Beyond the buzz of the “employee engagement” are the effects of choices leaders make every day in what and how they communicate. This session will help leaders identify ways to engage in purposeful, validating communication that energizes the people who are the lifeblood of any organization – your employees. This session begins by identifying and challenging some of the most common problematic assumptions about leadership and leadership communication, then offer strategies for helping leaders to communicate in a more engaging, people-centered way. Learning Objectives: • Explore multiple existing definitions of leadership • Identify the limitations associated with how we typically think about – and practice - leadership • Discuss the problems inherent in the “open door” policy of leadership communication • Explore the 6 dimensions of a communication-based, rather than position-based, view of leadership • Provide practical examples and techniques for shifting to a more communication-centric practice of leadership • Highlight the individual, team and organizational benefits of practicing a communication-based view of leadership