After a nearly two-year grueling campaign, Americans finally chose a new president. Now the real work begins.
The winner of the election has a list of daunting tasks ahead of him: an economy on life support, an unpopular and expensive war, our largest generation aging with a health-care system ill-prepared to care for it and a nation that seems more politically divided than ever.
To be successful, the next president must masterfully use every skill he possesses and every tool available to him -- including communication.
So much of being a good president involves communication:
The next president must bring the country together. He’ll need to start by articulating a vision that the majority of Americans understand, buy into and help bring to reality. He’ll also need to negotiate the support of political rivals and other powerful players who might have ideas that run counter to his.
The next president must communicate strength and confidence. All the experts predict the worst of the economic recession is yet to come. Our country needs a president who surrounds himself with smart advisors, of course, but it also needs a leader who confidently communicates the resulting plan to worried investors, business executives, policy makers and consumers.
The next president must communicate his expectations to the people who work for him. He must be a good manager, setting clear goals, providing the right resources, listening to feedback and adjusting his plans accordingly. His subordinates can’t be left wondering where the boss stands.
The next president must be able to communicate with America’s friends and enemies. He must be able to accurately represent -- in words and deeds -- the nation’s ideals, policies and actions. He must be willing to keep the avenues of communication open to negotiate agreements, especially in times of potential or real conflict.
The next president must know how to listen. A plethora of opinions will be written, spoken and even shouted from time to time, but the president must be able to cut through the clutter to hear what is really being said so that he can respond to it appropriately. He must be able to assimilate all sorts of information and to glean useful knowledge from it.
Come to think of it, all of these communication skills apply not only to a good president, but a good business leader, too.
Robert J. Holland owns Holland Communication Solutions LLC in Mechanicsville. He works with Fortune 500 companies and small businesses to help them develop communication programs that support business goals. He is also available to speak to business groups about workplace communication. You can reach him at robert@hollandcomm.com, at www.hollandcomm.com, or by calling (804) 368-0312.