The Unspoken Architecture of Leadership

If you are anything like me, you operate in an industry where precision, logic, and data reign supreme. Every digital transformation roadmap, every critical infrastructure decision, and every budget proposal is meticulously engineered for optimal outcome. Yet, here is the pressing challenge common to every large-scale technology organization: If our strategies are perfectly rational, why do our critical communications—the vendor negotiations, the board presentations, the team-wide pivots—so often fall short of their intended impact?

The truth is, while we focus intensely on what we say, the decisive competitive edge in enterprise leadership is often determined by how we say it and how we show up. The most brilliant strategic vision remains just a document until it is communicated with conviction and received with trust.

This realization led me to Cues: Small Signals, Incredible Impacts by Vanessa Van Edwards. This book is not about mere "soft skills"; it’s a critical read for any senior IT/IS professional who understands that leadership at our level is a high-stakes performance, where the smallest non-verbal signal can either forge trust or introduce crippling doubt.

Here is an executive summary of the cues that resonated most deeply with me and provided direct, actionable insight into elevating our day-to-day engagement with our teams and stakeholders:

Part I: The Strategic Presence – Leveraging "Power Cues"

In the environment of enterprise IT, presence is power—not the power of hierarchy, but the capacity to command attention, articulate certainty, and foster an environment where productive disagreement can thrive, leading to better decisions.

Power Cue #1: Powerful Posture

This is fundamental. Whether you are leading a $100M vendor negotiation or addressing the leadership team after a critical incident, your posture is the first piece of data the room processes. When we are defensive, uncertain, or disengaged, our body language contracts, signals low status, and invites questioning. Powerful Posture—open shoulders, an upright but relaxed frame, and occupying space—communicates competence and resilience. It signals to the room: “I am calm, I am confident, and I am in control of this conversation and the situation at hand.” This is paramount for establishing the psychological safety needed to move complex initiatives forward.

Power Cue #5: Palm Power

Effective leadership demands transparency and a commitment to moving past hidden assumptions. Van Edwards highlights how showing your palms—a gesture historically associated with demonstrating one holds no weapon—is a powerful cue for trust and openness. When you are presenting a solution or asking your team to commit to a difficult initiative, using open-palm gestures makes your delivery appear more honest and authentic. It is a non-verbal confirmation that your motivations are pure and your proposal is well-intended, significantly lowering the audience’s defensive barriers and encouraging buy-in.

Part II: The Vocal Architecture – Mastering "Vocal Cues"

The voice is the delivery mechanism for our strategy, yet many leaders have never truly trained this instrument. Now that remote and hybrid meetings are a constant, the vocal signal is often the only signal we transmit.

Vocal Power Cue #1: How to Sound Confident

Confidence in speech is less about volume and more about control and cadence. Confident speakers avoid "uptalk" (raising the pitch at the end of a statement, turning it into an unintentional question) and utilize strategic pauses. Pausing before a key point not only allows the information to land but also demonstrates self-assurance. It says, “I know what I am about to say is important, and I trust you will wait for it.”

Vocal Power Cue #3: Eliminate Vocal Fry...Forever

While a seemingly minor point, vocal fry (the low, creaky sound at the end of a sentence) disproportionately erodes credibility, particularly in high-stakes environments. It is often perceived, rightly or wrongly, as a sign of apathy, insecurity, or lack of gravitas. As senior leaders, we must be polished communicators. Eliminating this cue ensures that the focus remains on the strategic content and not the vocal distraction.

Vocal Power Cue #4: Volume Control Shows Emotional Control

When under pressure—be it a system outage or a contentious budget review—our natural tendency may be to raise our voice. However, the most emotionally controlled leaders master strategic volume control. A measured, steady volume conveys stability and strategic command. Furthermore, lowering your voice slightly at a critical juncture can force the listener to lean in, capturing their full focus and demonstrating that you are handling the pressure with calm authority.

Vocal Warmth Cue #1: Make a Memorable Vocal First Impression

Warmth is how we build trust. Your vocal first impression should convey that you are not just a technical automaton, but a human leader invested in solving a problem with your audience. This involves using an engaging pitch and a slightly faster-than-average pace to demonstrate enthusiasm, followed by a slight, strategic slowing to ensure clarity and gravity.

Vocal Warmth Cue #3: How to Sound More Interesting

Monotone delivery is the enemy of engagement, particularly when discussing complex technical roadmaps. To sound more interesting, employ vocal variety—changing your pitch, pace, and projection. Emphasize key data points or strategic imperatives with a slight drop in pitch and a deliberate pause. This variation ensures that your audience remains engaged and that your core message penetrates the noise.

The Charismatic Word Choice

Charismatic communication—in both verbal presentations and written executive summaries—is achieved by shifting from technical nomenclature to language that invokes vision and benefit. Instead of focusing on tool names or process steps, focus on the impact to the business, the value created, and the future state you are pursuing. Use powerful, evocative words to frame challenges as opportunities and operational shifts as strategic leaps. This helps you engage your audience not just on a logical level, but on an aspirational one, driving momentum toward organizational goals.

Call to Action

Effective leadership is about maximizing impact through deliberate execution. I highly recommend adding Cues: Small Signals, Incredible Impacts to your reading list. Master these small signals, and you will begin to observe the incredible impact on your ability to lead, persuade, and drive strategic outcomes across the enterprise.