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Volume 21, Number 14 • Copyright ©2004 Business Book Review, LLC • All Rights Reserved

The Leader’s Voice

How Your Communication Can Inspire
Action and Get Results!

Boyd Clarke and Ron Crossland

©2002 Boyd Clarke and Ron Crossland

Adapted by permission of The Tom Peters Press and
SelectBooks, Inc.
ISBN: 1-59079-016-2

Reviewed by Lydia Morris Brown

Introduction
Often, leaders speak, their constituents applaud on cue, and the illusion is formed that communication has occurred.
Unfortunately, this disconnect only breeds communication static that, over time, pushes leaders to resort to command-
and-control approaches, which only serve to “break” talent rather than foster it. Clarke and Crossland believe, however,
that one voice—the Leader’s Voice—can make all the difference—can energize, unite, and encourage all who hear it to
do extraordinary work. Thus, The Leader’s Voice offers sales managers, project directors, IT managers, manufacturing
supervisors, and executive leadership teams, as well as CEOs, clear principles (rather than techniques) and timeless
examples to help them find their own Leader’s Voice and, thereby gain: better alignment around key strategic initiatives,
improved productivity, greater leadership credibility, higher morale, increased efficiency, and better communication
among all employees.
Business Book Review™ Vol. 21, No. 14 • Copyright © 2004 Business Book Review, LLC • All Rights Reserved
The Leader’s Voice
PART I: THE LEADER’S VOICE
Agreeing with John W. Gardner, (the late expert on
public sector leadership), who said, “Communication
between leader and constituent is at the heart of
everything,” Clarke and Crossland believe that the ability
to communicate powerfully is the leverage that leaders
need the most in order to unite a business and move it
forward. It is the kind of communication that requires a
voice able to push past cynicism, doubt, and uncertainty.
This powerful voice simplifies the
“The leader’s voice is the language of your associates, your
complex, clarifies the cloudy, quiets
constituents. They listen in facts, emotions, and symbols.”
dissonance, strikes direction-defining
chords, replaces despair with hope and
cynicism with purpose, plainly states the unspoken,
describes precisely what people feel but fear to say, and
calls others to action when they are paralyzed.
This “Leader’s Voice” speaks the truth so that people
can distinguish it from spin. It establishes a compelling
context that overrides trivial context. It challenges others
to take a stand in the face of uncertainty. It is authentic so messages. Most people rely too much on one or two and
that even when the words are clumsy, the voice is eloquent.
And, because it passionately declares the leader’s direction,
it unites those who would follow and divides those who will
not. The Leader’s Voice communicates so compellingly that
it raises the consciousness, conviction, and competence of
all constituents.
Unfortunately, however, most leaders continually make
four fatal assumptions. They assume that constituents
About the Authors
Boyd Clarke and Ron Crossland, who have
been business partners and friends for nearly 20
years, are the founders of International Leadership
Associates and the current CEO and vice chair
of tompeterscompany!, a global training and edu-
cation consultancy. Using their expertise in the
areas of leadership, organizational change, and
symbolic communication, they have helped many
clients, including senior leaders from such organi-
zations as LensCrafters, Arby’s, Motorola, and Sun
Microsystems achieve better alignment around key
strategic initiatives.
For more information, please visit:
www.theleadersvoice.biz
Business Book Review™ Vol. 21, No. 14 • Copyright © 2004 Business Book Review, LLC • All Rights Reserved
Boyd Clarke and Ron Crossland
understand the communication, agree with it, care about
it, and will take appropriate action. Thus, claim the authors,
the biggest problem with leadership communication is the
illusion that it has occurred, which causes leaders to fail to
create the organizational focus, commitment, and energy
necessary to “move the whole organization.”
Overcoming these fatal assumptions requires
developing the Leader’s Voice so that it gains clarity and
depth in areas of authenticity, foresight, connection, and
context. Clarke and Crossland note, however, that even
when leaders are strategically positioned in their command
posts, and know where they are, who they are, who they
want to communicate with, and what they want to say,
the troops never get the message because all three of the
essential channels—factual, emotional, and symbolic—
are not being used to convey those important leadership
allow the others to atrophy.
PART II: FILLING IN THE BLANKS
Because the human brain in hardwired to think in
facts, emotion, and symbols, speaking with the Leader’s
Voice requires speaking as the brain works. According to
neurologist, Antonio Damasio, “Reason, without emotion,
is neurologically impossible.” No individual can run on
total facts, or total emotion; thus, when the intellect (the
logical brain) does not work in harmony with the emotional
brain, behavior becomes erratic, and the ability to make
decisions is severely degraded. Moreover, the emotional
and logical parts of the brain also work with the somatic
sensory system to produce symbols, and these symbols
act to enhance the transfer of meaning, knowledge, and
intent.
In other words, an overload of detailed data works like
chloroform—the facts are remembered, but vision and
goals remain fuzzy. By the same token, when entertainment
value is high, and content value is low, the effect is like
that of nitrous oxide—people are alert and excited, but still
do not know what vital action to take for the company.
Thus, when leaders fail to fill in the factual, emotional,
and symbolic blanks, their constituents fill in the blanks
Page 2
The Leader’s Voice Boyd Clarke and Ron Crossland

themselves, constructing a message that is different from they hate). And, they must foster passionate alignment
what was intended. This leads to a lack of understanding, around shared aspirations. This requires broadcasting on
agreement, caring, and/or appropriate action. several emotional “stations”:
Facts (i.e., data, measures, numbers, trends, evidence, WFEL (feelings)—By communicating the basic
opinions, reasoned judgments, and numerical analyses) emotions of love, hope, sadness, anger, happiness, etc.
teach, persuade, and entertain. And, though individuals (i.e., connecting on an everyday level with people), leaders
track different facts, and track facts differently, all peopleremind constituents that they are viewed as human beings
love facts and are tuned to the “factual channel.” Thus, rather than mere business components.
leaders rely on this kind of information to make decisions, KPOW (power)—Clarke and Crossland believe that
for they want their constituents to effectively contribute to leaders can grant authority, assign responsibility, and
the decision-making process. A problem arises, however, support decisions, but they cannot empower. Power is not
something one can give to another, for it
“In our data-rich world, we find ourselves working like Bob
resides in the individual. Thus, through
Cratchit recording inputs and Ebenezer Scrooge counting
outputs—all the while missing the meaning of our data and words of belief and support, leaders can
our work.” help constituents find their own power.
Faking it, however, only leads to disaster,
when leaders use this channel to the exclusion of the others, for leadership is, ultimately, an act of faith in others. Thus,
presuming that people will share their interpretation. Facts leaders must ask, “Do I really believe in people?”
can, indeed be distorted, misrepresented, and illogically KOUR (encouragement)—Human beings want to
used to support dubious conclusions, but communication believe they count, that their work matters, and that
is often the real culprit. their contributions help make things better. The leader’s
Clarke and Crossland believe that facts can provide an recognition and expressions of appreciation, whether
effective foundational logic to a message—one that builds handwritten or public, confirm this hope.
trust and fosters confidence—when leaders take the time KHOP (hope and optimism)—Pessimistic leaders,
to create a compelling, memorable representation of what who say permanent, pervasive, and personal things to
the facts mean. Thus, using this channel effectively involves browbeat their staff, remind them that they are always
more than just regurgitating data—it requires the same skill behind, give the impression that the situation will never
as good storytelling. Leaders must learn to interpret more change, or imply that they are stupid, promote pessimism.
and recite less (numbers, the language of business, represent On the other hand, leaders who explain things in temporary,
a boring language) in order to showcase the thinking that specific, or external ways (e.g., “The market is down, but it
influenced their decision rather than showcasing data for will come back.” or “We did not make our numbers, but no
data’s sake. They need to use metaphors, color, humor, one did after September 11.”) promote greater optimism.
graphical display, and context (a story) to help make their KNGY (pure energy)—The authors believe that lack
communication memorable. Moreover, using amazing of energy is the one leadership fault constituents will
facts (“the diamonds in mountains of data”) can alter not forgive. They are not, however, referring to a “pep
perspectives immediately, for they convey facts, emotions, rally leadership formula” of volume or charisma; rather,
and symbols simultaneously. they define energy as an untiring work ethic, observable
Emotions are the electrical current of leadership commitment, continuous interaction with constituents, and
communication—people follow leaders because of the way an unrelenting pursuit of the organizations’ success.
leaders make them feel. Thus, to broadcast with full power WEMO (emoting)—According to communication
and a clear channel, leaders must know and reveal their true expert Kathleen Hall Jamieson, “… openness invites
emotions. They must also know and articulate the important openness; disclosure, disclosure. Self-disclosure can
but unspoken feelings of their constituents (constituents accelerate our sense of intimacy in a relationship.” Clarke
constantly scan emotional channels, tuning in to those that and Crossland note, however, that the openness and
inspire, encourage, and engage them, and bypassing those self-disclosure must be appropriate and advise leaders

Business Book Review™ Vol. 21, No. 14 • Copyright © 2004 Business Book Review, LLC • All Rights Reserved Page 3
The Leader’s Voice Boyd Clarke and Ron Crossland

to hide most of their anger, depression, cynicism, and the same way graphic designers quickly create storyboards
disappointment. Whereas letting people in on legitimate for many ideas at a conceptual level; they can immerse
frustration or disappointment can strengthen relationships, themselves in a single subject as a way of allowing symbols
chronic complaining and blaming disqualifies one as a to emerge naturally; or they can conduct eclectic research.
leader. Because ad agencies, brand development companies,
KMOY (comedy)—When humor is a part of a leader’s and marketing professionals are expert at symbolic
natural repertoire, it can be used to increase social ties; communications, leaders can recruit their help. They
gain approval; manage stress, fear, and embarrassment; can use their own actions to symbolically convey values,
invite participation in dealing with tough issues; attack vision, and strategy. And/or, they can tell stories. In fact,
the opposition; or even reframe dire situations. However, the authors believe that though becoming skilled at all
leaders must take care to refrain from using humor only forms of symbolism is important, learning to tell stories
to call attention to themselves and must also be wary of is mandatory. Well-constructed and well-delivered stories
using it to poke fun at others. The most effective humor explain the unexplainable and communicate across all three
has purpose—it is the difference between entertainment channels in unison, engaging the entire brain.
and alignment.
PART III: CREATING AUTHENTIC LINES OF SIGHT
WACT (actions)—Actions speak louder than words;
BETWEEN VISION AND TASK
when actions combine with words, the result is a powerful
emotional station. Communication is both simple and complex. Although
Although leaders have followers because of the way communicating in facts, emotions, and symbols is a basic
they make their followers feel, Clarke and Crossland warn leadership requirement, in order to make connections,
that the very process of becoming a leader tends to create leaders must also communicate with facts, emotions, and
emotional distance. Constituents are symbols on a variety of levels. They must know when
reluctant to offer negative feedback to “[As a leader] you must know and reveal your true emotions. …
executives about their communication, You must also know and articulate constituents’ important but
and this reluctance widens emotional unspoken feelings. Finally, you must foster passionate alignment
around shared aspirations.”
distance, erodes trust and, thus, creates
even more communication barriers. Meanwhile, lacking to communicate in public and when to communicate in
truthful feedback, leaders are continually reinforced private. They must understand the importance of
in the notion that their communication is powerful and incorporating a few simple themes into their communication.
clear. Without absolving constituents, the authors suggest They must communicate with authenticity. And, they must
that fixing this disconnect is primarily the leader’s have an overarching strategic vision and direction so as to
responsibility. create meaning rather than mere message.
Symbols have been classified as the “most articulate Leaders must transition from social, to significant,
of all languages.” Because symbols fuse emotion and logic to intimate communication, and back again, using facts,
to occupy valuable space in the minds of constituents, they emotions, and symbols to help constituents move from one
represent a communication shortcut that does the work for level to another. Social communication, which is transitory
both sender and receiver. Whether it is a rabbit’s foot or and automatic, conveys easy-to-decipher information
a rosary, a symbol conveys mutual understanding and about identity, lifestyle, or attitude that is not particularly
individual meaning simultaneously. “A leader without important or personal. Because it is exhausting to always
symbols is like Elvis without hips.” Leaders must use talk about significant or complicated matters, social (i.e.,
symbolic language to define brand, vision, values, strategy, trivial) conversation is very useful in that it easily helps
and agenda, for if they neglect to do so, their incomplete people find common ground, explore similar interests, and
message will force followers to fill in the blanks. maintain social connections.
There are many ways to develop meaningful symbols. Significant communication delves into more vital
Leaders can create symbolic communication prototypes in issues, such as priorities, relationships, problem solving

Business Book Review™ Vol. 21, No. 14 • Copyright © 2004 Business Book Review, LLC • All Rights Reserved Page 4
The Leader’s Voice
and goals. Constituents will align behind leaders who
clearly state what they deeply believe about these pressing
and complex issues, and they also expect leaders to help
them face and discuss them. Empathy and inspiration are
communicated when a leader appears to be aligned with
constituent opinions and beliefs and accurately interprets
their feelings.
Intimate communication, the deepest level, is usually
reserved for spouses, close allies, very small groups, and
deities, for it conveys those fears and aspirations people
are reluctant to reveal publicly and is characterized by
openness, high trust, and vulnerability.
Leaders also communicate publicly (one-to-many)
and privately (one-on-one). Moreover, they communicate
in immediate and delayed time frames. Direct
communications allows for immediate reaction, whether
the communication is face-to-face or via teleconferencing
or videoconferencing. Voice mail, email, and handwritten
exchanges are forms of indirect communications in which
the response time is delayed. When dissimilar messages are
conveyed in the different quadrants—public/direct, public/
indirect, private/direct, and private indirect—constituents
filter and question the communication.
Leaders connect with their constituents using a few
key themes that define the common ground between the
leader’s perspective and corporate ideology. These key
ideas or principles support and reveal the leader’s agenda
and intentions, and express themselves in values, brand
“Themes worked as bullet points for [the] long-term
agenda and were not merely pep rally slogans. …
Themes connected the simple with the complex, the
trivial with the urgent, and the timely with the timeless.” tidy fantasy, be avoided at all costs. Over time, this
attributes, imperatives, and philosophy. Moreover, they
create communication threads that tie the nodes on the
network together.
Nonetheless, note Clarke and Crossland, leaders must
earn the right to be heard—they must compete in a noisy
marketplace of time and ideas in order to gain the attention
and interest of their constituents. Thus, the leader’s message leaders often find themselves creating divergent streams
must be intense, striking, concrete, and repetitive. In other of communication—disparate messages that create a
words, (according to Henry Quadracci, CEO of Quad/
Graphics) “The leader’s job is to say the same thing over
and over again in different ways”—in a unique and quiet
voice that can be heard above the clamor. Once attention has
Business Book Review™ Vol. 21, No. 14 • Copyright © 2004 Business Book Review, LLC • All Rights Reserved
Boyd Clarke and Ron Crossland
been gained, interest is maintained via novelty, importance,
suspense, conflict, animation, familiarity, and humor.
Clarke and Crossland believe that authenticity,
combined with passion, is a leader’s “megaphone,”
amplifying the facts, emotions, and symbols above the
clamor of downsizing, acquisitions, Wall Street, and the
competition. As role models, leaders are often symbols
of what people aspire to be themselves; thus, they
communicate effectively when their message comes from
a clear sense of self. (“Hucksters tell great stories. Leaders
tell their stories.”) Leaders who have a clear sense of self,
who remain true to who they are and what they believe, and
who deliver cooperative and consistent messages (i.e., those
who are authentic), secure the greatest level of trust. And,
when trust is high, communication bypasses all the natural
filters people have in place to protect themselves from
being deceived. However, when a leader hides behind a
façade, or keeps an emotional distance, not knowing who
the speaker really is, constituents filter the message to
keep themselves safe and cry out for more communication.
However, more communication, in this atmosphere of
distrust, simply provides the organization with more things
to discredit.
Authenticity also demands the integration of voice and
behavior—an ability to walk the talk. As news executive
Roger Ailes says, “… for those who want to succeed there
is one secret: You are the message.” Moreover, authentic
leadership requires that the “dance of deception,” the
collusion between leaders and followers to trade
difficult truths for comfortable lies, dangerous
issues for safer ones, and/or a messy reality for a
dangerous game of psychological roulette creates
lasting problems, characterized by dysfunctional behavior
and lackluster performance.
In order to create meaning (versus creating mere
message), leaders need an overarching strategic vision
and direction. Needing to respond to the varied needs
of customers, employees, shareholders, and partners,
decreased visibility (a fog) in which constituents feel a lack
of clarity and control. It is a situation in which focusing on
the fast-moving strategic foreground of quarterly reports, or
Page 5
The Leader’s Voice Boyd Clarke and Ron Crossland

focusing on the slower-moving background of brand vision,
only serves to decrease visibility even further.
Clarke and Crossland believe that if leaders are to be
effective in lifting the fog, they need foresight, which is not forward in time, including strategies, achievements, and the
about predicting the future, but about creating it. Whereas
vision is the search for meaning, and strategy is the search
for advantage, foresight is, according to the authors, the
search for both. Vision and identity, which are destinations,
are slow things; strategy and tactics, which are routes to
the destination, are fast things. Foresight is
about the deeper, broader perspective that “The creation of one set of messages that permeates our com-
comes from understanding the complex munication with all constituents is absolutely essential. Mixed
relationship of the two. Constituents messages create fog.”
expect leaders to know the destination as
well as the route—even though the destination is uncertain
and the route will invariably change. It is a journey in which
the leader’s job is to build a shared image of the future,
foster commitment, and orchestrate alignment.
In today’s complex technical society, three levels of
work are required: (1) doing work—Level A; (2) planning
and organizing work—Level B; and (3) creating unifying
abstract concepts, such as vision, values, and brand identity,
and communicating them in a way that aligns customers,
employees, partners, and shareholders—Level C. Clarke
and Crossland believe that because technology now
advances at a rate that creates mind-numbing complexity,
and its natural by-product, confusion, Level C work is
needed more than ever.
“To solve any complex problem,” says Kazuo Inamori,
Chairman Emeritus of Kyocera Corporation, “we should
first elevate our minds and view the situation from a higher
dimension.” Because elevation helps a leader see the past,
present, and future as a stream of history in which fast-
moving paradigms come into focus, leaders must climb
the “Ladder of Abstraction.” And, to help them understand
how to make this climb, the authors offer their Foresight
Process, which has two “fog-clearing” objectives: (1)
creating a strategic direction, most often expressed as a
vision or brand identity, and (2) communicating a strategy
to meet that vision in a way that unites and inspires.
Considering the symbolic past, with an eye toward
the story it tells, is the first step in the Process. Successful through it. Instead of descending the ladder too rapidly
leaders link the symbolic past to an uncertain future by
understanding the historical greatness of their organizations.
Purpose, inspiration, and meaning are communicated
through the time lines, narratives, graphics, multimedia,
and storytelling, used to create an historical record. From
these symbolic records, key elements that must travel
ability to cope with change, can be selected.
Examining trends, assessing competitive and
technological threats, benchmarking best practices,
evaluating a balanced scorecard, and monitoring the
organization’s vital signs are techniques for analyzing the
present—the second step in the Process. This analysis helps
leaders to find exciting new strategies that answer many
pressing questions. At this point, it is possible to consider
how the story of the symbolic past is reflected in the present
and to think of ways to use facts, emotions, and symbols
to communicate these issues.
Creating the future is the third step. Whereas,
understanding the past represents the symbolic, and
analyzing the present represents the factual, creating
the future is emotional. Ultimately it is about deciding
what one cares about and aspires to accomplish, which
in business is generally the extraordinary goal vision, the
great organizational vision, or a combination of the two.
Noting that there are many creative processes that help
leaders envision these futures, Clarke and Crossland warn
that the most important rule to follow in this phase is to
“ ‘conceptsmith’ first, and wordsmith second.” In other
words, it is necessary to polish the idea before polishing
the language (i.e., use information from the past and
present as a means of developing the key vision elements
before crafting the vision statement). Then, create the
kind of vision statement, that provides direction, unity,
and inspiration.
Selecting the course, the fourth step, starts the trip back
down the Ladder of Abstraction, with a pragmatic process
of courageous decision making that involves the selection
of core strategies or organizational imperatives. Because
this phase is critical, leaders should refrain from rushing
toward the implementation and communication of plans
and projects (which precipitates the four fatal assumptions),

Business Book Review™ Vol. 21, No. 14 • Copyright © 2004 Business Book Review, LLC • All Rights Reserved Page 6
The Leader’s Voice
they should use all their hard-earned communication work
to unite and inspire.
Uniting the organization is the final step. Leaders must
unite their constituents by helping them all see the same
thing (“The difference between a vision and an
hallucination is the number of people who see it.”) This
not the responsibility of marketing or the communications
department; leaders need to create a communication
plan for the organization and then plan to communicate.
Using techniques borrowed from brand development,
storyboarding, metaphor development, and/or
screenwriting, leaders must consider the facts, emotions,
and symbols of the story and create a rich plot that includes
customers, employees, shareholders, and partners in the
same “movie.”
Discussing how foresight can be impaired, Clarke and
Crossland note that most failed visions or brands do not die
spectacular deaths, but are slowly forgotten—simply left to
collect dust amid the whirlwind of work, changing priorities
and customer demands. However, leaders can prevent this
from happening by understanding a few simple principles.
First, a vision statement is not the vision, an advertisement
is not the brand, and a map is not the territory. Because
the goal is to provide direction and to unite and inspire,
visions and brands must live in the hearts and minds of
human beings, not on wallet cards, posters, or websites.
Thus, the first step cannot be a search for the compelling
statement or ad campaign, but an alignment of core vision
concepts. When leaders are united in concept, each can
then elaborate on the vision statement in his or her unique,
authentic voice.
Second, beware “pseudoconsensus,” for it is a primary
problem. Vision and strategies fall apart when members
of the leadership team erroneously believe they agree,
or pretend to, and then reinterpret strategy and convey
messages to support this perspective. Hearing different
stories from different leaders, constituents smell conflict,
and cynicism, anger, and revolt ensue.
Three, it is difficult and rare for strategic vision and
brand identity to provide direction, to unite, and to inspire
simultaneously. Thus, the authors recommend hiring
people who are looking for such a cause or people already
inspired by the company’s cause. Uniting inspired people is
far easier than trying to inspire and unite the uninspired.
Business Book Review™ Vol. 21, No. 14 • Copyright © 2004 Business Book Review, LLC • All Rights Reserved
Boyd Clarke and Ron Crossland
Fourth, enroll others. Vision, like love, needs to be
communicated in big ways and small. Especially in a
distributed network, vision messages require simplicity,
frequency, and alignment, for without these three elements,
vision communication will not be powerful enough to be
heard above the network’s natural static.
Fifth, avoid mixed messages. Responding to the
different needs of customers, employees, shareholders, and
partners, leaders can easily end up creating four different
communication plans and strategies with four distinct sets
of messages. These disparate messages, contradicting
and invalidating one another, create fog, which increases
uncertainty among all four groups and prevents alignment
so that there is no clear line of sight between vision and
task. Clarke and Crossland believe that the leader who can
effectively overcome the difficult challenge of creating this
line of sight can aspire greatness.
* * *
Bibliographic notes by chapter are provided.
Remarks
When James MacGregor Burns wrote Leadership
(1978), he made a monumental contribution to the
business literature by stimulating debate on the nature of
leadership and throwing the spotlight on a subject that had
been neglected for some time, making it once again a topic
worthy of attention. Since then, voices by the dozens have
appeared, expounding ideas by the dozens, on the theory
and definition of leadership, and characterizing, explaining,
analyzing, and assessing the qualities and practices of the
“leader.”
Nonetheless, this broad array of ideas about what
leadership means and what leaders do seems to find
common ground in authentic communication. As far
back as 1938, Chester Bernard, management thinker and
practitioner proposed (in The Functions of the Executive)
that leaders translate goals and values into action and
provide good, short lines of communication so that
everyone can tie into the organization’s objectives. And,
esteemed management guru, Peter Drucker, believes that
“The leader’s first task is to be the trumpet that sounds a
clear sound” (The Essential Drucker).
Page 7
The Leader’s Voice
In Kouzes and Posner (Leadership Challenge), five
practices of exemplary leadership are offered—modeling
the way, inspiring a shared vision, challenging the process,
enabling others to act, and encouraging the heart—with
credibility forming the essential foundation. Thus,
finding one’s voice is the prior task. “You [the leader]
must authentically communicate your beliefs in ways that
uniquely represent who you are. … [therefore] you must
comprehend fully the values, beliefs and assumptions that
drive you.”
Then, of course, there’s leadership’s “Olympian mind,”
Warren Bennis. He believes that because “the leader …
is the translator, facilitator, and articulating point between
the group’s genius …”; thus, a critical aspect of leadership
is learning one’s own voice and learning how one affects
others.
Taking inspiration from these stellar voices, as well as
that of the late John W. Gardner, and the irrepressible and
“hefty decibels” of business partner, Tom Peters, Clarke
and Crossland fill a void in the literature of leadership
by exploring the principles of authentic communication
(which originates in the “language of followers”) rather
than delineating systems and techniques. This approach
moves the reader away from traditional methods of
learning to communicate through imitating the techniques
of others, which focuses on such superficial tools as style
and performance, toward the more powerful and influential
principles of “voice.” It is with these principles that leaders
can learn to develop “a higher-order, symbolic message
[that] emotionally unifies all constituents. … a relentless
execution [that] translates the meaningful ideal into
meaningful work.”
Thus, with its rich content that draws on historical events
and personalities, present-day anecdotes, inspirational
imagery, and serendipitous facts, The Leader’s Voice
fashions a leadership primer in which voice is demonstrated
to be the strategic weapon of leadership. It is the ground upon
which leaders stand to mobilize others to do extraordinary
things. It is the catalyst for transforming values and visions
into effective actions and challenges into innovation. And,
it is the brick and mortar of breakthrough performance.
Business Book Review™ Vol. 21, No. 14 • Copyright © 2004 Business Book Review, LLC • All Rights Reserved
Boyd Clarke and Ron Crossland
Reading Suggestions
Reading Time: 10-12 Hours, 184 Pages in Book
The subject of leadership possesses the unique quality
of being quintessentially timely and timeless. According
to renown business thinker and bestselling author, Gary
Hamel, no theme is more enduring; it is a topic that leaders
and aspiring leaders, no matter what their avocation, return
to time and again to discover and/or rediscover transcendent
truths. That is why we believe The Leader’s Voice is still
worth your attention, today, despite its publication date of
2002.
Obviously, in light of recent events, our decision to
review this particular book at this time was, indeed, a
propitious one. The life of Ronald Reagan and the legacy
of his presidency, as they were showcased in the media’s
coverage, stand as a perfect example of the validity of
Clarke and Crossland’s premise that the OneVoice leader can
make all the difference. We’re not talking about Reagan’s
politics or policies, but the fact that he knew who he was as
a leader, what motivated him to lead, what aspirations drove
him, what he truly believed in, and that he could make a
difference. And, because he was expert at communicating
that authenticity in facts, emotions, and symbols, he was able
to communicate a simple vision and not lose his constituents
in “a million complicated things.”
With that said, we exhort you to use this book as a
constant companion to whatever other works you cherish on
leadership and/or communication, for we believe it stands
as a timely and timeless foundation and complement to
anything anyone else might say on these subjects. If
you aren’t already familiar with the powerful message
it conveys, we strongly suggest reading it from cover to
cover, with highlighter and pen to mark the many insights
that will help you fashion your own authentic voice. If you
have already read the work, we recommend a revisit, again
with highlighter and pen in hand, as a means of renewing
inspiration and redirecting your energies toward removing
any lingering confusion and malperformance from your
organization.
Page 8
The Leader’s Voice Boyd Clarke and Ron Crossland
CONTENTS
Chapter 1: The Leader’s Voice
Chapter 2: Hardwired for Facts, Emotions, and Symbols
Chapter 3: How TNT Found Drama
Chapter 4: People Love Facts
Chapter 5: The Emotional Channel
Chapter 6: Symbols—Rabbit’s Foot and Rosary
Chapter 7: The Sound of Silos
Chapter 8: Without Wax
Chapter 9: Climbing the Ladder of Abstraction
Chapter 10: Onevoice
Last Word: Calling All Capitalists

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