LEAD DIFFERENT

Lead Different is for strategic thinkers who want to level-up their communications skills without slowing down. Each weekly issue gives you quick, practical shifts you can read in 4-minutes. Familiar sections, new insights - every time. Subscribe and command words with power.

Reputation & Trust – how to earn trust or get it back

Trust Grows When You Own Mistakes - Fast

Missed product launch. Over-promised results. A commitment you couldn’t keep.

It happens.

People don’t trust you less because you failed. Trust erodes when you pretend that the missed deadline or broken promise never happened.

Most people are willing to forgive mistakes. What they won’t forgive is silence, spin or repeating the same mistake, over and over.

The fastest way to keep the faith? Admit the mistake, show what you’ve learned and outline how you’ll do better.

Narrative Power – The leadership story playbook

Don’t Deliver a Speech. Deliver a Moment.

A great CEO speech isn’t a data dump or a slogan reel. It’s a turning point:

Skip the talking points. Start with tension: What’s at stake, what’s hard, what’s changing.

Then, build a narrative that moves through struggle toward resolution.

Add one vivid story, one clear promise, and one call to action that makes people feel part of what’s next.

Because no one remembers key messages, they remember how you made the moment matter and stay with them long after the speech.

Use The Tension Framework 👇 to guide your thinking and help you craft the story inside the speech.

Influence & Framing – Small moves, big impact

Make the Alternative Sound Worse

People don’t respond to benefits alone.

They respond to what they might lose doing nothing.

For example, when asking your leadership team to change, contrast the cost of inaction with the value of the shift.

Try: “We can keep clinging to a message that no longer reflects what we do and stay invisible to the customers that we want. Or we reposition with a clear focus and claim the market that’s already moving without us.”

You’re surfacing what’s at stake and inviting people to choose relevance over comfort.

Crucial Conversations – Navigating high-stakes comms

Pause. Then Respond.

In tense moments, rushing to answer, risks saying something you’ll regret or giving away too much power.

Speed in this instance is the enemy. Composure however, is your ally.

The urge to react instantly, to defend, explain or correct, often adds fuel.

Instead, pause, take a breath. Stay silent longer than feels comfortable. It signals control (not avoidance) and gives you time to choose words that calm, not escalate.

Want more? Download the Pause, Phrase Cheat Sheet. ⬇️

For when you want to:

• buy a moment without looking evasive

• reset when a conversation gets heated

• calmly deflect or hold your ground

• model control and de-escalation

Internal Comms – How to connect, not just inform

If a Leader is Let Go, Communicate the Right Way to Keep Morale Steady

If a senior leader exits due to poor performance, don’t tiptoe around it but don’t load up on negative phrasing or blame either.

You don’t need to say ‘fired’ but you do need to name the gap and the reason for the change.

Then shift focus; introduce the new leader with purpose and a new path forward.

Let the new leader speak to what will be different.

Honesty earns respect, but in moments like these, how you frame it can inflame the situation or set the tone for progress.

For more, read this trainwreck of a speech, at a Town Hall I attended many years ago after the ANZ CEO had been fired by the Asia Pacific CEO.

Getting Clear – Communication that cuts through

Simple Questions. Bigger Reveals.

Want real insight?

Two simples questions that can get the other person to open up are:

“Tell me more about that?” (not strictly a question but say it like it is).

“What else?” or variations, “What else can you say about that? or “What else is there?”

Sometimes these simple questions (asked lightly and with genuine curiosity) unlock the other person’s thinking a lot faster than long-winded questions.

They invite people to open up, clarify their ideas, and reveal what matters most without feeling interrogated.

Less pressure, more insight.

Ask Edith - Your communication challenges, answered

Our AI Strategy Makes Sense But People Think It’s Shady

Q: We’ve rolled out an AI roadmap that includes predictive decision-making, customer profiling, and internal productivity tools. From a strategy standpoint, it’s sound. But we’re getting tough questions from staff and investors about bias, surveillance, and ethics. We say we’re “using AI responsibly,” but it’s not landing. What should we be doing differently?

A: ‘Responsible AI’ is a great headline but without proof, it sounds like a smokescreen. People want to know things like: How are you mitigating bias? Who’s accountable for misuse? Are employees being tracked? If you don’t answer these explicitly, they’ll assume the worst. Don’t just communicate intent, communicate boundaries. Be clear on what AI won’t be used for. Better still, publish your guardrails and who’s overseeing them. Trust isn’t built by saying you care about ethics. It’s built by showing you’ve made hard choices.

Got a communication challenge you want answered in the next issue of this newsletter? Reply to this email with your question and I’ll give you my perspective.

THE LEADERSHIP IMPRINT

30-second read how the best leaders communicate to leave a lasting mark, and what you can apply today.