CAREER & LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT 

Building a Thought Leadership Program: Preparing Your Leaders for the Big Stage

Public speaking can be exhilarating or terrifying. Most public speakers are not born great. In the case of health-system leadership, the development of critical communication skills—confidence, impact and authenticity—must be cultivated carefully. Sharon Delaney McCloud, the director of corporate communications at UNC Health, and Jamie Williams, UNC Health’s director of executive communications, will discuss proven strategies and tactics the system uses to develop executive leadership into confident and influential communicators during their SHSMD Connections Conference presentation, “Building a Thought Leadership Program: Preparing Your Leaders for the Big Stage.”

Williams and McCloud have been on a mission to ensure every health care executive within their organization is ready for the big stage because, as Williams stated, “every stage is a big stage.” Recognizing that public speaking was not a class taken (or offered) in medical school, the duo has been focused on preparing UNC Health physician leadership and executives for their moment in the spotlight.  

“Whether that is a keynote at a conference or a panel discussion, meeting with an internal audience, or board of directors, preparing our leadership to deliver messages concisely and with empathy and compassion for the people we work with has been something Sharon and I have strived to do as we work together and with our leaders within UNC Health,” Williams says.  

Public Speaking Power Skills 

McCloud believes that presentation skills are not “soft skills” but rather “power skills,” adding that “leaders start to realize how impactful they can be with the way they speak and how they speak, to change hearts and minds of the people they’re working with; once they dial into that and realize it, they are all in. We have tremendous support from our executives because they know just how important it is.” 

McCloud, who spent 25 years as a television journalist, anchor and reporter, brings her “on air” skill set to her training, which helps executives look and feel confident on camera. “When people feel confident going into these presentations, especially if they’re on camera, they are going to connect better with our teammates, patients or board members,” she says.  

Williams’ background is on the writing side, helping executives craft strong messaging and beautiful words that fit each purpose. “I’ve come to appreciate that [the words] are only half the battle,” he explains. “The delivery makes all the difference. We could have those messages, but if it’s not delivered in a compelling way that is going to grab people’s attention, it is all for naught.” 

Effective message delivery is a key focus of Williams and McCloud’s efforts. McCloud points to the example of UCLA researcher Albert Mehrabian, PhD, who has argued that effective communication depends primarily on voice and body language, and only a small amount on what’s actually said. 

“What we’re doing with our leaders is making sure all of this is working congruently,” McCloud notes. “The beautiful words, the impactful messaging, married up well with good, strong, confident body language. And then a tone of voice delivered in a way that is necessary to influence or have your audience decide to move from A to B or whatever the ask is.” 

The Art of Story Telling 

McCloud is a big believer that everyone has a story to share and that words have incredible power. Authenticity also plays a critical role in effective leadership communication, especially in the public arena, which is something they stress in their coaching sessions.  

Williams acknowledges that throughout these trainings, they are preparing their executives to go out and speak with empathy, compassion, conviction and authenticity. Ensuring leadership keeps authenticity top of mind is critically important as audiences are good at picking up on inauthentic messaging and are typically turned off by it.  

One of the tools Williams and McCloud use to help in this regard is a “story bank” exercise, where leaders catalog their experiences over their professional careers to help share some of their personal stories with the appropriate audience. “When we are working on a talk and going to a particular audience, I can look through those files and say, ‘Hey, this is a great personal story that might work well for this group,’” Williams says.  

McCloud adds that helping leaders understand their audience is an essential part of crafting and presenting the story and the message. “Jamie and I work lockstep when we are preparing one of our leaders. Maybe it is for a town hall for our organization, or maybe it’s an external conference. We come in early to understand very clearly, who is the audience?” 

With authenticity and storytelling covered, the duo then puts together the whole package. “Jamie starts crafting the message in alignment with our leader and what they are hoping to achieve, and then I work to put the performance element together and really polish it up,” McCloud says. She adds that this part of the process may include putting the leader on camera, playing it back for them and dissecting it. 

“By putting people on camera and then playing it back so they can view how others see them in action, that’s where so much of the learning takes place and the changes or improvements happen almost immediately.” 

McCloud and Williams emphasize that much of their work in preparing UNC Health’s leaders to be excellent communicators comes from listening, looking for inspiration and building connections with people. “We hope to encourage those who do work that is similar to what Sharon and I do to build those personal connections with the people that you work with. Understand what is going to inspire and motivate them, and then bring that to the work that you are doing,” Williams adds. 

image credit: NarleyMedia/Pixabay