From Actor to Activist to World-Class Leader: A #CommunicationsContentConnections Conversion

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and the Ukrainian people deserve the world’s support, in thought, word, deed, compassion–and response to the call to action and contributions.

The Ukrainian president himself deserves honor and respect, and he’s often getting the response he seeks and needs as an effective, persuasive, highly skilled communicator. As first the days, and now the weeks of the Russian war on Ukraine tragically proceed, world leaders laud Zelensky for his courage, resilience, persistence. The actor-comedian-politician-turned president embraces, embodies and exhibits every leadership skill and characteristic, no matter how long the list. Here’s leadership characteristics as listed by one of my favorite sources, the Center for Creative Leadership:

• Integrity
• Ability to Delegate
• Communications
• Self-Awareness
• Gratitude
• Agility
• Influence
• Empathy
• Courage
• Respect

No surprise here, I’d like to focus on Communications, third on the list (I quibble with the ranking, just a bit). Let’s take a moment to consider Volodymyr Zelensky as a Great Communicator, excelling in #CommunicatorsContentConnections. Someone, surely, already has associated him with that tag, remarked the intent and impact he has had/is having/will have as a communicator, amidst all the tragedy, and, more importantly, the tenacity and triumph of the people Zelensky leads.

‘Winston Churchill of His Nation’

In a recent “Forbes” article, Edward Segal, senior contributor, referenced an opinion by Ahmed Charai in “The Jerusalem Post.” Segal said the opinion noted Zelensky’s expertise and skills and called him the Jewish Winston Churchill, pointing to the words and leadership of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in Britain during World War II. Indeed, Charai’s column did say Ukraine’s president is “the Winston Churchill of his nation,” summoning the country to “survive with his words and his will.”

I looked further into what others are saying. Evan Nierman, in a recent post for “The Hill, said, “In addition to his undeniable bona fide leadership skills, Zelensky is also providing a master class in strategic communications. Political leaders across the globe could learn much from Zelensky’s skillfully straightforward talk—so different from the usual Washington partisan sniping or smoke-and-mirrors repartee we often [see]. Zelensky’s eloquence has not only captured the attention of the world, it has proven the catalyst to major policy shifts.”

Crisis Communications Master

What did Nierman say is in this crisis communications master class curriculum? The keys include:

• Limit your messages
• Customize your messages
• Use memorable words and phrases—today’s images through words
• Know who your audience is
• Be authentic.

Let’s look at just a few, through the #CommunicationsContentConnections lens.

• Know your audience: Zelensky’s most important audience is the Ukrainian people, yet he has talked to world leaders one-on-one; to the EU, to the U.S. Congress, to Ukrainian soldiers in the field and in hospital, and, directly and indirectly, to Vladimir Putin. And to the world.
• Be Authentic: He is authentic, whether speaking as president, as military leader, as husband and father, as servant leader, as unifier to the cause. He is not represented by surrogates. Some observers wonder when, or if, he sleeps.
• Use Memorable Word and Phrases: Yes, yes, he has, does, and will continue to do so. He uses memorable words and phrases, so effectively, so efficiently, with such passion and vision. There are so many examples already, yet these hit home in the U.S., when he used these words to create memories and very visual images and have an impact with Congress.

“Friends, Americans, in your great history, you have pages that allow you to understand Ukrainians now. Remember Pearl Harbor, that terrible morning of December 7, 1941, when your sky was black from the planes attacking you? Just remember it. Remember September 11^th, a terrible day in 2001, when evil tried to turn your cities—independent territories—into battlefields…Our country experiences the same every day, right now, at this moment—every night, for three weeks now.”

Zelensky and his people gained some additional military support and humanitarian relief from an unusually united U.S. Congress, following his words.

Speaking of united, Ukrainian President Zelensky isn’t the only Great Communicator in his family. His wife, Olena Zelenska, is sequestered in safety, caring for the children. She has not been seen, nor heard, much if at all. And yet, in a recent “open letter to the world” via social media she began, “I testify,” and she did, communicating with impassioned content, making connections the world over.

“We will win. Because of our unity. Unity towards love of Ukraine. Glory to Ukraine.”

#CommunicationsContentConnections
#Ukraine
#Leadership