Wait

WAIT.

The last word Amelia Earhart communicated to the Coast Guard Cutter Itasca as it tracked her flight around the world was wait. 

In June 1937, a forty-year-old Amelia Earhart set out to fly around the globe, traveling along the equator. It had never been done before, and Earhart made it look easy. The world was captivated by this audacious, smart American. She was on the last leg of her journey over the Pacific Ocean when she said “Wait,” then went radio silent. Earhart was supposed to land on Howland Island to refuel, but she never made it. 

Over the past 80 years, there has been much speculation as to what actually happened to Earhart. Did she land on a different island and die a castaway? Did she land in the Japanese- controlled Marshall Islands where she eventually died as a prisoner? Did her plane crash into the Pacific and sink 18,000 feet? We aren’t sure. 

The world is fascinated with her mysterious death. But I’d like to focus instead on one small facet of her personality, her ability to communicate. 

History tells us there were other female pilots during that time, many of whom were more skilled than Earhart. But Amelia had something they didn’t. She had the charm and charisma and intelligence to cast a vision, to build key relationships, and to get what she wanted. 

She was a very good pilot, no doubt, but she was an excellent communicator. And communication matters. 

Communication skills help us build stronger relationships. Communication skills help us garner consensus, convey a message, and talk people into doing what you want them to do. Power doesn’t lie solely in being good at doing something. You can be the best engineer at NASA, but if you cannot look someone in the eye when you speak to them, you’ll never lead a team. 

Genuine or not, the ability to win friends and influence people is the key to success, and Amelia Earhart had that ability. Amelia could bedazzle a room full of men and leave them assured of her ability to fly, to navigate, to succeed. They were mesmerized. 

Not everyone has this ability; not everyone can cultivate this ability, at least not to the point of being a super influencer. But all of us can improve our communication skills. We can all observe people and situations to determine how to act, how to speak, how to influence. 

Different people respond to different stimuli. Different personality types need to be approached in different ways. Bottom line, people need to be finessed. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to leadership.

To finesse is to do something in a subtle or delicate manner and effective communication requires finesse. 

Going in like a wrecking ball works in some instances, but more often than not, situations need finesse. Amelia Earhart knew how to finesse. A woman in a man’s world in 1930’s aviation, she needed the lead of her husband to get her into certain rooms. As smart and as accomplished as she was, she knew there were times she needed to smile and play coy, even when she could have run circles around the conversation. I imagine there were times Earhart knew when to flash her pretty blue eyes and light the room up with her smile. That is not acting in a way beneath her mind and talent; that is knowing how to play smart. 

When I joined the Montgomery County Commission in 2014, I was enthusiastic and full of ideas. Never one to keep my opinion to myself, I jumped right into the new role, mouth wide open. I had questions, criticisms, and many a suggestion. About four months into my tenure, the commissioner chairman pulled me aside after a meeting. With a friendly smile, he said to me, “Ronda, when I first joined the commission I was told to listen and learn for the first few months. Nobody had that conversation with you, did they?” In other words, my coming in like a wrecking ball approach was not winning friends and influencing people. Point taken. 

Let me ask you, what is more important, reaching a goal or the way you reach the goal? 

Sometimes the most effective strategy is to smile and remain quiet. Sometimes the best strategy is to wreck the competition with your wit and wisdom. Being able to read a situation and know the best way to act is a skill set mastered by the successful. Ultimately, the successful reach their goal, but they probably use a different strategy each time.

The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place. ~George Bernard Shaw

To be an effective leader, you must learn how to communicate and motivate people in different ways in different situations. In order to do that, you must build genuine relationships. 

Regardless of your strengths and abilities, if you are unable to communicate effectively, you will continually fall short of your goals. 

Harriet Quimby, Ruth Elder, Elsie Mackay, Neta Snook - all female pilots. But do you know them? 

Like Harriet, Ruth, Elsie, and Neta, you can have the skills to make an impression, but if you can take it a step further and couple those skills with the ability to communicate influentially with the people around you, then your success will be multiplied and remembered.