5 Takeaways from "Leadership, Communication, and Social Influence"

 "He who thinks he leads, but has no followers, is only taking a walk."--John Maxwell

Ruben and Gigliotti's 2019 work, Leadership, Communication, and Social Influence: A Theory of Resonance, Activation, and Cultivation, is a quick yet comprehensive study of effective leadership practice. While I would highly recommend picking up a copy for yourself, here you will find my TL/DR list of the top five most important concepts from the book.

I've also made this post into a five-part video series. This link will send you to the supercut, and each section will begin with imbedded videos of the respective parts. 

1. Effective Leadership Demands Effective Communication

Ruben and Gigliotti’s “Leadership, Communication, and Social Influence” makes clear: you cannot be an effective leader if you are not effectively communicating to others. Many leadership models focus on the traits, behaviors, and skills of the leader. While all three of these are important, the leader-follower relationship developed through 2-way communication must be the foundation of an effective and comprehensive understanding and practice of leadership.

2. Defining Key Terms

Leadership: “The design and implementation of messages, strategies, processes, and structures to facilitate social influence.”

Followership: "Actively engaging with or supporting leader-initiated messages, processes, strategies, and structures that facilitate social influence.”

Resonance: Potential for communicative connections between the leader and the follower that lead to activation and cultivation

Activation: Reflexive engagement by potential followers to accept or reject initiated communication from leaders.

Cultivation: Long-term development of followers through regular communication from the leader that grows the zone of resonance and leads to consistent, positive activation.

3. Growing "The Zone"

Effective communication from leaders grows the “Zone of Resonance”, which grows the number of people activated by the leader and leads to greater engagement. The zone grows when followers gain trust in the leader and have bought into her communicated vision.

4. Change Initiative Requirements

For any change initiative to be effective and long-lasting, the following processes are required:

Attention—identify and gain the attention of the early-investors

Engagement—facilitate dialogue among stakeholders within the

organization

Resolve—build support and consensus for the change initiative within the larger organization and within the surrounding community

Action—motivate action and build momentum by offering activity, programing, training, etc… around the change initiative

Integration—sustain and reinforce the change initiative after it has been implemented

5. Toxic Leadership and Social Influence

Both leader and follower must remain vigilant against the dark side of effective communication/leadership: as the zone of resonance grows and cultivates continued activation, it becomes easier and easier for individuals to lose their sensitivity to toxic aspects within the system. Over time, as toxic behavior becomes habitual, it also becomes hard and harder to remove from the system. Everyone within the system is responsible for identifying and addressing toxicity before it becomes accepted as commonplace.

Wrapping It Up

While by no means the largest or most comprehensive book on leadership or communication, Ruben and Gigliotti's work sets a tone for and understanding of leadership that is worth engaging. As a pastor and leader, I am drawn to the idea that leadership is first and foremost about communication because it builds a theory that gets to the core of what leadership is for me: a relationship. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is currently or hopes to one day be in a leadership position. It will change how you engage others and will give you the tools to effect positive change on the systems you encounter.