May 2012: Meridien Course - Common Purpose "Passion and Resonance"

Beyond your authority you have to have passion. It comes in different forms. It may be direct, loud, and demanding, or softly spoken, private, and understated. Regardless, passion is what people long for in their leaders.


Leading change in an area without direct control and authority can take a long time or become more frustrating in comparison to a leaders experience of effecting change where they have great positional power from their expertise or professional status. The determination and patience needed to see this through is determined largely by the leader’s passion for the issue.

Passion often comes from a deeper sense of anger, annoyance or frustration. This may arise for many reasons both personal and professional; it may even result from an unsolved problem or a missed opportunity. In all cases how a leader communicates this passion will have a significant effect on their ability to connect to other leaders, to involve people in their challenge, and to effect change.

Passion Can Get in the Way

There will be times when a leader gets it wrong in displaying their enthusiasm and excitement when what was needed was a calmer and more dispassionate approach. Equally on different occasions a sense of passion and display of care may be needed to break a deadlock or inspire others. In most cases it will be important to know what you want from a meeting or discussion, so you are picking the right battles.

Resonance

Leading change in areas where you do not have direct authority means you will always need to keep a check on: who you are working with; where they come from; what motivates them, in order to be able to communicate effectively with the many and varied people, departments and organisations you will be working with. The variety of different people, different ways of working and different professional language requires a leader to find ways to resonate, express themselves and to get people listening without just shouting louder.

Shami Chakrabati says: “I spend my time trying to minimize the difference between myself and my audience, so that I minimize the difference between us and our interests. Then, hopefully, I come across as more reasonable and so more convincing”.

How?

This session will be exploring the leadership theme of “Passion and Resonance” and will begin by asking participants to connect with their real passions and share them with their colleagues through the ‘Soapbox’ technique. Conall McDevitt MLA will then deliver the keynote speech. Finally representatives from different sectors will be asked to share their thoughts with regards to the role of passion and resonance in their leadership.
Aims and Objectives

For participants to realise and be comfortable communicating their passion in order to inspire diverse stakeholders
Understand and discuss different, equally effective forms of passion e.g. direct/loud/demanding/soft/understated
Understand that oftentimes passion alone is not enough to effect change. Hence participants need to be aware of the nature and needs of all stakeholders and know how to adapt their style and message in order to resonate effectively with them.