Leadership moments that matter

Kevin Johnson, CEO at OnTrack, talks about understanding and maximising critical moments to engage, foster curiosity and enable growth.

In today’s dynamic business environment, organisations that stand still risk becoming irrelevant and even extinct. To drive continued commercial success, organisations must evolve.

But to evolve, global businesses must unlock the potential of their people by fuelling curiosity and enabling growth. So, how can this be achieved, and how does OnTrack International create value?

The moments that matter

One of the most challenging, yet critical moments for any leader is driving change in their organisation and people.

Whether responding to global events, regulatory shifts, or an evolving market or business, leaders must stay agile and forward-thinking to ensure the organisation keeps pace with the outside world.
They must also drive change in their people. Employees that stop evolving become less relevant over time, and their performance suffers.

Such change may not come from a desire to improve a bad situation. Even where the business and its employees are performing, evolution is essential to maintaining a competitive advantage.

Second, leaders must actively manage difficult conversations.

Handling difficult conversations with clarity and precision is a vital leadership moment. Leaders must use clear language and structured sequences to ensure constructive conversations – whether addressing high-performance issues or poor behaviour.

Effective communication in these moments resolves immediate issues and sets the tone for future interactions.

Third, leaders must keep employees engaged to retain top talent and foster a productive culture.
Career conversations should focus not just on employees’ roles but on the energy and value these employees contribute to the organisation.

Employees are most valuable in roles that motivate them the most. Finding this sweet spot helps create momentum for all employees – whether star performers or those who need further encouragement – to grow and unlock their potential. For those who need encouragement, leaders must find something that fuels their curiosity. Once they start growing, the focus can change to more business-related skills.

Leaders should ask questions that help employees explore their passions and consider lateral moves within the business. They can keep employees motivated and connected to the organisation by emphasising firm-wide engagement and opportunities.

Last, leaders must create clarity of purpose and enable growth.

Employees disengage when the organisation’s strategy is unclear or there are few opportunities for career growth. Instead, leaders must align business and employee objectives and ensure everyone has the opportunity for personal and professional development.

Regular check-ins and strategic conversations about career development can help bridge this gap, making employees feel valued and invested in the company’s future.

The evolving role of leaders

While the characteristics required for effective leadership are continuously evolving, first-class communication remains a necessity. However, when leaders are under pressure, they can often revert to type. For instance, driven leaders may shut down conversations, challenge employees or fail to respond or react in a conversation.

By doing this and neglecting other crucial elements of communication, leaders fail to make the most of the moments that matter. They will not be as engaging and impactful. The quality of the solution will suffer.

So, to help leaders make the most of these moments, HR professionals should practice the science of verbal communication or Verbal Behavioural Intelligence.

Our framework looks at 14 verbal behaviours grouped into four categories, which include:

Initiating: how do leaders structure conversations and introduce new ideas?
Reacting: how do leaders engage or react in conversations? Do they support or attack?
Clarifying: how do leaders test and refine understanding?
Controlling: do leaders shut out others or help bring them in?

We know through observation that leaders can make the most of the moments that matter by adopting just two or three verbal behaviours they are missing. For instance, if a driven leader brings people into a conversation, supports another’s point, and tests understanding alongside their usual verbal behaviours, they are seen as more emotionally intelligent and will ultimately secure better outcomes.

So, HR professionals can use this tool to understand a leader’s verbal behaviour and inform what attributes they are neglecting and may need to include. It helps shine a light on the shadow cast by the leader’s usual style.

Overall, it helps leaders to become better at communicating, engaging, building presence, developing relationships and getting the best out of their people – all essential for making the most of the moments that matter.For organisations, if every individual is growing, the business is growing. It is this virtuous circle that drives commercial success.

Kevin Johnson is CEO of OnTrack International