Powerful Conversations: How High Impact Leaders Communicate

Book excerpt: "Phil Harkins has it exactly right. To be a leader is to communicate powerfully—as he does in this thoughtful book."- Robert B. Reich, Professor of Social and Economic PolicyBrandeis University. Powerful Conversations breed a powerful organization. POWERFUL CONVERSATIONS is packed with goal-oriented strategies, tools, and real-life examples from great leaders. Use its deliberate, directed techniques to achieve exceptional levels of performance, create and maintain valuable relationships, and forward the goals of both yourself and your organization with every word you speak. Mastering the three stages of a Powerful Conversation—from shared feelings and beliefs, to an exchange of wants and needs, closing with action steps and mutual commitments—will help you exercise more control over your interactions, and greatly enhance both your leadership skills and your success. Look inside to discover: How to plan, conduct, and measure Powerful Conversations; Using the Tower of Power as a tool in coaching; The four Cs of Trust—clarity, caring, consistency, and commitment Five strategies to satisfy—and keep—your best employees Tools to turn the company grapevine from a poisonous plant into a pathway for learning Determining your leadership competencies through the Leadership Assessment Instrument Targeting Passionate Champions to drive an Agenda for Change. Leaders across the country are praising POWERFUL CONVERSATIONS: "Phil Harkins has it exactly right. To be a leader is to communicate powerfully—as he does in this thoughtful book." - Robert B. Reich, Professor of Social and Economic Policy, Brandeis University. "Powerful Conversations have made a real difference in the effectiveness of the Operations Senior Leadership Team. We are delivering unprecedented results thanks to the clearer communication and improved working relationships." - Larry Gundrum, Senior Vice President, Kraft Foods. "In my business, Powerful Conversations are leading to believability and a growing sense of achievability by our employees that they can drive a massive agenda for change." - Linda Coughlin, Managing Director, Scudder Kemper Investments, Inc. "In a fast forward world, candor and clarity are prerequisites for success. POWERFUL CONVERSATIONS is a must read book for leading into the 21st century." - Steve Ozonian, Chairman and CEO, Prudential Real Estate and Relocations Solutions. "A powerful guide, both savvy and wise, to emotional intelligence in action. Phil Harkins has given us an essential handbook for leaders at any level." - Daniel Goleman, Author, Working with Emotional Intelligence.