Every leader needs this influencing skill

This young leader positively stood out

I recently led an Ideas Lab session with a creative team to spark fresh, inclusive problem-solving. We drew on prework to cater to those who don't always think best on their feet. In small teams, participants surfaced new approaches to various challenge statements. They then agreed on their best idea and pitched it to the broader group, adding a playful element to the process. 

One young leader stood out. She clearly and concisely shared her group's concepts and powerfully expressed their standout idea. The group was captivated and voted to action their idea. 

At the end of the day, I said to her, "Your synthesising skills are impressive." Smiling, she replied, "That's great to hear: I've been working on them." 

Sense-making in an information-drenched world

In today's information-overwhelmed world, reciting facts isn't enough. Leaders need to synthesise and distil divergent concepts into actionable insights. This advanced communication skill sets the great apart from the good. 

As Dr. Adam Grant, the respected organisational psychologist, notes,

"The hallmark of expertise is no longer how much you know; it's how well you synthesise. Information scarcity rewards knowledge acquisition. Information abundance requires pattern recognition."

Skilful synthesis enables a leader to grasp intricate ideas and weave them into a coherent narrative that creates shared meaning for the team.  The benefits include:

Harnessing collective intelligence: Synthesising diverse perspectives taps into the team's collective intelligence, leading to more creative solutions.

Building engagement and trust: Clear, synthesised communication fosters transparency and trust, encouraging deeper team engagement.

Enabling deliberate prospection: Synthesis allows leaders and teams to project future scenarios and anticipate potential challenges and opportunities.

Creating a common purpose: A unified narrative aligns the team’s efforts towards a shared goal, enhancing cohesion and motivation.

Influencing the agreed actions: Synthesising complex information into clear, actionable insights makes it easier to influence and guide the team’s actions.

Six dimensions of skilful synthesis

1. Drive active inclusion -  Harness diversity

   Skillfully elicit various views and manage conflicts arising from differing opinions. Share, don’t dominate the airtime. Ensure that many voices contribute to informed decisions.

2. Ask generative questions - delve deeper

   Generative questions go beyond facts; they delve into feelings, motivations, and contextual nuances. Ask open-ended queries to elicit insightful answers that enable understanding and drive fresh thinking. 

3.  Hear what matters - Intentional listening

   Listen not only to words but also to the unspoken messages. "Listen for the capital letters" by paying attention to and jotting down the critical concepts shared during the conversation.

4.  Spark deliberate doubt  - Explore possibilities

   Question beliefs and assumptions. Stop the group rushing to certainty and challenge preconceived notions. Encourage deeper, divergent and critical thinking and creativity.

5.  Map connections - Join the dots 

   Bring together diverse perspectives and connect seemingly unrelated ideas. Identify common threads. Explore unexpected associations, cultivating combinational creativity to uncover new solutions. 

6.  Shape the future - Sense-making story

   Rapidly distil, link and expresses the most pertinent ideas offered by the group. Craft the playback narrative so the contributors feel heard and agree on next actions occurs. 

The ability to effectively synthesize information is one of the coveted attributes of a leader with executive presence. When it comes to influencing, it's not just about presenting the facts; leaders need to connect the dots and paint a clear, compelling picture. I agree with Dr. Grant—the future belongs to those who can master this art. 

Along with Presenting powerfully, Intentional listening and Normalising feedback, Skilful synthesising is one of the 'Speak' elements of our flagship Elevating Executive Presence program.

Get in touch if you'd like to learn more about this compelling leadership program.