Powerful Conversations: How High Impact Leaders Communicate [Hardcover]

"Phil Harkins has it exactly right. To be a leader is to communicate powerfully—as he does in this thoughtful book." - Robert B. Reich, Professor of Social and Economic Policy Brandeis University.

Powerful Conversations breed a powerful organization. POWERFUL CONVERSATIONS is packed with goal-oriented strategies, tools, and real-life examples from great leaders. Use its deliberate, directed techniques to achieve exceptional levels of performance, create and maintain valuable relationships, and forward the goals of both yourself and your organization with every word you speak. Mastering the three stages of a Powerful Conversation—from shared feelings and beliefs, to an exchange of wants and needs, closing with action steps and mutual commitments—will help you exercise more control over your interactions, and greatly enhance both your leadership skills and your success.

Look inside to discover:
How to plan, conduct, and measure Powerful Conversations;
Using the Tower of Power as a tool in coaching;
The four Cs of Trust—clarity, caring, consistency, and commitment
Five strategies to satisfy—and keep—your best employees
Tools to turn the company grapevine from a poisonous plant into a pathway for learning
Determining your leadership competencies through the Leadership Assessment Instrument
Targeting Passionate Champions to drive an Agenda for Change.

Leaders across the country are praising POWERFUL CONVERSATIONS:

"Phil Harkins has it exactly right. To be a leader is to communicate powerfully—as he does in this thoughtful book." - Robert B. Reich, Professor of Social and Economic Policy, Brandeis University.

"Powerful Conversations have made a real difference in the effectiveness of the Operations Senior Leadership Team. We are delivering unprecedented results thanks to the clearer communication and improved working relationships." - Larry Gundrum, Senior Vice President, Kraft Foods.

"In my business, Powerful Conversations are leading to believability and a growing sense of achievability by our employees that they can drive a massive agenda for change." - Linda Coughlin, Managing Director, Scudder Kemper Investments, Inc.

"In a fast forward world, candor and clarity are prerequisites for success. POWERFUL CONVERSATIONS is a must read book for leading into the 21st century." - Steve Ozonian, Chairman and CEO, Prudential Real Estate and Relocations Solutions.

"A powerful guide, both savvy and wise, to emotional intelligence in action. Phil Harkins has given us an essential handbook for leaders at any level." - Daniel Goleman, Author, Working with Emotional Intelligence.

Presents a one-of-a-kind blueprint for success that combines the authors research findings with his years of experience as a sought-after consultant to top executives in major corporations. Provides guidelines revealing how to personalize the three stages of powerful conversations. DLC: Communication in management.

All Leaders Talk. It Is The Power of Their Talk That Determines Whether They Win Or Lose.

"Phil Harkins has it exactly right. To be a leader is to communicate powerfully­­as he does in this thoughtful book."­­Robert B. Reich, Professor of Social and Economic Policy, Brandeis University

"Powerful Conversations have made a real difference in the effectiveness of the Operations Senior Leadership Team. We are delivering unprecedented results thanks to the clearer communication and improved working relationships."­­Larry Gundrum, Senior Vice President, Kraft Foods

"Powerful Conversations is a thoroughly terrific book combining vivid stories, acute insights, and penetrating observations into an original and compelling look at the ways in which successful leaders communicate with their followers. It should be widely read for lessons, prescriptions, and sheer pleasure."­­Doris Kearns Goodwin, Historian and Biographer

"In my business, Powerful Converstations are leading to believability and a growing sense of achievability by our employees that they can drive a massive agenda for change."­­Linda Coughlin, Managing Director, Scudder Kemper Investments, Inc.

"In a fast forward world, candor and clarity are prerequisites for success. Powerful Conversations is a must-read book for leading into the 21st century."­­Steve Ozonian, Chairman and CEO, Prudential Real Estate and Relocation Solutions

"A powerful guide, both savvy and wise, to emotional intelligence in action. Phil Harkins has given us an essential handbook for leaders at any level."­­Daniel Goleman, Author, Working with Emotional Intelligence

Phil Harkins, Ph.D. is president and CEO of Linkage, Inc., an organizational development company founded in 1988. He is co-chairman of the Global Institute for Leadership Development, and has held leadership positions in industry and academia.