“I’m not a charismatic speaker. Really. I’m an operator.”
Well, I don’t believe that matters.
I hear this “apology” all the time. Usually from the people who actually run the business.
They say things like “I’m too quiet. I’m not funny enough. I hate the spotlight.”
Good!, I say.
Because your team doesn’t need another entertainer. They have Netflix for that.
Don’t forget that you aren’t doing a TED Talk. You are doing Leadership.
A TED Talk is designed to entertain strangers for 18 minutes.
Leadership is designed to guide your people for 18 months.
These are two completely different sports.
And if you care about your business … if you truly give a damn about getting this right, you have the only “fire” that matters.
You are an operator? Perfect.
That means you know how the machine works. You know what matters to your team, your customers, your partners. That means you aren’t selling a dream; you are engineering a reality.
A quiet person speaking the plain and simple truth is infinitely more powerful than a funny speaker shouting a fancy slogan.
An operator explaining why we need to change is more inspiring than a motivator saying that we can do it.
For example, regarding your strategy what your team needs to know is:
- Where are we going?
- Why there?
- Why us?
No theater necessary to explain this.
You don’t need to light up the room. You just need to light the path.
Keep doing that,
Michael
