How to be a more Succesful Leader, Presenter, Influencer

If you want to be a better leader, presenter, or influencer then you must embrace diagrams or models to amplify your message.

The human brain is brilliant at pattern recognition but has a limited capacity for language or numerical manipulation.

“A picture is worth a thousand words” 

When it comes to ideas and information, a diagram or model communicates much more effectively than words. Here are seven of the many diagrams that I use in my leadership coaching, and keynote speeches. 

1. Find your Sweet Spot

Success in life and career is a Venn diagram. You must find your passion, but passion alone is not enough, you must develop your talent and find a market for your skills. 

Jim Collins used this diagram in his book, 'Good to Great'. The Japanese have a concept, Ikigai which means reason for being. The Japanese diagram has a fourth circle, what the world needs. Imagine doing what you love, doing what you are good at, and being paid for it, and it makes a difference in the world!

2. Establish your Boundary

I define self-leadership as the practice of intentionally influencing your thinking, feeling, and actions toward your objectives. The absence of self-leadership can be observed as blaming, complaining, and a victim mindset. To practice self-leadership, you must take ownership of what you can influence, "Me", and create a mental boundary about what you cannot, "Not Me".

3. Focus on the Important

"Efficiency is doing things right. Effectiveness is doing the right things." - Peter Drucker

Time Management is an illusion, we can only choose to focus on what’s important - doing the right things. Beginning with the end in mind lets you know what’s important, and that’s the first principle of Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Successful People.

Covey's mode clearly shows u that, if it’s urgent, do it now, if it’s important but not urgent then schedule it and ensure that it gets done.

4. Stay the Course

In any endeavor, we inevitably start, filled with confidence but low on experience, and say to ourselves, “how hard could it be?”

We are usually ignorant of many factors that are required for success and must therefore have the resilience to persist through a 'valley of despair' before reaching any form of mastery.

This cognitive bias is known as the Dunning-Kruger effect, and when people see this diagram, they immediately recognize where they are on the rollercoaster.

(I did an entire speech on this topic for Asia Professional Speakers Singapore)

5. See beyond the Obstacle

When we see an obstacle or challenge before us it can seem large and daunting.

During our journey through the obstacle, we may enter the 'valley of despair', but if we imagine what it will be like after we overcome it, the obstacle appears much smaller.

Leadership is required to visualize beyond the current challenge and communicate that things will be better once they get past the obstacle. Self-leadership is having the resilience to do this for yourself.

6. Be Authentic

This diagram from The New Leadership Playbook demonstrates the balance between aggressive and passive communication.

To be authentic we must be self-aware of our needs, wants, feelings, beliefs, and opinions.

We can then communicate in an assertive way and respect the needs, wants, and beliefs of others. This model will help you develop better leadership, relationships, and collaboration.

7. Deliver Results

Ultimately success comes from engaging in the right behaviors that deliver results.

Your right behaviors will be guided by principles and be responsive to feedback as you pursue your objectives.

In The New Leadership Playbook, I share seven leadership principles, and twelve leadership behaviors/conversations. You can get a free preview from the link below this post.

In Summary

I chose these seven diagrams because when you put them together, they tell a story about being successful. If you want to be a more successful leader, presenter, and influence you will borrow from the best and develop your own diagrams and models to demonstrate your thought leadership.