Dia Bondi 00:19
Hi, everyone, this is Lead With Who You Are. I'm Dia Bondi, and on this show, we explore and discover what it truly means to lead with who you are. And we usually do it with people who embody just that. But today, we do not have a guest, I'll be talking with you instead about the second part of the Platform Map, the framework for helping you, leaders and founders and transformational leaders, even if you are one of the next generation to come up and lead us toward what's next, speak powerfully and feel and be more in control of your leadership voice. I already shared the first half of the Platform Map in an earlier episode, and today is Part Two. Let me start by saying that I'm not really in the skills business anymore. I'm in the ‘develop your voice’ business. And once we've developed the foundations of your voice, with the Platform Map, then we're going to go out and identify what skills you might want to acquire to help bring the foundation your voice in a way that is aligned to who you are. Because that stuff, the skills don't really matter. If you don't start with this one question, which is, who are you and what are you about, you can build the foundation of your voice, why? So you can use it as a strike point for your leadership and not just a tool for transacting information. That's what email is for. And you're going to do it without starting with skills. And I'm going to share with you exactly what I mean by giving you a little taste of the platform map as I did in earlier episodes. Today, we're going to talk about the second two components of it. So let's get into this in just a sec. Hey, just a quick reminder, you can subscribe to this show on your podcast platform of choice. We're live nearly everywhere. And you can always listen to the show at diabondi.com. If there's a leader or innovator in your life, who is it their shiniest when they lead with who they truly are, Please share the show with them. And rate subscribe, and leave us a review makes a huge difference in the reach that the show has, when you let everyone else know what you love about the show. Thanks so much. In the show, we start with the question, Who are you? And one way to answer that from the perspective of your leadership voice is through developing your platform map. But before we get into that, I want to talk about what mastery in communications is, in our perspective, let's take a look at our definition of mastery because of course, we all want to be masterful, and how we communicate. And that feels like it's going to be skills based, right? We think, Oh, I'll be a more powerful communicator, if I can just nail the dramatic pause. And skills do actually help us with that. But what we're talking about to develop true mastery is what's behind the skills that you're using. It's the who of you. So here's how we define at DIA Bondi Communications mastery in your leadership voice and in mastering communication. It has three components. And the first component is what we think of as speaking from the heart, the first component of mastery is present. When we as your audience feel and understand and experience you as someone who's speaking in a way that is aligned to who you actually are, that we have the feeling that we can trust that you are saying exactly what it is that you mean, to say, even if you're stumbling a little bit. It's not about perfect execution. It's about alignment. We know you're speaking from the heart, the second component of mastery and leadership, voice and communication we define as you as as we're your audience, that you are in control in the moment, which isn't about being in control of the moment, it's about us having a sense that you are in control in the moment, no matter what happens, even if things go differently than you as the primary voice in the room. The one holding the mic in the moment had planned. And the third component is that you're actually having an impact on me, that me sitting here as your listener whether I'm just hearing you in my in my headphones like I'm wearing right now, or I'm standing I'm standing in your presence sitting across the table from you that you're actually having an impact on me. Doesn't need to be huge, but I need to be able to Say, I sense an impact from this person, all three of these components when they're present, wrapped up into how we look at and how we pursue mastery with you, when I know all those three components are present, speaking from the heart in control in the moment, and you're having an impact on me, I would define you as someone who is masterful, again, noticing that none of that is about perfection, robotic and perfect execution of a particular script. Unless, of course, you know, the context demands that which is very, very rare in the world of leadership, communications, it's, those are very specific contexts that not all of us need to be developing a skill around. So when we have all three of these components present, that is what we're going for when we think about mastery. Okay, so now that we have an idea of what we're looking for, when we're talking about mastery of voice, let's talk about the platform map is a framework for developing a leadership voice that leans toward mastery, such that when you pair it with the skills, you need to bring that voice to life, you can demonstrate and experience mastery in communication. So last time, in our previous episode, we shared the first two components of the Platform Map, which the Platform Map is something you can imagine is sort of like a four part quadrant, it has a North South Line, and an East West Line kind of making what you'd imagine that looks like a compass. And the top two quadrants include on the left purpose and on the right, what we call person or provenance, your origin story. So the top half is all about the purpose that drives your voice, and your provenance, your, your personal story, that is the driver of your accomplishments, those are the first two components. And today, we're really going to talk about the second two, which is the lower half of the compass, you think of that as like the the southwest and the South East two quadrants of the Platform Map. So the one on the bottom left, the sort of Southwest quadrant, is what we'd call point of view, and platform. And the bottom right quadrant is quadrant we call principles, which is about your values in action. Okay, let's go through each of these. So let's talk about that lower left quadrant, that point of view and playbook quadrant. This is where you as a leader are getting really clear about and committing to articulating one particular topic it is that you talk about in the world doesn't mean that you don't talk about other things. It's just that out of the 900 million topics that you could talk about as a leader, or the 900 million topics that you care about as a leader, you're picking one that you can really champion and hold a candle for that that works as a way to carve a path for the venture or the initiatives that you might be leading. So one example of this is a leader I know in my circle, who talks very specifically about health equity, that is her lane. And no matter what she's talking about, by the way, she works for a SAS company, no matter what she's really talking about. She brings the force and commitment that she has around health equity to everything she discusses. That is her major issue that she champions and then everything that she's launching, selling, elevating, talking about pointing to and demoing gets to benefit from the force of her voice that is committed to health equity. We know that when her name comes up, that we're talking about somebody who's a champion for health equity in her space, no matter what technology she might be lending her voice to. And this has been extremely powerful, actually, for the segment in our organization that she leads because she is unabashedly about using what she cares about as a as a tool, and a force to carve a path for the success of the initiatives that she leads the products that she launches. So remembering that if you're a leader inside of a venture, whether you're the founder or a professional sea level leader, or below that you are actually not your venture. You are a leader who cares about something specific that lends your voice to your venture in your domain. If we recognize that you, as a leader or a founder voice are not your venture, you get to pick a topic inside of your point of view and playbook that you really want to own that you want to have a clear voice around and that you want to use as a as a snow plow for carving a path for your venture, but point of view and playbook includes more than just those two things. It's actually four parts. First, we want to select what exactly the topic is that you're going to own and be tied to. And you can create something, I have clients that have actually created new topics, or put sort of two titles or two areas together to create a brand new one that feels so resonant and right for them that they feel like they can name it, claim it and leverage it going forward. So you're going to identify a topic. And then you're going to move to the next three steps, which is, you're going to have to develop a point of view on that topic, you can't just pick it and just say nothing, we've got to actually have your point of view on that topic in your domain. And then the third step is to ask yourself, what transformation Am I trying to cause in and around my point of view of this topic. So you can imagine completing the sentence prompt, I would like to see a world in which and then insert the transformation you're trying to cause around the point of view that you have tied to the topic that you've named and claimed for yourself. And then the fourth component, which is the one that takes a fair bit of development, and thinking and collaboration, hopefully, with thought partners around you, is the idea of great if you were to cause that transformation in the world around your point of view in the topic that you care about, how might we do that? What is your playbook for doing that, and you have an incredible amount of freedom in articulating and architecting, what that playbook might look like, it might be a model of a two by two model, or it might be a list of five to dues or it might be some sort of a journey that you've created. But you think of this as sort of your original IP around what you would advise our segment or your folks in your domain do in order to cause the transformation around your point of view and the topic that you've named and claimed for yourself. So that is the lower left or the Southwest chunk of the platform map point of view, and playbook. Now, on the other side, the final and fourth component of the platform map, you imagine this is sort of the South East quadrant of your platform map, we're talking about principles here. And principles are about your values in action. They're not just what you care about, it's how they actually make it into the world and how they get operationalized. I have lots of lots of principles that have names or titles or turns of phrases that are very unique to the owner of those principles. And you get to you get to decide what those are, for example, and some of these may be ones that are familiar already. But for me, one of the core principles I have is go slow to go fast. Do the thinking now, so you can move together quickly later. This is a sticky phrase that my collaborators, folks and contractors who have come to work with me in my business, have learned and we repeat it back to one another. It's one of the ways in which we operate with one another that gives us space and permission to stop doing and do some thinking together before we get into action, even when the action is so tempting at the very beginning of the process. So go slow to go fast is one core principle that I operate in and get to share with folks around me that help them understand who I am and how I roll. And you to get to do this by first visiting, what values do I have? And then how do they actually operationalize themselves in the world in a way that is useful to my leadership, and to the people and initiatives that I lead around me. If you have three, great if you have five, great if you have six, that's pretty good. We don't need to have a list of 400,000 here, just a core bunch that feel really essential to who you are and how you want to communicate the way in which you operate to the world. So put all four of these components together the top half of the Platform Map, which includes your purpose, and your person story, or your provenance, the origin of all of your accomplishments, and the bottom half, including your point of view and playbook and your principles, which are your values and action. You have a really compelling and uniquely yours. foundation for your leadership voice. Get into relationship with this by developing it for yourself. Hint, hint, you get to decide what these are. And you're going to have a really nice foundation for then going out and identifying what skills what communication skills might I want to acquire, that help bring to life the platform map have identified for myself because guess what? It might be that when you're clear on your platform map, you don't need help figuring out where to put the dramatic pause because you know exactly where it needs to be based on the point you're trying to make as an outcome of understanding your own Voice. So you might notice that the more developed your Platform Map is, the more familiar you become with it. And the more you name it, claim it and take it on and own it, the skills that you think you acquire fall away, and new skills that you think might help you come to the fore. So I'd like to complete today's super short episode by saying that the Platform Map is actually not mine, it's yours. The Platform Map is an outcome of working with 1000s of leaders, founders, across industries, just like you find the force that's behind their voice when they're speaking in a way that is most aligned and powerful for them. So they can continue to speak powerfully and with mastery. Literally, this is an outcome of those sessions, you all taught me what goes into developing a powerful voice, I just happen to write it down. So I love this framework, because it helps us make sure that no matter what skill you're using, you're speaking from who you truly are, and importantly, leading with who you are. So Miles Davis, and for those of you listening who may have been in any of my talks, you'll hear me use this quote, Miles Davis, who is a famous jazz musician, has said he's quoted as saying it takes a long time to sound like yourself. And he's not talking about his skillfulness. He's talking about his musician voice, because the difference really between being a technically excellent musician, and being Miles Davis was Miles Davis. And the difference for you between being a technically excellent communicator and having a leadership voice is you. So I'll pose the question we usually post to our guests to you right now and ask you for you. What does it mean to lead with who you are? See you next time. Everything I shared today is part of our core Keynote, the Leaders Voice Playbook, which you can find and inquire about at our website at diabondi.com or just email us at hello@diabondi.com. This work is perfect for audiences of founders, sales teams and leaders revenue leads Engineering Leadership, executive off sites and other groups whose voices have an outsize impact in the business. The Platform Map is also the framework underpinning our cohort based coaching program, the leaders voice intensive, which you can find and learn more about at our website at diabondi.com.
Lead With Who You Are is a production of Dia Bondi Communications, scored mixed and produced by Arthur Leon Adams, the third and executive produced by Mandy Miranda, you can reach out to us at hello@diabondi.com or leave us a voicemail at 341-333-2997. You can like rate, share and subscribe at Apple podcasts, Google podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your favorite podcasts. Go to diabondi.com for shownotes and to learn about all it is that we do to help you speak powerfully and lead with who you are.
