This Forbes article suggests that introverts make better leaders by playing to their strengths, rather than fighting them--and cites a lot of speaking skills to bolster its point:

By using a "think first, talk later" approach, introverts give themselves time to ponder, while appearing measured and thoughtful; this also gives subordinates a chance to contribute and can keep leaders from making mistakes by jumping in too fast.

They ask questions and take an in-depth approach to conversations, yielding more learning and understanding.

They appear calm, usually through anticipating issues, practicing what to say, and getting themselves in the right frame of mind before communicating.

The Eloquent Woman tipped me off to another article about introverts, speaking, and leadership styles. It's easy to think of the introverted style as being a handicap, so it's nice to see a catalog of the ways that introversion can be an asset. Click through for the whole post from The Eloquent Woman and for the original article from Forbes,

Now, more than ever, we need to shake things up.

Now, more than ever, we need a different way of thinking, a useful way to focus and the energy to turn the game around. I hope a new ebook I've organized will get you started on that path. It took months, but I think you'll find it worth it the effort. (Download here).

Here are more than seventy big thinkers, each sharing an idea for you to think about as we head into the new year. From bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert to brilliant tech thinker Kevin Kelly, from publisher Tim O'Reilly to radio host Dave Ramsey, there are some important people riffing about important ideas here. The ebook includes Tom Peters, Jackie Huba and Jason Fried, along with Gina Trapani, Bill Taylor and Alan Webber.

Here's the deal: it's free. Download it here. Or from any of the many sites around the web that are posting it with insightful commentary. Tweet it, email it, post it on your own site. I think it might be fun to make up your own riff and post it on your blog or online profile as well. It's a good exercise. Can we get this in the hands of 5 million people? You can find an easy to use version on Scribd as well and from wepapers. Please share.

Have fun. Here's to a year with ideas even bigger than these.

Here's a lens with all the links plus an astonishing array of books by our authors.

It's time. Stretched yesterday by The Year in Ideas from The New York Times. Today Seth Godin challenges with What Matters Now

Smart leaders ask interesting questions. Questions often ignored by many; asked by a few.

Here are a handful of questions to help you bridge the gap from cubicle to community.

Your mileage may vary but I wonder which ones might work for you?

What would happen if we:

1. Connected disconnected pieces to show the “big picture?”
2. Created a visual map making it easy for everyone to know where we’re headed?
3. Shared more success stories?
4. Showed stories of how problems were solved?
5. Showed stories of how ideas failed?
6. Learned to be more trusting?
7. Invited employees to share their personal leadership tips?
8. Listened by asking what matters most to them?
9. Simplified complex business ideas with personal experiences?
10. Encouraged and told stories that point to something bigger than ourselves?
11. Presented more personality and humanized our company?
12. Started thinking “community” instead of “corporate?”
13. Saw or heard stories of leaders capturing our imaginations?
14. Told employees why we are in business in the first place?
15. Demonstrated our values in action when recruiting potential candidates?
16. Stopped using or creating strategies that don’t work?
17. Simplified things?
18. Considered today as the first day we had a communications department?
19. Integrated employees regularly in our communications?

What about you? What questions have you used to drive employee conversations?

Veteran producer and communications specialist Thomas Clifford helps Fortune 100's to non-profits breathe life into their brand story. He believes remarkable organizations deserve remarkable films.

In this clip, after introducing the idea that the system has suffered a heart attack, he goes on to round off the point with a 3-part list - and it's worth remembering that his PhD was in economics, not medicine (or rhetoric):

CABLE: This was an enormous shock to the system - a big economic heart attack - so it's not surprising that a lot of damage has been done ...

[1] ... we've got a patient that's in intensive care,

[2] it's been rescued from a disastrous heart attack

[3] but it still needs the monetary steroids.

Here's a British blogger who's found in an impromptu speech a brilliant metaphor that makes a complex topic vivid and immediate: the speaker forgets the complex, specialized language of economics and uses the language that most of us speak. Found via @OliviaMitchell at Twitter.