ▶ Tell what you know as soon as you know it. ▶ State what information you don’t have and tell people what you’re investigating. ▶ Stifle the urge to comment on/add to rumors, fears, guesses. ▶ Communicate concern specifically to those directly affected. ▶ Offer tangible support when you can (time, money, acts of kindness). ▶ Communicate kudos to those working behind the scenes. Accurate, speedy communication creates relationships and cultures that build trust and encourage loyalty. Have you been affected by a crisis? Was it handled well or poorly? Outlandish rumors that circulated? #CrisisCommunication #LeadershipCommunication #BusinessCommunication #ProfessionalCommunication #DiannaBooher #BooherResearch

You don’t lead strategy by presenting slides. You lead it by making it real. In conversations, decisions, priorities, and actions. If presenting the strategy were enough, execution efforts wouldn’t fail so often. Because if your team doesn’t understand and internalize your strategy with a shared understanding they won’t be able to execute it. I see this happen too often. Here are 5 practices that show what it really takes to lead beyond the slide deck: 1. 🗣️ Alignment is about the conversation, not a presentation. Strategy comes alive when people talk about it, connect it to their role and get clear about what it means for their daily decisions. As a leader, your job is to create the form and forum-where people can ask, “What does this mean for me?” and “How do I connect this in my role?” 2. 🎯 Align every meeting to the strategy. Every meeting you attend should tie directly to advancing your strategy. Stretching to make the connection? Maybe you shouldn’t be in that meeting. Or maybe the meeting shouldn’t be happening at all. As David Packard, co-founder of Hewlett-Packard once said, “More companies die of indigestion than starvation.” Strategy requires focus. 3. 🛑 Ruthlessly cut or minimize non-strategic work. This one’s personally hard. Smart, creative people are great at justifying why their project or idea is critical to the company success. But clever doesn’t  equal strategic. Pet projects, zombie initiatives, legacy efforts? If it doesn’t clearly move the strategy forward, cut it. Edinger’s rule: 5 (±2). Big initiatives. That’s your strategic load limit. Focus your resources on advancing the efforts that make the greatest impact. 4. 🗓️ Do a weekly strategy audit for your calendar. Tom Peters said it best: “The calendar never lies.” Look at how you actually spent your time this week. Was the majority of your focused attention on moving strategic priorities forward? Or did you spend too much energy and time on tactical or less valuable activities? Be honest. Where does your time go? Evaluate and adjust. 5. 🤝 Contact one prospect or customer each day. Some may want to start with one per week. No matter your role, stay close to the market. Strategy is useless if you can’t connect it to your prospects and customers. One of the most strategic leaders I ever worked with, Bob Dutkowsky started nearly every day with a customer call. During his time as a CEO of Tech Data, the business grew from $20B to $37B. Pro tip: Don’t just talk to customers who already like you, make sure you engage with prospects who have made the choice to work with competitors. Even one conversation per week can surface insights no dashboard will. Which of these 5 shifts will you focus on this month? Drop your pick in the comments or share how you’re already putting it into practice. 👇 #LIPostingDayJune #TheGrowthLeader #Leadership #StrategyExecution

𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 “𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀” 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗶𝘁? A few years ago, I saw a brilliant executive key initiative getting derailed. The leader presented their vision and plan flawlessly to their team. Nods all around. '𝗗𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱?' they asked. The room murmured in agreement. Six weeks later: stalled execution, missed milestones. Here's what they learned the hard way: 𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 ≠ 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 When the stakes are high, “𝗗𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱?” is the wrong question. The right one is: “𝗗𝗼 𝗜 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀?” Why this shifts everything: 1️⃣ 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗛𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 Compliant teams will say they "understand" to avoid conflict. Commitment requires them to consciously opt-in. 2️⃣ 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 When people publicly commit, their brain rewrites the script from "your priority" to "our priority" 3️⃣ 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗚𝗮𝗽𝘀 If you can't get commitment, the problem isn't your team, it is probably your case for action How to do this 𝗧𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆: - Replace passive check-ins ("Clear?") with active commitment ("Can I count on you to...?") - Watch for non-verbal tells - hesitation means you haven't made your case - Normalize “I’m not ready to commit yet” as a healthy signal, not disloyalty. - Pre-wire stakeholders before the meeting, so commitment in the room is confirmation, not surprise 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 - 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽. If you are not asking for commitment, you are just hoping for alignment. When was the last time you explicitly asked for commitment rather than assuming compliance? #OrdinaryResilience #ExecutiveCoaching #Accountability #StrategicExecution #Compliance #Commitment #CHRO #HR #TeamDevelopment

Using Data to Drive Strategy: To lead with confidence and achieve sustainable growth, businesses must lean into data-driven decision-making. When harnessed correctly, data illuminates what’s working, uncovers untapped opportunities, and de-risks strategic choices. But using data to drive strategy isn’t about collecting every data point — it’s about asking the right questions and translating insights into action. Here’s how to make informed decisions using data as your strategic compass. 1. Start with Strategic Questions, Not Just Data: Too many teams gather data without a clear purpose. Flip the script. Begin with your business goals: What are we trying to achieve? What’s blocking growth? What do we need to understand to move forward? Align your data efforts around key decisions, not the other way around. 2. Define the Right KPIs: Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) should reflect both your objectives and your customer's journey. Well-defined KPIs serve as the dashboard for strategic navigation, ensuring you're not just busy but moving in the right direction. 3. Bring Together the Right Data Sources Strategic insights often live at the intersection of multiple data sets: Website analytics reveal user behavior. CRM data shows pipeline health and customer trends. Social listening exposes brand sentiment. Financial data validates profitability and ROI. Connecting these sources creates a full-funnel view that supports smarter, cross-functional decision-making. 4. Use Data to Pressure-Test Assumptions Even seasoned leaders can fall into the trap of confirmation bias. Let data challenge your assumptions. Think a campaign is performing? Dive into attribution metrics. Believe one channel drives more qualified leads? A/B test it. Feel your product positioning is clear? Review bounce rates and session times. Letting data “speak truth to power” leads to more objective, resilient strategies. 5. Visualize and Socialize Insights Data only becomes powerful when it drives alignment. Use dashboards, heatmaps, and story-driven visuals to communicate insights clearly and inspire action. Make data accessible across departments so strategy becomes a shared mission, not a siloed exercise. 6. Balance Data with Human Judgment Data informs. Leaders decide. While metrics provide clarity, real-world experience, context, and intuition still matter. Use data to sharpen instincts, not replace them. The best strategic decisions blend insight with empathy, analytics with agility. 7. Build a Culture of Curiosity Making data-driven decisions isn’t a one-time event — it’s a mindset. Encourage teams to ask questions, test hypotheses, and treat failure as learning. When curiosity is rewarded and insight is valued, strategy becomes dynamic and future-forward. Informed decisions aren't just more accurate — they’re more powerful. By embedding data into the fabric of your strategy, you empower your organization to move faster, think smarter, and grow with greater confidence.