Read part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4.

Jim Lukaszewski: Doing things in real time is really important because the boss has three fundamental goals as leader. The first thing they have to do is to find new places to go. They’re the person that goes over the horizon to see where it is we have to be heading based on where we are today. Their job is then to come back and tell us about it. So the major role that any leader has is to be the chief strategist. Strategy is all about tomorrow–where we’re headed. This person is head strategist in the organization.

The second thing these people have to do is once they’ve decided on new destinations, is to prime the people to get the job done. When you look at where the organizations fail on leadership, it is either they pick crummy destinations or they fail to influence the people to get the vision accomplished.

The third thing these people have to do is go into the organization—and this is communication—and teach and coach and reiterate and remind them of what the mission is, where we’re headed, why we’re going there, why people should be motivated and energized to get these things done.

The remaining roles of these leaders is to monitor, to tweak things, to identify where they have to change direction to modify what their findings were and that sort of thing. A lot of this is communication.

I define strategy as mental energy verbally injected in an organization through communication that helps the leader and the organization achieve its goals.

The first discipline of a strategic advisor is to have excellent verbal skills. Being able to give advice in real time on the spot requires excellent verbal skills. One of the questions I ask is: How are your verbal skills? Can you talk purposefully? Can you give advice in real time? Can you tell stories effectively? Can you do the things that help people absorb information?

All of this is really tied to what leaders do and how they do it in a very productive way that really goes beyond communication.

Q: If I were to summarize what I’m hearing from you, it sounds like from a public relations perspective you’re suggesting to think, not necessarily within the public relations realm, but more from the lens of the top leader of the organization.

JL: Right, I’m saying, essentially, that communication skills and the things you know how to do are an incredibly important platform. Really, you need to step above that platform and do other things that go beyond public relations to be able to bring that into the equation of being a trusted strategic advisor.

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Jim’s new book, Why Should the Boss Listen to You: The Seven Disciplines of the Trusted Strategic Advisor, will be released mid-February. Copies may be preordered at Amazon.com. Jim may be reached at www.e911.com.